1953: McHenry; Gram-Don Betty-Ann, Jack, Barb, Cathy, Ruth and Joe's
Identifier
F.2017-02-0048
Date Of Production
1953
Abstract
Multigenerational family summer vacation footage. A toddler gazes at cows, amazed. Young man puts baby bonnet on head.
Description
First sequence is a light-haired toddler, shirtless, wearing loose-fitting pants and suspenders, running playfully towards and away from the camera, holding an object, likely a toy or a snack. An older man, wearing a patterned shirt and circular framed glasses, stands in the background, ushering the toddler in the direction of the camera, while holding a glass with a beverage.
Then, a wide shot depicts members of the family, outside, in late afternoon light, in front of a cow pasture and a farmhouse, with a grain silo looming in the background. The film cuts to a medium shot of a woman with mid-length hair in a yellow dress holding a baby wearing matching white floral-printed bloomers and bonnet. An arm enters from offscreen to remove the baby’s bonnet. The film cuts to a shot of the arm’s owner, a man in his twenties, wearing khaki, posing with the woman and baby for the camera. Then, a portrait shot with the two children, the woman, and two men, as well as an older woman in a blue dress.
Later, footage from twilight — many members of the party, some of whom we’ve seen before, proceed out from the farmhouse, through the covered walkway onto the lawn. They wave as they pass by the camera. One woman is holding a rake. A young man exits the covered walkway with the man in khaki, tying the baby bonnet around his head. The man in khaki laughs, encouraging him. The camera pans across the horizon to show the family members talking among each other on the lawn. The man in the bonnet picks up a potted plant. Jokingly, he attempts to use the plant to cover the face of a young woman with longer hair wearing what appears to be a maternity dress. The woman laughs.
The final shot is of the child in suspenders standing directly on the other side of a fence of several black and white cows. The man in the patterned shirt stands by. The child and the cows appear to be fascinated by one another.
Then, a wide shot depicts members of the family, outside, in late afternoon light, in front of a cow pasture and a farmhouse, with a grain silo looming in the background. The film cuts to a medium shot of a woman with mid-length hair in a yellow dress holding a baby wearing matching white floral-printed bloomers and bonnet. An arm enters from offscreen to remove the baby’s bonnet. The film cuts to a shot of the arm’s owner, a man in his twenties, wearing khaki, posing with the woman and baby for the camera. Then, a portrait shot with the two children, the woman, and two men, as well as an older woman in a blue dress.
Later, footage from twilight — many members of the party, some of whom we’ve seen before, proceed out from the farmhouse, through the covered walkway onto the lawn. They wave as they pass by the camera. One woman is holding a rake. A young man exits the covered walkway with the man in khaki, tying the baby bonnet around his head. The man in khaki laughs, encouraging him. The camera pans across the horizon to show the family members talking among each other on the lawn. The man in the bonnet picks up a potted plant. Jokingly, he attempts to use the plant to cover the face of a young woman with longer hair wearing what appears to be a maternity dress. The woman laughs.
The final shot is of the child in suspenders standing directly on the other side of a fence of several black and white cows. The man in the patterned shirt stands by. The child and the cows appear to be fascinated by one another.
Format
16mm
Extent
50 feet
Color
Color
Sound
Silent
Reel/Tape Number
1/1
Has Been Digitized?
Yes
Language Of Materials
English
Element
Reversal Positives
Genre
Form
Subject
Related Collections
Related Places
Main Credits
Armstrong, John O. (is filmmaker)
Participants And Performers
Armstrong, Donald L. (is participant)
Armstrong, Betty Wuerfel (is participant)
Armstrong, Jack (is participant)
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