Higgins' Pocket Gallery 8

Alright, I know I promised I'd find out more information about Honest Jimmy Higgins, but it looks like, not so much.  I'm headed out to the California desert to do some hiking and camping, I haven't had as much time as I had hoped, so here goes.  James Higgins was a reformer, yes he was honest and introduced forensic, scientific policing to Buffalo.  That's it, I just was too backed up to dig up more.   As usual, click on Higgins Pocket Gallery to see more.

Higgins' Pocket Gallery 5

Finally a hat!  Spongy the larcenous tailor.  Click on Higgins Pocket Gallery in labels to see more.

Higgins' Pocket Gallery 4

I've established that Honest Jimmy Higgins was the Buffalo, New York Chief of Police.   I have to wonder if the pocket Gallery was only distributed in Buffalo.

Yet again, click on Higgins Pocket Gallery to see more.

The Final Melvine Album Page, The Other Side

Take a look at the whole Melvine collection, and the question that comes to mind is this.  Why the emphasis on Melvine?   There are other children in these photos, Mom, Dad, and Nell, but Melvine dominates.  Was she the only child, the favored child, or the child that died?

Captions, from top to bottom, 1. "Joan-Melvine Bev." 2, 3 and 4. "Melvine."  5. "Mom & Melvine." 6. "Nell-Mel." 7, 8 and 9. "Mel." 10. "Melvine Mom." 11. No caption. 12. "Fran-Mel Mom Nell Blanch Hal." 13. "Mom-Melvine." 14. "Norma Nell & Mel Teen & Joan." 15. "Larry Dean Melvine  16. "Pete Twiller" 17. "Melvine Jerry Baggelo."

Click on Melvine in labels to see the rest.

The Final Melvine Album Page

This is the third, and as of right now, the final Melvine album page.  Melvine was a little girl from Buffalo, Wyoming, at some point moved to a suburb of Seattle, and eventually ended up in the military.  Other than that, I don't know anything about the lady.  Click on Melvine in labels at the bottom of the post to see the other two pages.

Anyway, it's kind of hard to read the white grease pencil captions, so top to bottom of the individual photos. 1. On the side of the image, "New Years Day In Buffalo." and underneath, "Nell & Marie."  2. "Larry Fritz Bud Hal."  3. "Melvine Marie Nell." 4. "Dad Mom." 5. "Dad Mom Buffalo Wyo." 6. "Mom & Dad Buffalo." 7. "Melvine" 8. "Jerry Melvine Larry Bev." 9. No caption. 10. "Aunt Mae & Uncle Ray."

Another Melvine Album Page

Since I've been complaining about antique sellers cutting up photo albums, I might as well continue with the theme.  Awhile back, I purchased an album page built around a little girl named Melvine.  I've found two more pages from that album, I'll be putting up both sides of one page now, and save the other one for latter.  Click on Melvine in labels at the bottom of the post to see the other page and read something about her home town, Buffalo, Wyoming.

This time, I took the time to look up Melvine and Buffalo, Wyoming.  What I found was about a Melvine not pictured on this page, but it's such a unique name, and since Buffalo is such a small place, they've got to be related.  That Melvine died in 2015 at the age of 106.  She was born in Verdel, Nebraska.  When she was 4 years old, she and her family moved to Idaho.  In 1919, in a pair of covered wagons, they moved to Wyoming.  Melvine began her work life at a young age, as a cook, and continued preparing food for a good portion of her life.  She even wrote a cookbook.  What was really fascinating, at her death, she held the world's record for the longest survivor of breast cancer.  She was diagnosed at the age of 49.  Quick math, 57 years survival.  She was one of five children, the mother of two, the grandmother of five,  she had 14 great grandchildren, and three great great grandchildren.  Of course, that count was at the time of her death, and there may be more of the great great variety by now.   Time to state the obvious, one of those many family members is the Melvine of this album.

The four wallet photos in the right hand column are labeled, "8th, 9th, 10th, 11th"  Clearly class photos.

Melvine's Album Page, The Other Side

I looked it up, and couldn't find a Roxbury Heights in Buffalo, Wyoming.  I did, however, find one in Seattle, Washington.  The last post found a first and third grade Melvine in Wyoming. in 1940 and 1942, the year before and the year after America's entry into Word War 2.  On this side of the album page, Mel is twelve years old, so probably around 1946 or 47.  I suspect the war moved Melvine and her family from rural Wyoming to war work at one of the aircraft factories or shipyards around Puget Sound.  The war is over and there's no reason to return to small town life.

My father, a World War 2 veteran thought the war was good for a lot of Americans.  His reasoning was that both the war and the great depression forced people, content to live small town, isolated lives, into the greater world around them.  Of course, he survived.

For those having trouble reading the captions, in order, "Mel & Penny," "Bev Ron Marie & Judy,"  "Mel-12 yr old," "Birthday party 12 yr old Roxbury Hgts,"  "Mel,"  "Mel & Baby Ann Peirson," "Mel," and "Mel at Ann Butlers."