Sunday, May 17, 2009

A HOMESTEAD WEDDING -- 1921

MISS ETHEL LUCY DOBSON WEDS ERNEST ROBINSON IN CEREMONY AT GILBERT, IDAHO

In a ceremony at the home of her parents, Miss Ethel Lucy Dobson became the bride of Ernest Robinson on May 17, 1921. The bride is the daughter of Julian (Jack) and Ina Dickson Dobson, pioneer homesteaders in the Gilbert area near Orofino, Idaho.

And that's all I know about the wedding. No one ever told me about that day. I have no written material about it. I found the photos only a few years ago – dated but unidentified. This first photo is of the bride with her family (l. to r.): Myrtle, her older sister and maid of honor; Vance (my father); Irl (Earle); Ina (her mother); Shirley (the youngest); and Jack (the bride's father). The backdrop is the grove behind the house.

This photo includes the combined families of Jack and June Dobson who lived on adjoining homesteads. I believe the lady to the bride's left is the groom's mother. Just behind the bride is Vance, my dad, I believe, and just behind him is the face of Jack, his dad. Looking closely to the right, you can spot a similar face just above the bow in Shirley's hair; that's June Dobson, Jack's twin brother. ( Or perhaps it's vice versa; I really wouldn't know.) Note the lady in the satin dress standing to Shirley's left. That's Aunt Bertha, Ina's sister and June's wife, whose attire seems suitable for the mother of the bride.

Here the bride and groom stand on the front steps of the farmhouse, which was just four years old at the time, the same house that Mike and I have renovated. You can just make out that they have yet to put in a yard. Behind the bride and groom are Irl, Myrtle, Ina, Jack, Vance, and Shirley. Absent from the photos is the oldest daughter, Pearl, who at that time lived in Alberta, Canada, with her husband and baby son.


And here the young couple seem to be leaving on their honeymoon. Perhaps there was some joke.


So, just looking at these photos, what conclusions do you draw? KW

4 comments:

Hallie said...

Seems like the bride is the only happy one. Of course, it's hard to tell with those old photos--maybe she's the only one who could hold a smile for 10 minutes while the picture was taking.

Kathy said...

I had the same thought -- the bride is the only happy one, and she's wearing the kind of blissfully serene smile she might have seen on models in magazines of the day. She's holding her bouquet in such a way that we can't see any detailing on her dress.

No, I think the family in general was not happy with that match. I have other photos from the same era where folks are smiling and relaxed.

It might not surprise you to know that Uncle Ernest was interested in law enforcement. I don't think it was a marriage made in heaven, but I can tell you that he was always kindly toward me when I was a child -- always spoke and conversed with me.

murray.warnock said...

I always liked Aunt Ethel a lot. She could joke around with Vance, who otherwise was usually pretty reserved. She was funny and friendly and very tiny! I was fascinated with the fine - nearly invisible - hair nets she would wear.

Kathy said...

Murray -- LOL
I thought you were going to say you were fascinated by the color of her hair, which ranged from red to orange to pink -- sometimes really strange! Such variation in that rinse! She loved baseball, crossword puzzles, and pinochle.