Ludwig Reunion - 1950 (a)

Mom's notes on the back indicate this was held in New Hope, Pennsylvania.

Ludwig Reunion - 1950 (b)

I'm guessing there were a lot more Ludwigs there than just our clan. Nobody in this picture looks familiar.

Ludwig Reunion - 1950 (c)

I'm pretty sure this is Aunt Doris.

Ludwig Reunion - 1950 (d)

And maybe Aunt Hazel to the right. I gather the game was to fill the coke bottle, one tiny cup at a time. Good' clean, 50's fun.

Ludwig Reunion - 1950 (e)

Doing the macarena - 50's style

Ludwig Reunion - 1950 (f)

Or the conga. I think that's Aunt Doris and Aunt Hazel on the back of the line in the foreground.

Ludwig Reunion - 1950 (g)

BTW, all of these images come from pics that were originally 1" x 1". So they lost a little in resolution as I enlarged them.

Ludwig Reunion - 1950 (h)

If I didn't know better, I'd think this was a rugby scrum.

Ludwig Reunion - 1950 (i)

Okay, this and the next pic are presumably our own our contingent at the reunion. I recognize Hazel & Charlie; John & Doris; Grammy Ludwig; and Janet in the pic.

Ludwig Reunion - 1950 (j)

And maybe my mom with the beatnik shades in the back. That leaves about a dozen others. First one to ID everyone wins a prize. :-)

Unknown (5)

Here's one I need help on. I have no idea who she is, nor where the pic is taken. It looks like our front street in Lenhartsville, but if so, I can't place that wall.

Heiser Wedding (01)

Oh, let's do a wedding or two. I'm pretty sure these are the Heisers. I have no idea of either of their first names. Nor exactly when this wedding took place. UPDATE : Their names are Marion & Pat Heiser. Thanks, Sheri!

Heiser Wedding (02)

That's Dad in the upper left, so he was in the wedding, and probably snapping a couple pics in his spare moments. The man to the far right might be Bill Wolfinger. Or not. I have no idea who the other two prople are.

Heiser Wedding (03)

And I don't recognize anyone in this photo, other than the bride & groom. I'm guessing once again that Dad knew the groom through scouting.

Heiser Wedding (04)

I don't remember being often at the Heisers. They had a daughter named Patty Jean. For some reason I only recall being at their house in the daytime, with Mom and Mrs. Heiser chatting in the kitchen. I think there was a lot of open space (a gentle slope) outside their house. That's about all I can remember now.

Janet & Chuck's Wedding (preview)

Coming soon! Janet and Chuck's wedding. These come from a large number of random, unsorted photos. I've found some from this wedding, but I know there are a few more in the big pile. A la prochaine, mes amis!

Blue Rocks - 1955 (a)

At first I thought this was Aunt Doris, but now I'm not so sure. Anyone know?

Blue Rocks - 1955 (b)

Well, this is Grammy Ludwig and Aunt Sally. Reading was apparently a popular pastime at Ludwig gatherings. I think that's cool.

Blue Rocks - 1955 (c)

Aunt Sally and another mystery lady. I'm leaning towards saying this is a Sawyer lady, but that's a guess only.

Blue Rocks - 1955 (d)

Another unknown gent. Here too, on first glance, it might be Uncle John with short hair. But on second glance, I don't think so. So who is it?

Blue Rocks - 1955 (e)

Some of the ladies out for a walk. The Blue Rocks were one of my favorite places to visit as a kid. I recently tried to locate them on Google Earth, but failed because I don't know which direction they are, coming out of Lenhartsville.

Jersey Beach (01)

A couple pics from a weekend on the Jersey beach. Probably from the early-to-mid 60's. L-to-R, this is Sheri, Nancy ( I think) and Dad. Collecting shells. Sheri's got one of our old family cameras.

Jersey Beach (02)

Oh wow. The guy in the foreground is one of Nancy's high school BF's. I don't remember his name, and I don't know how Nancy talked Mom & Dad into having him come along for the weekend. My recollection is that he was an okay enough guy. I think he and Nancy once took Sheri and I to a local fair, and he was diplomatic about having to lug around a pair of "fifth wheels".

Jersey Beach (03)

And this is the house where we stayed. I *think* this is in Atlantic City, and I *think* Aunt Sally owned it. But I could be wrong on both counts. Hey, cool 60's autos in this pic.

Christmas Past (01)

This card was from the Laudenslagers in 1959. L to R, Dick, Betty, Richard, and Bud. A scouting family. I'm still wondering if Dick and Betty are in some of Dad's old b&w pics, shown here earlier.

Christmas Past (02)

A Christmas card from the Wolfingers, probably also from around 1959. Lets see now - L to R - Bill, Susie, Tommy, and um... I forget the Mom's and Grandpa's name. I do remember that weiner dog though.

Christmas Past (03)

Last of the old Christmas cards. This one was signed "The Kents - Helen, Ed, and Duane". I'll assume Duane is the child pictured. I've yet to figure out where the Kents figure into the Ludwig gatherings. And the only Kents I remember are Charles (aka 'Charlie' and/or 'Chuck'?) and Louise. So I'm not even sure how these three figure into the Kent family.

Koller's Grove - 1955 (a)

At least I'm pretty sure of everyone in this pic - Janet, Joe, and Chuck. Never mind the blurred face in the extreme right of this image.

Koller's Grove - 1955 (b)

Of course, it wouldn't be a Ludwig outing if a card game didn't break out. Some kewl autos in the background. BTW, where the heck is Koller's Grove?

Koller's Grove - 1955 (c)

But there were always good eats, too. I'm not sure who most of the folks in the background are.

Koller's Grove - 1955 (d)

Lessee now - Aunt Doris in the foreground; and Grammy Ludwig second from the left at the table. Janet and Chuck in the background. So who are the rest?

Lenhartsville pic

That's our house in the background. Photo isn't dated, but judging from the cars and the lack of a front sidewalk, this is fairly soon after we moved in. Mom's notes on the back of the photo says these are "the Latshaw girls, Ruth Deck, and Nancy".

Boy Scouts - 01

Dad as the scoutmaster of a Hamburg Boy Scout Troop. Date is unknown. I've come to the conclusion that he truly loved the scouting experience. Alas, I don't think any of us kids inherited that passion. For me at least, Scouting was something I could take or leave.

Girl Scouts - (01)

I think this is Nancy carrying the American flag. Not sure of the location, the date, and why the Girl Scout Troop is from Windsor Castle, not Hamburg. Then again, I'm not even sure where Windsor Castle is with respect to Lenhartsville.

1966 King Frost Parade (01)

Something a bit different from all the family pics. This set of images is from the 1966 King Frost parade in Hamburg, Pennsylvania.

1966 King Frost Parade (02)

And this is "King Frost". Some of the images, including this one, are not of the best quality. This is partly due to the photo-shoot conditions. Dad was quite a bit away from the parade, it was dark, using a flash was of limited value, and the subject(s) were in motion. This was "in the old days", when things like the f-stop, shutter speed, and focal point all had to be set manually.

1966 King Frost Parade (03)

But the other difficulty came when converting these from color slide to jpeg. The scanner, even though it's designed to handle slides, has trouble with slides where the lighting is poor. It tends to say, "Uh-uh!". There are ways around this, but the resolution is crappy.

1966 King Frost Parade (04)

The parade queen.

1966 King Frost Parade (05)

There were several marching bands in the 1966 parade, one of which came all the way from New York. Again, photo conditions were terrible, so please excuse. Hamburg residents might be able to tell exactly where in Hamburg this took place by the neon signs in the background.

1966 King Frost Parade (06)

A typical "float" in the 1966 parade. The King Frost Parade is still held (every October?) in Hamburg, but I haven't seen pics of it in 40 years, so I don't know if its gotten bigger/smaller and/or more/less sophisticated.

1966 King Frost Parade (07)

The pink elephant. Are the kids to the left throwing snowballs at the floats? This is one of the few slides that the scanner didn't have any problems with.

1966 King Frost Parade (08)

Janet and Chuck's float in the parade. "Swamp gas" was a popular explanation of UFO's in the 60's. For some reason, the government isn't as keen on it nowadays. Maybe because of this 'sighting'. ;-)

1966 King Frost Parade (09)

Proof of the ET's (who are NOT swamp gas) evil intentions. They are seen here in the process of abducting Mick.

1966 King Frost Parade (10)

Good-bye, Mick! Sorry about your impending demise. If you get a chance, drop us a line from Mars, or wherever they're taking you.

Black Album 02a

This group of photos comes from an even older album. It seems to chronicle Dad's years from about 1925 thru the 30's. High school and his single years after that. This is obviously a Hamburg High School class picture. I don't know if its his entire class or not. And I don't see him in the picture (altho he might be there), so I'm assuming he's taking the photo.

Black Album 04c

Dad at a Boy Scout camp-out. Is the cat a family pet, or simply a stray that wandered into the Boy Scout camp? Quien sabe?

Black Album 05b

L to R, Aunt Hazel, Grandpa Ludwig, Dad, Grammy Ludwig, and Uncle John. Uncle Charlie Brownmiller was also there that day, so I'm guessing he's taking the pic.

Black Album 08c

There are lots of scouting pictures in the album. I'm wondering if the boy to the right in this pic is Richard Laudenslager. It is said Dad and him met thru scouting, but how far back? Is it possible they were fellow scouts as teenagers?

Black Album 08d

Another scouting pic. Might this be Uncle Bob? I don't know if he was into scouting or not.

Black Album 11b

A picture of where?? I'm guessing it was taken during a Boy Scout hike. I vaguely remember a sanitarium near Hamburg. This is perhaps it? Alternatively, there are a bunch pf pictures of Washington DC immediately after this, so maybe it was taken on the way there. Bottom line - I haven't a clue.