Gurley Lions Club serving the Gurley community since 1948

From Our Past XXIX

More Faces from Gurley's Past

The photos below picture local citizens having a good time around the Elijah Walker house on Gate Street. The girls to the right are all dressed up, perhaps for one of the Walker daughter's birthday party. The cow riding shot shows a partial view of the front of the Walker house. These four photos were taken in the early 1900s, probably 1915 - 1925.

Families loved to have group photos taken sitting in their new T Model Ford automobiles. Dirt roads made the riding rough but to these early automobile owners, the ride was a new and exciting luxury compared to the old horse and buggy. These new motor machines were about to change the American lifestyle forever and the residents of Gurley were not to be left out.

Our two ladies below are all clothed in their finest dresses, typical period styling in the late 1800's. One has to wonder how long it took to assemble and put these dresses on. It had to be a tedious affair. It is hard to imagine wearing dresses like this in the heat of summer. The Hattie Lurnney photo had turned a very dim light brown and had to be enhanced to make it visible. Maybe Hattie actually played that guitar.

Some of these Gurley resident faces are unknown because names were never added to the backs of the photos. These photos were found in the Walker trunks and photo albums so they were no doubt friends or family members to the Walkers, Gurleys or Criners. If any of our readers can identify these faces, please notify the Gurley webmaster so names can be added.

It is most interesting to observe the fashion and styling of clothes at the turn of the century. Women with their long billowing dresses and layers of petticoats and men with their vests, starched stiff collars, double breasted suits and assortment of ties must have presented a challenge in the simple task of dressing. Businessmen wore these styles everyday to work whether they worked in the bank or hardware store. On Sunday, everyone wore their finest to church.

These last two photos were scanned from darkened metal plates and were hardly recognizable due to their bad deterioration. The wonder of computer enhancement brought these images back to life and allowed us to get a better view. It is probable these portraits were taken around 1875-85. In the mid to late 1800s photography was still in its infancy and most portraits were captured on glass and metal plates. Images in most of the daguerreotypes shown in earlier chapters of this series were on glass and many of the other photos were captured on metal plates. All those images on glass and metal plates were taken in the late 1800s. Paper photo prints became the standard photo medium in the early 1900s.

Thank you William for sharing this information left in your care by your ancestors.