Question:  When is a class photo more than just a class photo?  Answer:  When it is a “Class Photo“, Husdon, Michigan c. 1929 like this one.  This is the first time that we have presented a class photo to our viewers.  It is also presented in the original sepia toned format in which we acquired.  While we could have converted it to black and white, judging from our Facebook response our viewers seem to prefer the sepia as we do.

In viewing this class photo we have to ask ourselves what happened to these children in the coming years?  How did they fare during the Great Depression?  How many of the farm boys served in World War II?  How many did not survive?  We look at this picture knowing that the individuals are children at the time, but that they are probably all deceased by now some 85 years later.  What twists and turns did life take for the “Flapper” (third from the left, second row up from the bottom) or for the “Patriot” (fifth from the left, second row up from the bottom)?

The photo poses more questions than it contains answers.  I suppose that the same can be said for any class photo or school yearbook, but what make this class photo special is knowing that we are looking at the Greatest Generation in the years right before their mettle would be tested.