Ice Storm in 1920

My grandmother, Emily Jean (Ingall) Flick Shafer, enjoyed looking at photographs and organizing her things. Dates were important to her, as she would write the dates of everything she purchased or came across. If she bought a box of cereal, you could guarantee there would be a date written in the corner so she could remember what day she bought the cereal.

These insignificant things to most of us meant everything to her. Her mother, Agnes Jewel (Gallup) Ingall, paid similar attention to details. The letters sent back and forth were full of details about the weather and what they had accomplished that day.

While writing dates on things became a habit later in her life, not all of her childhood photos are dated. Raising six children in the 1920s and 1930s, while grandma Emily was growing up, was not an easy task. Yet, her mother, Agnes, found time to record their family history and organize photos from the 1890s. Emily's father, Harlow Dewey Ingall, managed their Joy Road farm and fruit orchard in Plymouth, Michigan. Both of her parents were actively involved in the local politics, and were advocates for improving the locals school.

In her nineties, Grandma Emily would show us these photos. "That's me, taken during an ice storm. I remember when this happened."

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