YOUNG BADERS

Here's a photo of Barbara, age 9 (ca. 1930).  Isn't she cute? Pictures of Barbara in her girlhood always remind me of Kiera when she was little—especially this one!


I assume this is a (badly hand-tinted) school picture; it's glued onto colored construction paper in the form of a small card, so this was probably a school project to make cards for the parents.


Inside, Barbara has written, possibly in crayon: "Me in a (...)" I can't make out the last word, but it might be "beret," which seems to make sense.




 Photos of the eldest Bader brothers, Bobby and Ernie, in childhood are just about nonexistent (except for those few I've already posted). But here's a candid pic of Jeannie as a young teen (of course, it's not dated!), probably mid-1930s.

(Btw, this wire-haired terrier appears in family photos throughout the '30s and '40s. I've always heard about "Doc, the dog," but I have no idea if this is the same Doc in all these photos, or if the Baders had more than one dog named Doc.)


 Here's a candid portrait of three generations of Baders. I don't know where of when it was taken, but judging from the age of Philip (far right), I guess maybe 1937 or '38.

That's clan matriarch Emma Elsner Bader (wife of J. R. Bader) in the foreground. Directly behind her is her daughter, Alma (Carl George Sr's younger sister). Behind Alma is Ernie, and to the right, younger brother Carl George Jr., Edna (Maudie), and little Philip. Carl George Sr. is standing at the left.

The two little girls (identified in another photo I have) are Joan Bader (in front of Carl Sr.) and her sister, Gretchen Bader (next to Philip). They are the daughters of Carl Sr's youngest brother, Jean Bader (he was the child sitting on the moon with mama, Emma, in that vacation postcard I posted awhile ago). Jean does not appear in this photo, but I assume that's his wife, Sara Marshall, mother of the girls, standing between Carl Sr. and Alma.

Here's another snapshot of little Philip and his Bader cousins. Gretchen (left) is one year younger than Philip (born 1933); Joan (right) is two years older (born 1930).

Below is one last image. I'm pretty sure that's Philip (with his very distinctive asymmetrical hairline!), but I'm not at all sure those are Gretchen and Joan in the photo with him. (But then again, who else would it be, so close to his age?) Nor do I have a clue where this was taken. Surely not a parish house; it looks like the steps to a library or some other public building.

But I post this because Philip looks so debonair and soulful for his age!

WEDDING BELLS

Edna Alice McAfee and Carl George Bader were married July 14, 1915, in Worcester, Mass.


 Carl George was assistant pastor at the Methodist Church in Worcester, so I assume that's where this event was held. It certainly looks like the entire parish turned out for the nuptials. In these snapshots, you can see how many people are crowding along the porch railing to watch.


Here's what Barbara has to say about their courtship and marriage in her 12-page letter/memoir, "My Mother":

"(Edna) was born and raised in Worcester, Mass. and was slated to enter Smith College following her high school graduation. Fate stepped in to prevent (it). One of her father's brothers in Scotland died, leaving a widow and young children. The money set aside for Mother's college education went instead to her widowed Aunt and family.



"My father was an impecunious, but extremely well-educated young minister just up from Boston University Divinity School on one of his first charges, as assistant pastor to a Methodist Church in Worcester.


Mother and Father courted and wed in Worcester, Mass. He was 27 and she 22 at their wedding in July of 1915.


"Mother was gently nurtured by both her parents. Her mother was one of those energetic women who couldn't bear anyone frittering about in her kitchen, so Mother learned nothing of cooking during her girlhood. She wrote, played the piano, did lovely embroidery, and participated in youth works and church activities. As a result, when she married my father, she could scarcely boil eggs."


Although, Barbara later reports that her mother "pitched in as a loving and loyal pastor's wife, learned to cook, keep house, and attend to her husband and young family." A family that was growing rapidly!

In less than ten years, Edna would give birth to five of her six children—but that's the next blog!

I love this image of the wedding party. I wish I knew who these people were! Years ago, Barbara drew this arrow pointing to Jimmy Love, who I think was a cousin of either Edna or Carl.  I'm not sure where the Loves figure in our family tree, although other portraits of Jimmy Love as a child are also in Grandpa (Carl) Bader's things.

ANCESTORS II

Meet Jacob R. Bader and Emma Emily Elsner Bader (with, I believe, their youngest son, Jean). They are the parents of Carl George Bader.

I just love this photo! It's a postcard addressed to Miss Alma Bader, and signed "Mama," and since I have some other snapshots of Barbara's Grandmother Bader (Emma  Bader) as a much older woman, I am sure this is her in this photo.

According to Barbara's notes, Emma Emily Elsner was the eldest of seven children born to Mary Elizabeth Unland and Ernest Elsner. They were married September 18, 1866, in Beardstown IL. Emma was born August 4, 1867, in Beardstown IL.

Jacob R. Bader was born July 24, 1864, in Hugsweier, Germany. He had three brothers and one sister (none of them named in my mom's notes). I seem to recall that family mythology said that J. R. Bader and/or his brothers made and lost several fortunes, but, sadly, lost more than they made.

Jacob and Emma married on May 25, 1887, in Arlington, Nebraska. Their six children were:

Carl George Bader (patriarch of our clan), born May 23, 1888, Nebraska City, NE.
Ernest Fredrick Bader, born Sept. 20, 1889, Nebraska City, NE.
Eleanor Olga Bader, born Nov 3, 1891, Fremont, NE.
Alma Christina Bader, born July 29, 1894, Fremont, NE.
Clara Barton Bader, born June 2, 1898, Fremont, NE.
Jean Richard Bader, born Dec 31, 1904, Fremont, NE.

On the back of the postcard, Emma writes, "Dear Alma,  If I were not so sleepy, I would write you what we have to eat here. This air seems to make Jean and I sleepy. Mama."

On the front, as you can see, she writes, "How do you like these, Papa thinks they are good." So I assume that's Papa—J. R. Bader—and youngest son, Jean, in the photo with her. Jean was born in 1904, and looks no more than about 10 years old (probably younger), so I date this photo around 1914, when Emma's dress and hat would be right in style.

"L.N. Pritchard, photographer, 437 Umatilla St, Grand Rapids, MICH" is printed on the back of the postcard, but I don't know if that means that's where this photo was taken. The setting looks like a photo booth at a fair or exposition, but I have no idea where or for what occasion.

Here's the youngest photo I've ever seen of Carl George Bader. On the back, it's dated 1908, in Steve's handwriting, so I suppose he was going through these photos once with Barbara, who suggested the date. That would put Carl around age 20, which seems about right. I think he looks a lot like Jim Bader (Carl Jr's son) in this photo.

And one more little piece of ephemera, found among Grandpa Bader (Carl)'s things. This is an old-fashioned calling card, saying that someone would be "At Home" to visitors at a certain time. Unfortunately, there is no name or date (year) to identify it; it might not have anything to do with our family at all. However, I found out that Frieburg im Breisgau is about 20-30 miles south of Hugsweier in Germany, near the French border, in the Black Forest. So if anyone ever wanted to do a really detailed Bader family origins search, this might be a good place to start.