Happy Father’s Day to Dearly Departed Thomas Blake Day, Legend in Everyone’s Mind.

Mom and Dad hardly ever made photo albums. Mom allowed me to sort through drawers of photos to fish out photos of both of them.

Mom and Dad and their friends. Hal and Joyce Young in front. George Gordon Knight on left in back.
Almost the same group as above.
Mom and Dad at Lake George.
That’s Hal on the right.
Good friend from Cornell days
That’s Aunt Phyllis Day in center. Wife of Tom’s late brother, Dick Day
Joyce, Hal, Mom, Dad in Burmuda
That’s Joyce on right
Joyce, Hal, skip, GG, Mom, Dad in Burmuda
Dad and Mom possibly on a boat.
Looking good in a suit
Scrambling eggs with a smile
Hoover dam?
Sanibel Island
Mom’s childhood friends, twins Cindy and Susan, on the left.
Ft. Myers, FL
Phyllis and Dick Day with Dad
Bunch of guys I don’t know except GG in front on right. Dad behind him.
Retirement party with grandson Marco and Andre Patenaude and Jack Colgan, his other grandson, in foreground. Marco is my son. Jack is my nephew.
Dad with Mom’s friend Cindy and her husband.
Guy in striped shirt lived in Dad’s freshman dorm at Cornell. Bruce and Nancy Steele.
Giving Marco a 22 for Christmas.
Dad in truck while his backyard pool construction is begun
Dad and Bruce Steele
Dad in background with dog Scruffy
Bruce Steele and Dad
Bruce Steele and Dad
Dad with Kim (George Gordon Knight’s daughter) and her husband, John Casadante.
My brother Tom Day (Jr) and Dad
Dad with Jack Colgan, his second of three grandsons
Dad in Sanibel Island Florida prepping strawberries
Dad with either Jack or Drew Colgan
Dad showing me something in the Vermont Atlas I think.
In my back yard on Mother’s Day. Tom Jr on right. Marco in back.
Giving Marco a 22 for Christmas
Giving Marco a 22 for Christmas
Dad being given a ballon that said “evil one” as he was proudly known by neighbor, Doreen. Tom Jr is to Dad’s right. Marco and I are over on the left.
Dad and Marco and a cat named Mork at log home in Hartland
Building a deep pool.
On the cover
Hoover dam
Bermuda
Snowmobiling
Snowmobiling
Sedona Arizona
Sedona Arizona
Snowmobiling.
Plowing as he often did. Arms open wide, smiling.
Sporting the golfer’s tan in his boat at Lake George
Snorkeling at Lake George
Thomas Blake Day
Chillin at Lake George on GG’s deck
Chillin probably at Lake George
Digging hole in back yard for pool
At Gettysburg which he loved to visit.
Gettysburg
Gettysburg
Gettysburg
Opening a Christmas gift.
At Ponte Vedra with Rascal, his favorite dog
Hawaii
Golf
Unknown where
Nice golf course I’m sure he was enjoying
He loved snowmobiling
Grand Canyon
Ft. Myers, FL
Not sure where
Not a deer he shot
With a fraternity brother at Cornell. Late 1950’s.
At the Robert Day Deans Commissary on Long Island serving the kitchen help some wine. Or, on the set of the Sopranos? Mid 1960’s.
Mount Washington with Marco, 1990
Dad at Eleazars, his nightclub in White River Junction, VT, in mid 1970’s.
Front of Eleazars back in the day. Dad made the sign in the TV room of our home in New York. Building burned down in the 2010’s.
Dad’s employees at his swimming pool construction company gave him a blow up doll named “Bubbles” for his birthday. 1980’s? It was a different time…
Dad liked talking on the phone. Wish I could call him up right now.

Duncan Dunbar, Husband of Marion Evans Eaton Dunbar

This post is a mix of my grandfather, his family of origin, his ancestors, offshoots, his wife and a little bit of her family, and his own children. The “offshoots” take the form of my grandfather’s aunt’s family, the Parmly’s. They are a Vermont family. Some of them went to New Jersey. There’s a fascinating account of my grandfather’s second(?) cousins, one of whom married a man who’d been convicted of manslaughter. My mom wondered why her father never mentioned anything about that. And yet, not exactly a point of pride.

Duncan Dunbar, My mother’s father. (1894-1977)
Duncan Dunbar as a youth
Duncan Dunbar with his father, who was 65 when he was born. Wallace Dunbar was a wholesaler of red and yellow ochre.
Wallace Dunbar, my great grandfather. (1833-1911). Son of the Reverend (also called Pastor) Duncan Dunbar, below.
Pastor Duncan Dunbar, (1790-1864), grandfather of my grandfather, Duncan Dunbar. Pastor Duncan Dunbar was father of Katharine Dunbar, who was my grandfather’s aunt. She married a minister named Wheelock Hendee Parmly.

Reverend Duncan Dunbar wrote a book. Here is a bio of him.

My grandfather, Duncan Dunbar
Katharine Parmly
This is a granddaughter of Katharine Dunbar, (later Katharine Dunbar Parmly), wife of Wheelock Hendee Parmly. I’ve seen this girl’s name spelled Katherine, but her own photo album has Katharine as the spelling. Her parents were Duncan Dunbar Parmly and Carrie Johnson Parmly. And there’s a story about them!
My grandfather’s side of family, unsure who exactly. Is it Katharine Parmly?
Unknown, but she looks to me like Katharine Parmly, daughter of Duncan Dunbar Parmly and Carrie Johnson Parmly. Will link to interesting story about her family.
Probably my Great Aunt Margaret, Duncan Dunbar’s sister. Another picture of her below farther below with her siblings.
Elizabrth Parmly, daughter of Duncan Dunbar Parmly who was son of Katharine Dunbar and Wheelock Parmly.
I believe this is Katharine Parmly.
I believe this is Katharine Parmly.
Wheelock Hendee Parmly, D.D. This is the husband of my grandfather’s aunt, Katharine Dunbar. (I know it’s confusing to have two Katharines). They had named their son Duncan Dunbar Parmly. (Confusing to have so many Duncan Dunbars).
Here he is again. Died in 1894, the year my grandfather was born.
Here is Katharine Dunbar Parmly, my grandfather’s aunt. She died in 1877. She’s the grandmother of the three Parmly children in the story linked to elsewhere. The children’s names were Katharine, Henry, and Elizabeth Parmly.

Bio of Wheelock Hendee Parmly who married Katharine Dunbar, daughter of Pastor Duncan Dunbar.

Carrie Johnson Parmly (wife of Duncan Dunbar Parmly) and Katharine Parmly as an infant.
Katharine and Elizabeth Parmly, daughters of Carrie Johnson Parmly and Duncan Dunbar Parmly. Elizabeth married a man who had been convicted of manslaughter.
Here is the business associate of Duncan Dunbar Parmly, Henry G. Marquand. They financed electricity projects together all over the country. Duncan named his son after him: Henry Marquand Parmly.
Maybe Woods Hole, MA.
Marion Evans Eaton, my grandmother, on left, before she married.
And here is Duncan Dunbar Parmly, son of Wheelock Hendee Parmlee and Katharine Dunbar. He married Carrie Ella Johnson and they had Katharine, Henry, and Elizabeth.
“H.M.P.” I learned that this is Henry Marquand Parmly. He is the brother of the two girls pictured above. His middle name is due to his father’s association with a wealthy financier who is part of the story I’ll link to. Henry drowned as a young man.
This might be Henry M. Parmly
Another picture of Katharine Parmly, the oldest of the three. She is the one who passed down the photo albums to my grandfather.
Katharine Parmly
My mother’s parents, Marion and Duncan Dunbar (Grandson of Pastor Duncan Dunbar)
Unknown on the left, (Could it be Spencer Eaton?), unknown child, Duncan and Marion Dunbar, Helen Eaton on right (Spencer and Marion’s sister)
1925 Marion and Duncan Dunbar (My grandparents). My mother’s name is Beth Day.
Marion’s uncle, Daniel Emery Eaton, possibly at Marion’s wedding. Unknown child, perhaps one of Uncle Emery’s grandsons. Daniel Emery Eaton is grandfather of Elizabeth “Connie” Converse. See previous posts of the Eatons.
My grandparents, Marion and Duncan Dunbar
Either my mother, Beth, or Martha, her sister (who died before she was born), and their Uncle Spencer Eaton, who is their mother’s brother.
Left to right: My Great Aunt Margaret, my Grandfather (Duncan Dunbar), my Great Aunt Christina. Duncan’s father, Wallace Dunbar (namesake of his own son, farther below), married a twenty year old at age fifty with whom he had four daughters. At age sixty five, they had Duncan.
Wally, Duncan, Martha (who died when she was four), Marion, and Randy. Duncan and Marion would have one more daughter, Beth, several years later. Beth is my mother.
Duncan Jr, Randolph, Wallace
In rear: Duncan, Randolph, Duncan Jr, Wallace. In front: Beth (my mother), and Marion.
In rear: Randolph and Wallace. In front: Duncan, Beth, Marion, Duncan Jr.
Randolph and Duncan Jr
Martha and Wallace
Martha and Wallace
Duncan Jr
Randolph Dunbar, my mother’s brother, who was named after Randolph Parmly, brother of Wheelock Henry Parmly. Randolph is the name of the town in Vermont where the Parmly’s lived. It’s 30 minutes from where I live now.
Another photo album recently discovered contains more pictures of the Parmly family. Here are Katharine and Wheelock. Below is Wheelock’s brother.
The original Randolph Parmly. Pretty sure he named a son Randolph, too.
Backs of heads: John and Alden Eaton (sons of Spencer Eaton). Standing: Duncan Dunbar. Seated by window: Randy and Ethel Dunbar. On right: Spencer’s wife, Eleanor. See previous posts about the Eatons.
Ethel Dunbar by window, Eleanor Eaton in center, Marion and Beth on the right. Backs of heads: John and Alden Eaton. Spencer was taking photo.
Randy, Wallace, and Duncan Dunbar, Brownie the dog, unknown Bunny.
Randy, Wally, Duncan Jr
Duncan Dunbar and Duncan Dunbar III, 1958?
Wheelock Hendee Parmly was presumably named after Eleazar Wheelock, founder of Dartmouth college. Wheelock Hendee Parmly, a pastor, married my grandfather’s aunt, the daughter of a pastor, Duncan Dunbar.
Duncan Jr and Duncan III
My mother, Beth Day, with her parents. 1940’s.

Marion Evans Eaton Dunbar (Part IV) including her niece, Connie Converse

Scroll down for photos of Connie Converse as a child playing with Marion’s children. Howard Fishman wrote a book about Connie Converse published in 2023 called “For Anyone Who Ever Asks”. Her music is available on Spotify and Apple Music.

Daniel Brown Eaton and his first wife, my great great grandparents.
Daniel Brown Eaton and his granddaughter Marion Evans Eaton who is my grandmother
Martha Evans Eaton, future wife of Joseph Smith Eaton, mother of Marion, my great grandmother
Marion
Marion, Helen, Spencer
Martha Evans Eaton, Marion’s mother
Marion
Marion and Spencer
Marion
Marion and Duncan Dunbar with first four of five children. Left to right: Duncan Jr, Wallace, Martha, Randolph. Martha died at age four. Marion and Duncan’s fifth child, Elizabeth Hathaway Dunbar, is my mother, Beth Day.
Spencer
Eaton Christmas tree
Marion who resembles her great great granddaughter, Hadley Day, in this photo. Aunt Julia Eaton is sister of Joseph Smith Eaton.
Marion and her father, Joseph Smith Eaton
Home of Daniel Brown Eaton
Marion
Martha Eaton with Spencer and Marion who resembles Hadley Day in this photo.
Marion
This child bears a resemblance to Marion but I’m not certain it’s her. She’s usually in a dress in pictures. This is a boyish look. But Spencer had blond hair at this age. Could very well be Marion.
Duncan Dunbar Jr, Randolph Dunbar, and believed to be Evelyn Eaton Converse’s son, Phil Converse (sister of Elizabeth “Connie” Converse)
Martha Evans Eaton
Joseph Smith Eaton
Joseph Smith Eaton
Martha Evans Eaton possibly with one of her grandchildren.
Martha and Joseph Eaton with Marion’s second son, Randolph Dunbar.
Duncan Dunbar Jr. in center, first son of Marion. Other boys believed to be Marion’s nephews. sons of Evelyn, who is daughter of Daniel Emery Eaton, who is brother of Joseph Smith Eaton. He was known to Marion as Uncle Emery. The older boy (on the left) would be Paul Converse. On the right in the front would be Phil. Converse.
Duncan Jr. in center, with his brother, Randolph crouched in front on left. Connie Converse on right. Two boys in boat on left are believed to be Connie’s brothers, Phil and Paul.
Same group of children as above. Left to right: Connie Converse, Phil Converse, Duncan Dunbar Jr, Randolph Dunbar, and Paul Converse in back.
Duncan Jr and Duncan Dunbar, Marion’s husband. Fishing.
Marion’s first four children. Left to right; Duncan Jr., Randolph, Martha, and Wallace. Martha died when she was four. My mother, Beth Day, was born a few years later. I knew these boys as Uncle Duncan, Uncle Randy, and Uncle Wally.
Left to right: Connie Converse’ sister-in-law, Connie’s brother, Phil Converse, Marion (who was Phil and Connie’s aunt), and Elizabeth “Connie” Converse.
Connie Converse’s mother, Evelyn Eaton Converse, cousin of Marion. She is daughter of Daniel Emery Eaton who is Joseph Smith Eaton’s brother.
Unknown child on far left. Connie’s brother (Paul), Connie Converse in center with blond hair, Randolph Dunbar, Duncan Dunbar, Connie’s other brother (Phil) on far right.
From Howard Fishman’s Instagram, a photo of Daniel Emery Eaton (Marion’s Uncle Emery) who is Joseph Smith Eaton‘s brother. He is the father of Evelyn Eaton Converse who is Connie Converse’s mother. So he is Connie’s grandfather. Evelyn is Marion’s first cousin.

Marion Eaton Evans Dunbar family continued

Scroll to end for:

1-a letter to Marion from Joseph Smith Eaton about her mother’s grave sight.

2–a letter confirming Martha Evans Eaton as a Daughter of the Revolution, and

3-an ancestry.com list of the Eatons

Spencer Eaton, Martha, Helen, Marion clustered on left. The woman on far right is Ella Everett Eaton, wife of Emery Eaton who is Joseph Smith Eaton’s brother. The woman on step in the center is Aunt Dora Eaton (perhaps a sister of Joseph)
The Highlands, Taunton, Massachusetts
Marion Evans Eaton 1998
Martha Ellen Evans Eaton, Marion, and Martha’s sister, Elizabeth (Aunt Lizzie)
Helen, Marion, Spencer Eaton
Marion with her father, Joseph Smith Eaton, in front of his garden (on west side of 20 Greylock Ave, Taunton, Mass.
Spencer Eaton
Marion
Spencer Eaton
Martha Evans
Spencer Eaton
Martha Evans
Martha Evans
Spencer E. Eaton, Taunton High School, ‘21
Martha Evans Eaton with her granddaughter, Martha Dunbar, daughter of Marion. Martha died at age four. Dated 8/26/33
Marion on left. Marion’s Aunt Julia standing in back, Martha Eaton seated on right. The grandfather, Daniel Brown Eaton, is seated. His second wife was Emily. Not sure the names of the other grandchildren but likely Evelyn, Everett, Blythe.
Marion and Spencer
Spencer
Spencer taking picture of his sister Helen Eaton
Martha Evans Eaton in her Cohanett Street home
Daniel Brown Eaton and Marion
Daniel Brown Eaton and Marion
Daniel Brown Eaton and Marion
Daniel Brown Eaton and Marion
Daniel Brown Eaton and Marion
Daniel Brown Eaton and probably Spencer
Aunt Julia Ann Eaton, Martha Eaton, Joseph Smith Eaton
Duplicate
Marion Eaton with dolls and dogs
Martha and Joseph Eaton
Joseph Smith Eaton, Marion’s father
Letter to Marion from her father in 1949 about her mother’s grave
Joseph Smith Eaton died in 1950
Letter to Martha from Daughters of the American Revolution
March 16, 1909

The following lists are spotty and not documentary proof but simply people on the internet entering info about the relatives on ancestory.com.

Daniel Brown Eaton was born October 20, 1823 in Weare, NH
Everett Jewell Eaton was born about 1891 in NH. He was son of Daniel Brown Eaton and brother of Joseph Smith Eaton.
Joseph Smith Eaton was born June 1, 1868, in Meredith, NH, and died in 1950.

Spencer Evans Eaton was born January1, 1901, to Joseph and Martha Eaton.

Still More Eaton Family via Marion Evans Eaton Dunbar

Martha Evans Eaton and Joseph Smith Evans
Joseph Smith Evans
Martha Evans Eaton
Evans Family Homestead
Wedding of Duncan Dunbar and Marion Eaton with Helen Eaton on right.
Marion Evans Eaton
Spencer, Marion, Helen with their mother, Martha Eaton
Unknown
Marion Eaton standing in front of tree
Snow
Joseph Smith Eaton and sister Julia at their father’s house (Daniel Brown Eaton)
Unknown
Taunton MA neighborhood of the Eatons
Home of Daniel Brown Eaton
Lake in background
Marion Eaton on right
Marion Eaton in garden
Marion in back, second from left, Helen Eaton on right
Marion on left, possibly cousin Evelyn on right
Marion with baby Spencer
Spencer, Helen, Marion, with their mother, Martha Eaton
Spencer taking picture of Helen
Martha Evans on right with her sister
Alden Eaton, son of Spencer
Marion on left
Marion with baby Spencer
Marion, her Aunt Julia, grandfather Daniel Brown Eaton at his home, mother Martha on the right
Helen Eaton, Marion’s sister
Left to right: Unknown, Spencer, Martha in back, Marion and Helen in front, unknown on right. In chairs: Unknown but possibly Martha’s parents.

Eaton and Evans and Dunbar continued

Everett Jewell Eaton (son of Daniel Emery Eaton who was Joseph Smith Eaton’s brother and therefore cousin of Marion). Interestingly, this man became a banker in White River Junction, VT, near where Marion’s daughter, Beth (my mother), later lived. When my parents (Tom and Beth Day) moved to the area in 1972, my father’s business did its banking at the same bank Everett Jewell Eaton was still directing into his mid 70’s. Much later, around the year 2000 or so, his great grandchild(?) was in my son’s class at Hartford High School.
“Sanders home? Aunt Julia and Marion with ??” Not sure if this description is correct. (Julia is Joseph Smith Eaton’s sister). And no indication who woman in chair is. We think the man is Daniel Brown Eaton (Marion’s grandfather). Could the woman be his first wife? (She died when Marion was very young). Sign on the house says “post office”.
Helen and Spencer Eaton
Marion on right in front. Looks like Helen in back on left. Probably Spencer front in center. Don’t yet know who other two children are.
Front: Spencer, Helen. Rear: Carrie Wilbur, Aunt Julia (sister of Joseph), Martha Eaton, Ruth Wilbur, Marion Eaton. 20 Greylock Avenue.
Spencer Eaton with his father, Joseph Smith Eaton
Grandpa Daniel Brown Eaton holding Helen, Marion standing, second wife of Grandpa (Emily) holding Spencer after is accident. Don’t know what the accident was.
Family group in front of Grandpa Eaton’s home. Left to right: Joseph Smith Eaton, Martha Evans Eaton holding Spencer (Helen wasn’t born yet) with Marion at her knee, Aunt Ella (wife of Emery) , Emily (second wife of Daniel), Daniel Brown Eaton, Julia Eaton (sister of Joseph and Emery). Seated on grass in front of Daniel and Emily: Everett and Evelyn. The child looking up at the stick is probably Blythe. Emery Eaton is holding the stick.
Daniel Smith Eaton is believed to have had seven children though a few did not survive childhood. (Note: Everett Jewell Eaton, Evelyn Eaton and Blythe Eaton are the children of Emery and Ella Eaton. Emery’s full name was Daniel Emery Eaton, but he was called Emery).
Marion, Spencer, Helen
Marion and Spencer
Spencer or Helen
Spencer Evans Eaton
Marion Evans Eaton
Marion
Marion, Helen, Spencer
Unknown what this is about. There are a few pics in the collection of tents but nothing written on them. Could that be Marion on the left?
Unknown.
Marion on the right?
I think Marion is on the ground on the left. This is a double exposure and very mysterious.
Daniel Emery Eaton and unknown in tent.
Eleanor Way Eaton, wife of Spencer Eaton.
What is going on?
Aunt Christina or Aunt Margaret (sister of Duncan Dunbar, Marion’s husband)
Looks like Marion on the right
Marion on the right
Unknown
Looks like Marion on the right
Interesting 🧐
Marion on the right
Possibly a teacher because the tag he’s wearing says “summer school”
Possibly same guy as above on a different day. Tag also says “summer school”
Marion and Duncan Dunbar’s Wedding announcement 1925
Eleanor Way Eaton, Spencer’s wife.

Marion Evans Eaton Dunbar – My Grandmother

Still not sure who is in the chairs. But we think it might be Martha Evans’ parents. We haven’t looked up the names but think they might be in ancestry dot com. We don’t know who is on far right and far left.
Probably Spencer Eaton
Martha Eaton front left, then Spencer, then Helen. Marion Eaton upper right. We don’t know who the other three women are. The one on the left looks like someone in other pictures (not in this post) who might be Joseph Eaton’s sister. But not sure.
Helen, Marion, Spencer Eaton
Marion Eaton center in white dress, skip one boy to right of her, then Spencer and Helen.
(Starting from left: Eaton cousins: Karl Trafron Taylor, Everett, Evelyn, Marion, Blythe, Helen. )
Marion Eaton
Marion Eaton
Marion and Spencer Eaton
Martha Ellen Evans Eaton in her Cohannet (?) Street, Taunton, MA, home
Marion Eaton
Marion Eaton
Probably Spencer Eaton
Marion Eaton on far left. Unknown in middle. Possibly Helen on far right.
Marion with quart measure and apron in driveway of 20 Greylock Ave, Taunton, Mass.
Marion with her doll carriage in driveway at 20 Greylock Ave
Marion with her doll carriage in driveway at 20 Greylock Ave
Marion Eaton and Duncan Dunbar on their wedding day, September 12, 1925
Marion Dunbar
Marion on left, Spencer in center, Sophie Boatright(?). We don’t know who she is. Or where this was taken. A ship?
Unknown on far left, then Spencer, Martha, Marion center front, then Helen. Unknown on far right. On chairs: not sure.
Taunton MA. (?) Marion in the garden.
Marion, Helen, Spencer
Joseph Smith Eaton, father of Marion. Presumably Taunton.
Martha standing behind child. Unknown who else in picture. The small children may be Marion and Spencer.
Grandchildren of Daniel B. Eaton. Left to right: Karl Trafton Taylor, Everett Eaton, Evelyn Eaton, Marion Eaton, Blythe Meredith Eaton, Spencer Evans Eaton, Helen Eaton.
Unknown but looks like Joseph Eaton home.
Probably Marion in garden. Probably Taunton. Around 1900.
Dr Edward (?) Everett home (?) (can’t read handwriting ) “Sammie”? Possibly Helen on left? (wild guess) Also: “Curtis home in Guilford”
Martha Evans Eaton with children on steps of Grandpa Eaton’s home on high Street, Meredith, NH.
Two unknown children (cousins?) and Spencer and Marion.
Spencer, Marion, Helen
Marion graduating
Marion with Mother’s doll carriage
Living room flower decorations on wedding day, September 12, 1925. (Marion and Duncan’s wedding) “MED’s wedding setting”
Woods Hole friends. Front row: Ruth De Mings(?), Marion Beebe(?).
Rear: Isabelle Hunter, Marion Eaton, B. Gilman (?), Mildred Jaquis(?), Helen Eaton.
Marion playing in her driveway at 20 Greylock Ave, Taunton, Mass.
Duncan Dunbar and Marion before or after marriage unknown
Their first address
Grandfather Daniel Brown Eaton (in back) with grandchildren. Left to right: Blythe, Marion, Evelyn. Probably Everett Eaton and Karl Trafton Taylor but names not listed on back of photo. Front row: Helen, Spencer on right in front.
Marion and Spencer Eaton

My Dad’s Parents

Dad had these pics in his desk.

Beatrice Keeney Day

.

Beatrice Keeney Day

I think this next one was before she was married.

Beatrice Keeney

.

.This is my grandmother’s sister, Faye.

Francis Keeney Hildebrandt

.And here’s my grandfather.

Robert Blake Day

.

Robert Blake Day

.

Pics send home from time in army during WW1 followed by later years reading NYT.

.

With friends? (Or Aunt Faye’s husband) on vacation somewhere?

.

That looks like Aunt Faye on the left.

They traveled a lot with friends during retirement.

.

1959 Wedding

I saw my parents’ wedding photos before I’d ever been to a wedding. I was so young that their wedding was less than ten years in the past (by the time I saw the photos) but I interpreted them as having been taken a hundred years ago. They’re in black and white! All the other photos I’d ever seen were in color.

Let’s take a look at these puppies.

The bride:

Elizabeth Hathaway Dunbar

This is the first time I remember seeing my mom without glasses. And I approved. But I didn’t recognize her as the same person. 🤓

Always wondered what that woman on the left was doing and why she was even in the picture. And why the gloves?
Once again was never sure what was going on in the photo. Is my mother attaching a flower to my grandmother’s dress? My grandmother always wore plain, plain dresses and this one was shiny. I wished she would dress like that more often.
Why is my mom busy helping dress her parents when she’s the one getting married? Why does my grandfather not dress like that all the time? Duncan Dunbar was his name.
Now here are people I knew and loved: Aunt Phyllis (married to Richard Day) and Susie Day. My great grandfather, Grandpa Keeney, in the background, was gone by the time I was old enough to remember him.
I did recognize the second bridesmaid but didn’t know her well. She and I shared the same name. She passed away right before my father did.
Always loved this pic and wanted to get chosen to be a flower girl someday but I didn’t have a dress that fancy or hair that curly so wasn’t sure I could pull it off. Never aspired to be a bride though. That whole scene looked really awkward.

Everything about this scene looked nerve-racking to me. That it’s in black and white makes it more ominous.

1950’s vibes

Above is essentially the first and almost last time you see my father’s side of the family.

And finally you can really see the groom, Thomas Blake Day. I remember looking at the flowers and wishing church always had flowers. Church was a scary place to me.

They look marvelous.

Great pic of them both.

Where are they going? I always sort of wondered.

I never understood why this kid is seeming to take a confrontational stance with the bride’s maids. And who is he?

Why are all these guys kissing my mom? Ew. If you have to get kissed in public in a fancy dress, forget it. Ew.

I always wondered why my dad was yelling at this kid. Also, again, who is that kid?

Last time my uncles show up in a picture of this wedding. (They’re the two guys next to my dad. Richard Keeney Day and Robert Blake Day).
Lovely.
This pic always confused me. Is that guy flirting with my mom? Why is she striking that pose? That’s my grandmother on the right.

Always thought cutting cake in gloves indoors was an odd choice.

A kid who got cake of her white gloves would have been chastised.

Cake seemed to me like a good enough reason to go through the struggle of a wedding.

This made sense to me because my grandfather was a caterer and I knew that meant serving food. Plus my dad’s father always wore suits. Robert Blake Day of Robert Day Deans catering of New York City.

Always wondered where my dad was going.

Rare glimpse of my dad’s mother to right of bride.

Do people even have receiving lines anymore? In many ways it’s a nice tradition but I can see why it faded away.

As a kid I always thought this business of everyone standing around shaking hands looked unnerving. What are they talking about?

It’s a cute pic of my mom and I wondered what the woman had said to her to prompt that expression.

There was something about the black and white that always made this seem like a silent movie from a century ago.

I wondered if my mom was getting reprimanded by her mom. Could she have done something wrong? That’s one of my mom’s brothers (Wallace Dunbar) in the background. I don’t see the other two brothers in any of the pictures. (Their names were Duncan Dunbar, Jr. and Randolph Dunbar).

My grandfathers know each other? The two men were so different. What could they be talking about? Next time I saw them together was at my piano recital in about 1968. That was the last time.

When I was young I didn’t really see my dad smile a lot. He scowled. But then later on he seemed to loosen up. Then went back to scowling.

Here they are with both sets of parents. This is the only full on photo of my dad’s mom, Beatrice Keeney Day. Why does mother of the groom get short shrift?

Someone had to explain this to me. It looked dangerous and spooky to me. Also, first we’re in church and then we move into superstitions! 👀

I always wondered, Who would my grandmother need to be calling? Marion (Evans) Eaton Dunbar. She had been a librarian and I wondered if she needed to call the library. 🤷‍♀️
But why today? Why during a wedding?
And I guess you were allowed to take off your gloves to use the rotary dial on the phone.

This was one of the few pics that seemed true to life. A kid playing around away from the grown ups made sense. No pretense. Don’t know if my grandfather was in charge or just cruising by.

And there they go. Looking a little more “real” but still dressed up. And my mom still doesn’t have her glasses on. 🤓

Well that was a fun trip down memory lane.

Sixty-six years ago.

Of course now I see that the photographer was talented and was capturing the scenes in the tried and true methods. I get it. But as a kid I had no context. Weddings are play-acting, following traditions. This photo album was someone’s job.

And it was well done. 👏

Dad’s Pools

Because it’s Father’s Day, and because many of the people who worked for my dad called him “Dads”, here’s a post about “Dad at Work”. He had other names, too:

Pool God aka “Golf Man”

These slips of paper were given to him at his Retirement Party. They are a collection of things people said around the office, the job sites, and in the trucks. These are interspersed below with some pics of the pools he built:

This is the pool that my parents finally built for themselves in their back yard. That’s my dad in jeans standing at the rear of the cement truck.

Here it is completed. The shrubbery has since grown and there’s furniture out there now. Dad did the stone work himself.

That’s dad I think on the right in the white cap.

Note from John

I don’t know who John is.

Another view of the pool. Looking toward New Hampshire.

Blurry photo of Dad in his office.

Context free

They had lots of fun at work. My dad was a good boss. He cared about people.

An indoor pool

I can sorta here my dad saying this.

Beautiful:

More of Dad’s stone work

No idea who wrote these

Also beautiful:

Looks like a pond but it’s not

Throwback:

This was one of Dad’s best friends who passed away quite young. He had worked for my dad for years. I think his real name was John.

A bright one

Here’s a scene that may have happened once or often

Another indoor pool

This was at the beginning of the notepad

Must have been sung

Nice

From Gary, who Dad taught how to service pools. Gary still services the pool at my parents’ house.

More stonework

????

Finally:

There was one I left out because it had a homophobic slur. Correctness was not one of the strengths of the workplace.

I think Dad retired 20 years ago. I remember the party they threw him. He was glad to retire but I think a little sad to say goodbye. He visited with people around town though. Several were at the service when he died. As were people from back in his previous business back in the seventies, Eleazars. It was a Rock n Roll palace, bringing up a generation of future rehab attendees. Again, lots of fun! People loved working for him. But he was happy to sell that place, too. He played golf for years after retirement but then had heart problems and type two diabetes and eventually had to stop playing golf all together because his feet would get blisters and wouldn’t heal. He also had COPD and hypertension. But he was never bedbound or in a nursing home or old folks home, something he would have hated. He wanted to go out super fast and Covid seemed to do the trick. Covid triggered the heart attack and then the stroke. He was breathing fine during the whole ordeal and only spent a day or two in the ICU.

Well this has been my first Father’s Day without having a Dad. I think about him constantly. Everyday. I miss him terribly but have lots of memories to cherish. Happy Father’s Day, Dad!

Swimming. In a lake. He hated pools.