I gaze with nostalgia at my bedroom wall
Minnie and her siblings pose in an antique maple frame
Where will this 1870 group go when I move for the last time?
A black & white checked dress on eleven-year-old Minnie is so
old-fashioned
Many years later, I knew her as Nanaw.
The siblings dressed in black appear rigidly formal
Minnie’s sisters Ella, Alice and Lizzie, eye the camera
Sister Bella, hand on chin, stares toward the floor
Minnie’s right hand rests on brother Ferrand’s shoulder
Brother Fred stands somberly on the left and Minnie on the right
Another picture frames the parents on their 50th wedding anniversary
It is 1892 and Mother, Laura Ann rocks serenely by the glowing fireplace
A gold, pearl onyx brooch adorns the neck of her proper black dress
Father Abel grasps his gold-headed cane as he rocks.
Fourteen small pictures of friends and relatives stand guard across the mantle.
Above this fireplace a surprise catches my eye.
The framed Warren siblings appear above their parents
I note the gold, pearl, onyx brooch is pinned to Alice’s black collar.
By 1927 Minnie’s daughter, Mary carries on the tradition
The gold, pearl, onyx brooch adds beauty to Mary’s lace wedding dress
A new century, the family brooch rests on a framed brown suede background
Mary, a young mother holding baby Priscilla anchors the collage
Bordering Mary are her parents, Minnie and Dwight
1864 oval portraits of Abel and Laura Ann lay either side of the brooch
Laura stunningly beautiful posed in a turquoise dress and red satin stole
The gold, pearl onyx brooch clipped to her delicate lace collar
Dwight’s parents, David and Caroline complete the collage.
My many precious pictures will not all fit on retirement walls
But they will always reside in my memories
In the future, will I make the cut?
Will someone hold memories of me?