Both of today’s photos are extremely faded. The process of digitally “un-fading” them brings out all sorts of artifacts that look like dirt on the photograph. So that’s why they look so “grimy” (just to warn you). I’m actually surprised that they look as good as they do. A surprising amount of detail is still visible.

These photos appear to have been taken about the same time, when Florence was just weeks old—so probably late June 1910. In both photographs, the subjects are standing on the porch of Arthur and Addie McClain’s home at 1027 E. Seventh Avenue in Albany.

First, Addie with her first baby, Florence. This is as wide a smile as I think I’ve ever seen on Grandma’s face.

It has nothing to do with the primary content of the photograph, but it is interesting to see the view to the east behind Grandma—nothing but bare land and trees where there is now a street, a row of houses, then Hackleman Park. It shows that when Grandpa Arthur built this house in 1908, it really was on the very edge of Albany.

Here are Arthur and Addie together with the baby, on the west side of the same porch.

I imagine those are sweet peas strung up on the front of the porch.