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"Lunch at Wild River, 1952." Linda and her mom, with Thermoses in triplicate. 35mm color slide from the "Linda" Kodachromes. View full size.
I also know what it's like to always be the photographer and never the subject of the photo.
Is the rough-hewn log building behind Linda's mom perhaps a picnic shelter at a local or county park in Wild River? I'm trying to figure what else that structure could be, since I'm about Linda's age but don't remember seeing similar lean-tos.
Seems to me the family wanted to have a small adventure and brighten up an otherwise average lunch, even though it was a little chilly outside.
And thank heavens there's a big box of Kleenex brand tissues there to wipe up the occasionally messy faces of little girls at picnics.
Love Linda's flannel-lined pants and big turned up cuffs - turned up that far because they were too long on her. I have a picture of me about the same age wearing flannel-lined jeans with a plaid lining. Both Mom and Linda look cold!
This photo reminds me of Hitchcock's' "The Trouble With Harry".
That's an Aladdin thermos -- Hopalong Cassidy.
If someone had told me this was a colorized B&W photo, I'd think it was badly done. But no, this is the fifties, and those colors are real!
Oh, and I love those bits of food stuck to Linda's face. Her left hand is a mess, too.
Although there are other Wild River sites scattered around the U.S., this scene most likely took place in Jackson, New Hampshire, close to the border of Maine, probably in chilly September.
That must be Linda's mom. Look at those two faces with only a frown and a semi-smile as the difference. OK, mom is wearing lipstick. I believe I spy a Hopalong Cassidy thermos on the table and could the cups and saucers be Melmac dinnerware?
Here's a period ad from the January 1953 Good Housekeeping Magazine with that exact Ritz box. The model looks like it could be Linda herself in a couple years.
Maybe Linda's disappointed that Mom didn't use the Ritz crackers to bake an "apple" pie. Don't laugh: I've had Ritz cracker "apple" pie and it tastes very much like the real thing despite the lack of any actual apples.
She could be thinking, "We left our nice, warm house... for this?" Or maybe she's still not over the tiny piece of cake she got a couple of years earlier on her third birthday.
"Mama, don't take my Kodachrome away!"
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