ALL DRESSED UP
 

Most folks in rural Washington County didn’t get ALL DRESSED UP very often. Women dressed for housework and men for farm labor or woods work. Even in 2012 most of us don’t dress up. But we get ALL DRESSED UP for the camera or for certain special occasions. Here we will look at ourselves and our neighbors ALL DRESSED UP. The images here represent forty-four local families. But many of these families are related. All are connected by geography and the camera. What web of family connection can be found?

CHILDREN – Who is it who doesn’t want to show off their child?

           
Carl Roberts Card & Velma Louella Card, children of Lewis Arthur and Eva Doris (Roberts) Card, pose ca 1927. Carleton Cooper of Cooper, son of Sam and Coris (Creamer) Cooper, was born in 1926. Much younger than his four sisters and suffering from asthma, Carleton enjoyed more attention than most children. George & Aubrey Dwelley are shown here ca 1938, sons of Ruth & Wayne Dwelley of Alexander.
 

                       
Twins Jean & Joan Flood of Alexander ca 1941, daughters of Clinton and Duffy (Harriman) Flood. It looks like they didn’t quite trust that camera. Vattie Brown (1894 – 1903) had a twin sister Hattie who died in 1894. Their parents were Charles and Lizzie Brown. He ran a general store here in Alexander and had enough money to have a professional portrait of his daughter.

AND ADULT CHILDREN
              
Young adult children of Charles McLaughlin Cousins and Eunice Evelyn (Keen) Cousins pose next to the ell of their Pokey Road home ca 1915. They are Linnie, Elvie, Omar, Harold & Clarence Cousins. Smiling Bill and His Sawmill Buckaroos provided music at dances, concerts and churches in the area during the late 40s and early 50s. They are children of Cecil and Edith (Keen) Hatfield of Alexander, Lawson, Mary, Bill, Cliff & Ann Hatfield. Why didn’t Bill smile for this picture?

SCHOLARS – Professionally taken school photographs, especially at graduation, were a call to be ALL DRESSED UP.

         
Brothers Richard ’58 and Ken Berry ’60 of Alexander likely were the first in their family to graduate from high school. They went to Calais Memorial High School. Sisters Lois “49 and Fern Strout ‘57 left the area after graduating, but returned to Alexander for their retirement years.

                    
Annie Sullivan (1882 - 1971) of Cooper at her graduation from St. Joseph’s Hospital in Nashua NH. This education allowed her to work during the depression and help support her family. Shirley Kneeland of Woodland is shown here in a snapshot before the 1947 graduation dance. She married Neil Seavey and now lives in Crawford.

MILITARY UNIFORNS were a way of being ALL DRESSED UP
                       
Reuben Keene was born in Alexander. He served in Company H, 20^th Maine during the Civil War. His great-grandson Bill Hatfield had this painting done since no photograph of Reuben was found. Edgar Perkins, born in Crawford, lived in Alexander most of his life. He served at Fort Devons during WWI and must have witnessed the Spanish Flu.

                  
James Arthur Holmes II of Alexander was known as Buster. He enlisted in the Navy on December 15, 1942 and became a Seaman 1^st Class. After the war he married and lived in Woodland. Melonie Frost, born 1962, was also of Alexander; his brothers Rodney and Tim also served their country.
 

WEDDINGS almost always resulted in being ALL DRESSED UP
                          
Alexander’s Bonnie Lord & David Carson were married on July 14, 1973. Mable Camick of Perry & Darrell Frost of Alexander were married on May 21, 1949. Standing up with them are Carleton & Lida (Southard) Cooper who married in 1947.

        
On Valentines Day 1945, Bert Varnum of Alexander & Virginia Wallace went to Bangor “to see a basketball game.” They had been sweethearts since meeting at Woodland High School in 1929. No wedding for them, they eloped! Amelia Myrtle Hanscom & Frank William Gray were married in Crawford on April 29, 1887. Here the stylish couple starts out on their honeymoon and on their journey together through life.

And ANNIVERSARIES too!
       
Tom & Cora (Keen) Ireland of Cooper in 1952 and Joe & Althea (Davis) Lord of Crawford in 1979 celebrate 50 years of marriage.

CHURCH ATTENDEES in Alexander once were ALL DRESSED UP

                  
Floyd Hunnewell is ready to attend the Full Gospel Assembly Pentecostal Church on the Airline. Olive Edgerly will walk to the Methodist - Episcopal Church behind her from the Dwelley house on the Cooper Road. Foster Carlow, JR stops on his way to the Church of the Open Bible.
 

FAMILY PICTURES sometimes called for a professional photographer and bring ALL DRESSED UP.

              
Mildred (Flood) and Billy Holst pose with Marilyn, Greg, Terry, Dale, Dave and Roger ca 1962. Brett was yet to be born. Carleton & Glenna (Cousins) Davis with oldest children, Carleton Davis & Jane Davis. The couple had five more children before Glenna’s early death.

                          
Hiram Delmont and Eunice (Lane) Dwelley are shown with daughters Vivian & Velma in ca 1904. Two more children were born before Eunice died of TB. Delmont’s young children needed a mother so he remarried. Delmont and Clara (Dunham) Dwelley with their boys Paul, Harvard & Dana. Daughter Marian was born on January 2, 1918 and the couple raised Vivian’s son Buster Holmes. This image is likely 1916. Delmont and his family lived on the Cooper Road in Alexander.

               
Kenneth Harriman (born March 17, 1907) is in the stroller. His father Fred Harriman stands on the left, grandfather Fred Harriman SR is in the middle and great grandfather Joab Harriman stands on the right. All resided in Alexander. George Stillman Smith Scribner and Charlotte (Strout) Scribner of Alexander had two sets of twins. Here they are pictured ca 1925. We believe Alva Morton Scribner & Alice May (Scribner) Staples are in the middle. They were born in 1864. The cigar smokers are Ben Adams Scribner & Theodore Hill Scribner, born 1874.

TO IMPRESS others - we got ALL DRESSED UP

Those who chose to make their fortunes AWAY wanted to impress their relatives and friends back home and those who chose to stay AT HOME wanted those living away to be impressed with the life back home
 

FROM AWAY

              
Alma Tyler was from Alexander, but was living in Boston when this image arrived at home. Alexander’s Stephen Knowles came home for a visit and to show off his fancy clothes. Olive, Helen & Gladys Creamer of Cooper took advantage of the fancy coats and hats available at the photography shop to appear all dressed up for the folks back home.

                
Annaniah Bohanon of Alexander poses with his Bible and reading glasses in Brooklyn, Minnesota before he died in 1880. His grandchild closed the Bible on his glasses and broke them! Most of the Doke family of Crawford emigrated to North Dakota. Likely from left to right: Andrew Doke, his wife Edith Doke, their children Alice Doke & Ralph Henry Doke. Or is that Andrew on the right? Andrew was a teamster and homesteader. Obviously the things he valued were his family and his horses.

AT HOME

       
Agnes & Sylvester McLaughlin had a place on the Pokey Road in Alexander. The neighbors might not recognize them in this ca 1900 image. George & Nolia Cushing of Crawford didn’t often appear all dressed up as we see in this ca 1938 image

And why not show off the family and the house and the …?

Charles Yeaton lived on the East Ridge Road in Cooper in 1885 when this image was taken. Who are all those people? Charles and his wife Annie had four children according to the 1880 census, They were (with 1885 ages given), Lincoln (20) Frank (15, Alice (13) and John (12). The style of the house is similar to many that were build around here after the Civil War. Here is proof that oxen were still part of the power on Washington County farms!

John Sullivan of the Green Hill Road in Cooper poses with his family, his home, mare & colt and his express wagon. The seated lady holding a baby would be Margaret Sullivan. Is that Lawrence in his mother’s arms? The man standing by the door must be John, holding the hand of a little child, probably Annie who became a nurse. The young man holding the mare must be Daniel, and the tall girl by the window probably is Nellie. The other Sullivan children were Thomas, Frank & John. Who were the other children in the window? The image must have been taken between 1888 and October 1891.

Theophilus Brown was born in Alexander in 1863.named for his soldier brother who had died just weeks before at Pensacola, Florida. This younger Theophilus married Julia Mitchell of West Princeton. In 1904 their children Ruel, Eugene, Blanche & Evelyn pose in front of Julia. Theophilus stands with his team. On the right are Julia parents Sarah (Sprague) & and John Mitchell. .