Who is That Man?
A Sweet Scene
One of the girls’ favorite photos featured Arline and a handsome young man hugging on the lawn. He is tall and bends over Arline to embrace her in an affectionate bear hug. Both look quite young, probably teenagers. Although Arline carefully identified the people and places in scores of photographs, she missed this one. It wasn’t a very “good” picture, but the surface damage indicated that it might have been one of Arline’s favorites too. The yellowed marks reminded me of stains I found after perfume was spilled on a framed photograph.
Arline and Roy with baby Lucile
But who is the young man? The couple’s faces are in the shadows making it hard to see their features. First guess would be Arline’s first husband, and the
girls assumed that the photograph showed Arline and Roy. The problem is that the young man in the damaged photo seems much taller when compared with Roy in another photograph.
Arline and Roy with baby Lucile
Could it be her second husband, Albert Edwards? Again, he doesn’t seem tall enough. Albert is nearly Arline’s height; he lacks the stature to bend over her like the young man in the hug.
Albert Edwards and Arline
Perhaps he was her third husband, Charley H. Parker, a handsome farmer from Kansas? He is tall enough. Charley was a big man and even in this snapshot of the couple both wearing hats it is clear that he was taller than Arline by quite a few inches. They weren’t married until 1921 when Arline was 31. Could they have known each other when they were younger? And does the young man “look” like Charley.
Arline and Charles H. Parker
The best conclusion might be that the young man in the first photo was an unidentified admirer, and definitely not Arline’s first husband. Wouldn’t we like it to be a happier photo story? Sorry, girls. It looks like Arline and Roy might not have had that happy moment on the lawn, after all.
I think the man in the photo embracing Mama may be one of her friends in the “Cast of Charactors”
picture you posted recently. Mama had so many admirers and men friends it is hard to say. Maybe this man was just walking by in the park and on impulse just gave her a liplock. The stories could go on and on. Love Mom