The Mysterious Buddies at the Beach

 You may recognize some of these fellows from last week's edition of Mystery Photo Monday.

Apparently that pyramid they made impressed some of the girls at the beach. Three couples? Who's taking the photo? And that eternal question - who the heck are these people?

Just like last week, these came out of an album belonging to my Great-Aunt Estelle Karvoius. Looks like maybe the 1920's? In the second photo, two of the people are wearing shirts with large letters on them. Can you decipher what those initials mean? Help!

Six unidentified beach buddies. From Estelle Karvoius's photo album.

What do the letters mean? Who are these people?
They look like they are having fun.

Photos from Mary Dixon Traina Colleciton, privately held by E. Ackermann, 2016.

The Mystery of the Boys at the Beach

Hello Friends! I hope you're enjoying this last bit of July. It's Monday so we're back at Mystery Beach, where the boys are.

These fellows came from an album owned by my Great-Aunt Estelle Karvoius. Were they school-mates, neighbors, friends, cousins? I don't know. But if you do, please let me know. That would make me happier than the guy at the top of the pyramid.

Young men showing off, as young men will do. From a photo album owned by Estelle Karvoius.

Young men on the rocks. Note railroad tracks and old cars in background.
From a photo album owned by Estelle Karvoius.

Two good looking young men on the rocks. Was their lunch in that box?
From a photo album owned by Estelle Karvoius.

All photos from Mary Dixon Traina Collection, privately held by E. Ackermann (her daughter), 2016.

Mystery Men at the Beach

Only a partial mystery this week. At least I have some family context for this one.

My people loved the beach! Standing, l. to r. : unidentified, Alice (Rimkus) Karvoius.
Seated, l. to r. : unidentified, Constantine Karvoius, Estelle Karvoius.
Note the small unidentified child standing behind the man with the mustache.

Closer view of the Karvoius family and the mystery men.

I believe that this photo was taken out of an album that belonged to my Great-Aunt Estelle Karvoius. That's her on the far right in the front row. I also recognize my Great-Grandmother, Alexandra "Alice" (Rimkus) Karvoius in the back row, and my Great-Grandfather, Constantine Karvoius, in the middle of the front row. Based on Estelle's birth date in 1909, I think this was taken in the 1920's, probably in New Jersey.

The mysteries in this photo are the young man in the back on the left, and the man with the rather spectacular mustache. They both appear in other pictures in the collection as well. Also, please note the little child standing behind the man with the mustache. He is looking down at the ground, and nearly disappears into the background.

The back of the photo has some of the black paper from the album still attached, but you can see that it was stamped "Printed by Elizabeth Novelty Co. / 1?5 / Elizabeth, N.J."

So, any ideas gentle readers? If you recognize the people or the location, please let me know!

In Your Easter Bonnet

Tess, Estelle, and Sophie : The Karvoius girls.

Estelle Karvoius, Mary Dixon,
Tess (Karvoius) Starzyinski, Alice (Rimkus) Karvoius,
Sophie (Karvoius) Dixon

Sophie (Karvoius) Dixon, Liz Traina, Mary (Dixon) Traina.
And Jet, the dog.

The Mystery of the Lovely Lillian

Sincerely, Lillian

Lillian, mysterious and sinceere.

On this mysterious Monday, I bring you a photo of Lillian. Lillian is glued to the page of a scrapbook that belonged to my great-aunt, Estelle Karvoius.

Estelle was born in 1909. As a starting point, I'm going to offer this theory. If Lillian was a high school classmate, that would put this photo in the date range of somewhere between 1925 through maybe 1930. It would also mean that Lillian lived in Elizabeth, New Jersey. 

Of course, I could be entirely wrong about that.

If you recognize this sincere and lovely lady, please get in touch!

Sophie (Karvoius) Dixon & Her Children in 1928

The good thing about scanning photos is that each image gets your undivided attention for at least a little while. Instead of being just a pile of pictures, each picture becomes a piece of a puzzle. Looking closely at each image and logging a description in my photo log can give me missing insights and connections in the larger family story.

My big discovery this week was a set of photos taken on the same day, and labeled with the year. They feature my great-grandmother, grandmother, her sister, and some friends. Better still, my Mom and her brother are there too. These may be the youngest I've ever seen them! This set of photos, with dates on them, help me connect the dots to other images that I have.

The first photo is of my great-grandmother,
Alice Karvoius. She was 45 years old in 1928.

Alice (Rimkus) Karvoius, Sophie (Karvoius) Dixon,
an unidentified friend, and Sophie's sister,
Estelle Karvoius, holding a baby.
In 1928, Sophie was 22 and Estelle was 19 years old.

 

Unidentified friend, left,
Sophie Dixon, on the right,
holding Mary Elizabeth Dixon,
Wallace A. Dixon in front.

This third photo is the one that gives me another clue to help me identify the people in other photos.

That's my grandmother standing on the right. The photo is dated 1928. My uncle, Wallace A. Dixon was born in July of 1926, and my mother was born in October of 1927. I believe that the child my grandmother is holding is my Mom, Mary Elizabeth Dixon, and the toddler standing in front of her is my Uncle Wally. Here are some close-ups from the photo.

Mary Elizabeth Dixon, born 1927,
with her mother, Sophie (Karvoius) Dixon

Wallace Andrew Dixon, born 1926.
Son of Wallace B. and Sophie Dixon.

You've seen my Uncle Wally in a previous post, The Mystery of the Boy With the Boutonierre. He's the toddler standing in front of the group.

Little Wally Dixon,
as seen here.

I was only guessing that it was him, based on family resemblance. But this photo gives me more evidence that it is him. It also helps with an estimated date for that photo.
 
There are only a few mysteries related to these photos. Who are the unidentified women, and where in Elizabeth Port was the picture taken? If you have any clues for me, please get in touch!