The Children of Francis West from Duxbury

I'm sure this photo started me on the path to crazy.  Crazy genealogy detective.  I received it in about 2005 from the Stoutenburg family of Sandusky, Michigan.  I could easily spot my great grandfather, seated in the middle row to the far left, my grandfather, with the Harold Lloyd glasses standing in the back row between the two ladies, my great great grandmother, seated smack in the middle row with an air of knowing, and my great grandmother and other close relatives.  It's obviously marked "West Clan," so one thing is clear, these were my people.  But who?  Who the hell were the rest of these alleged "West" family members?  And why were they all gathered on this day?  What were they doing and why were they doing it?!  I needed answers.  Now! But you know how genealogy detective work goes.  Slow.  It took a series of meetings, introductions, emails, and phone calls over the next 8 years to even begin to scratch the...

Sitting glamorously on a beach near Malibu in 1930 is my sunglasses wearing grandmother, Julia West. This photo was taken long before I met her. Some 35+ years to be exact. The later version would give me Fritos on every family visit. I've never forgotten that sweet little habit. But curiously, old family photos like these cause me to miss something else. I think it's the time, the era. And though I wasn't around, it feels like I missed an opportunity. Like in this one, to come walking into the photo, plop down on the beach with my towel, and share stories of our time here on this planet, at these ages.