I found her in a thrift store, framed in a shiny metal frame and covered with a sheet of thick glass. She was young. Pretty, too. Garbed in a delicate white dress, she wore a broad bonnet, the type worn early in the twentieth century. Edwardian, I believe. Maybe 1905 or 1906.
Hylda Schmeling
The frame seemed in good condition but a strip of clear tape skimmed the top. When I turned it over, I found another photo hinged to the back. This one was in muted colors and portrayed a young woman. Her short wavy hairdo captured the essence of the 1920’s. The girls sported similar smiles, similar eyes, and each had a partially hidden dimple in her chin, a subtle angel’s touch. Given the time span of the two pictures, and the similarities, I knew they must be of the same girl.
Who was she? How did her lovely images come to be on sale at Goodwill?
I lifted the colored photo taped to the frame’s back and was pleased to find writing. Someone had scrawled the name “Aunt Hylda Schmeling” across the cardboard. All doubts about buying the photos vanished. Little chance Hylda’s lost relatives would venture into the GW and see her there. For $2.99 I was eager to give her a home.
Later I made some online searches for more info about this charming girl. The unusual spelling of her first name, and the city where I found the photos helped. I learned more than I could have hoped.
Hylda Jenson
Born in October 1899, Hylda appears in both the 1900 and 1910 census. Like her mother, Anna, she was born in Wisconsin. Her father, Henry, was born in Germany. One census lists Henry’s occupation as “own income.” So, she wasn’t poor.
In 1916, Hylda Schmeling sang soprano in a chorale at her high school. In 1917, she married Paul Jenson in Winnebago County, Illinois, just across the state border. In 1918 a write-up about the Junior-Senior banquet at her Wisconsin high school reads, “Music was furnished by…Hylda Jenson…and several other skilled pianists.”
The questions raced. Why did she marry in Illinois instead of Wisconsin, where her family lived? Did her German father object to her marriage to a Swedish Paul Jenson? Was she happy in her marriage? Hard to believe otherwise, given her glowing face and sparkling eyes.
Then, in a scanned copy of her 1918 yearbook, I stumbled across yet another entry for Hylda Jenson, nicknamed “Jens”. Her Senior class picture reveals the same sweet smile, the same dimpled chin. Next to it reads:
“This little lassie is a wife
And sees no more of courting life;
Her hubby’s in France,
Awaiting the chance
To put an end to all this strife.”
So Paul went off to war. Is that why they married so young? Did he ever come home to her? Or did she live out her years as a young war widow? Sadly, Hylda herself died in 1934 at age 35. Were there children? If not, is that why her charming photographs ended up on the dusty shelf of the thrift store? None left to mourn her now.
Whatever happened in her life, we know that someone once loved her. She has a story to tell; I hope to tell it. Maybe my words won’t reveal her true story, but given when she lived, I hope she would find it amusing.
I often find my inspiration in old photos such as Hylda’s. Where do you find yours? ∞
Stringing Beads 
Fascinating! Loved the photos and yes…….there is so much to wonder about. I enjoyed your musings……and you really do wonder how someone’s picture ends up at goodwill. Makes me want to write on the back of all the photos I have of family in case one of them ends up there 50 years from now……………………..
I agree! So many photos unmarked with little evidence of who the person is. Sad, isn’t it? Especially when we treasure pictures of our ancestors. Let’s make it a project and every time we look at old (or newer) photos, we’ll identify them. 🙂
Thank you for stopping in. We’ll talk soon.
A treasure, we all can reflect upon.
How cool Deb. And we are so much alike. I always wonder about the story behind old pictures, especially if I come across entire scrapbooks in an antique store. It makes me sad that nobody wanted them. As our family’s historian, I long for family scrapbooks.
I’d have done the exact same research on the photo. I’m addicted to Ancestry.com and the first thing I do with a bit of info like that photo is see if there is a family tree for the person. When I come across info in my genealogy research I always reach out to people with family trees on ancestry so I can help fill in their blanks. Not sure if it’s a hobby or an obsession. 🙂
Lovely story!
Beth
Fantastic story and beautiful photos. You should write Hylda’s story–soon.
Thank you for your comments, Linda and MJ. So glad you liked it. And I do plan to write Hylda’s story, as soon as I can figure out the appropriate conflict.
Beth, I LOVE ancestry.com. So much to learn, and discover. I also collect old, old photos, the little cdv’s and cabinet photos of others. Great inspiration for my historical characters! Just need to keep them well separated from the real family photos so I don’t confuse my sons someday. 🙂 We’ll have a lot to talk about at WisRWA this year.
Thanks again for stopping by!
Thanks for getting in touch, Deb, regarding my Ancestry family tree and sending me Nora’s photo. It’s a nice addition. Very sweet. Where did you find the marriage information? I’d like to add that as well.
DJ, I’m so glad you wrote! I’ve sent a separate email with the link to their marriage and a link also to The Crimson, their high school yearbook.
Your book, MERCY OF THE FALLEN, looks intriguing! Let’s stay in touch.
I’m thrilled that Nancy shared your link with me tonight. I love that you took the time to find out about the pictures you discovered at the thrift store! While teaching I used to cut out interesting pictures from the newspaper and encourage my stories to come up with stories they thought the pictures told. Old photos are more valuable than most might know. Here you’ve been able to find a true story and by the sounds of the comments here add to a family’s ancestral history. Kudos, Deb!
Old photos have always been fascinating to me. So interesting that you used pictures as a way to prompt stories from your students. Fantastic technique. Some writers collage. I attended a workshop on the topic a few years ago. They gather pictures and photographs, fabric scraps, ribbon, flowers…whatever they feel “belongs” in their book and make a collage. It’s a terrific visual to have near while writing a story.
Thanks so much for stopping into Stringing Beads, Rose. I’m looking forward to exploring your knitting blog!
See follow up article – Hylda’s Husband. http://debmaher.com/2011/02/27/hyldas-husband/