Weber Scrapbook - Marbles and Memories

     I came across another fantastic old photo in my Weber files. This one says a great deal on its own - sibling rivalry, kids having fun, games of the 1930s, etc.  But as I was putting together the bits of information about this captured moment in time, there seemed to be more there than the obvious story to tell. 
     Here's brother and sister, Harry and Dolly Weber, intensely involved in a game of marbles.  The vintage is approximately 1935, making their ages 8 and 9.  Love the wool hats anchored on their heads as they stare at the marble game they have drawn in the dirt. Dolly gets ready to take aim and Harry might be giving her pointers.  They are completely oblivious to the photographer, their brother Bob.  Who do you think won this round of marbles?
     But, I have a few more pieces of this story because of where I got the photo. There's no doubt who these two kids are because Bob Weber marked their names in his scrapbook next to the photo. He also wrote the word "jiggs" near the photo.  I presume that's the name of the game they're playing.  Couldn't find jiggs on the Internet, but I did find a page that has everything about marbles games and types of marbles. Did you know there has been a National Marbles Tournament since 1922?  That was fun reading and watching videos, but I needed to get back to my photo. If you'd like to go into the world of marbles, I'm posting a link to this fun page below.
     Anyway, preparing this photo to post on Indiana Ties became more interesting.  Since I scanned Bob's scrapbook page as a whole, containing two other photos, I don't have this marbles photo as a stand alone copy.  Don't know what I was thinking!   So, here I was trying to make a "good copy."  My first thought was to use a computer program to separate this one and straighten it out.  It didn't work - too crooked. So, I did the best I could.  My copy is kind of sideways and still shows the corners holding it into the scrapbook. But after thinking more about the people involved, I think I like it this way.  This version shows the flavor of how Uncle Bob stored these keepsakes.  He also included on the page a photo of their father, Harry, with a huge fish that he caught.  And sister, Gin, is pictured in the middle of a knitting project. (More on those at a later date.)  If I had taken each photo out and scanned them separately I might have lost an ingredient -- Uncle Bob's handiwork and his memories of his family. 
     I believe the Weber Scrapbook has a place all it's own at Indiana Ties.  Stay tuned for more lasting impressions from this scrapbook.
     Thanks for visiting Indiana Ties.

If you would like to have some fun with marbles, here's that website: www.landofmarbles.com
Click here for Weber Family slideshow. 

copyright © Nancy Niehaus Hurley