Delbert & Irma Go Shooting

 My father's parents, Delbert "Bud" Saunders and Irma Saunders
on a shooting trip to the Livermore hills.
Grandpa spent his teen years in Tracy, California,
so he probably knew these hills very well.

 My grandfather, Bud, with what I'm assuming is a .22 rifle.
Grandpa wasn't one to kill animals.  But he was a top-notch tin-can hunter.
The photos are from a photo album of my Grandmother's,
from the time when they were dating.
It is her handwriting on the bottom of the photos
placing them in Livermore, on July 4, 1934.

 Grandpa, with his rifle and his dog, Tiny, perched on his shoulder.
These photos were taken two years before my grandparents got married.
No doubt he took her on an Independence Day outing,
and tried to impress her with his hunting ability.

Grandpa and his dog, Tiny.

And that there would be my gun-totin' Grandma,
with tiny in hand, of course.

Delbert Marion Saunders and Family

 This is my grandfather, Delbert "Bud" Marion Saunders (on the right),
with his Aunt Nellie (Baker) Jilbert, and cousin Jake (Jakey) Jilbert.

The photo is from an album of my grandmother's, Irma (D'Angeli) Saunders. The photo is dated Aug 5, 1934 and was likely taken at Nellie's home in Tracey, CA. Bud and Irma were married in 1936, so they were dating at the time this photo was taken. I imagine this may have been the first time my grandmother met Nellie and Jakey, which is why she may have saved the photos in her album.

My grandmother, Irma (D'Angeli) Saunders
and my grandfather, Delbert "Bud" Marion Saunders.
My grandmother was 21 years old at the time.
My grandfather was 23.

George and Arnold Carsten

(Click to enlarge.)

This is George Carsten (the man) and his son Arnold (the boy).
George Carsten is my grandfather Delbert Saunders's step-father.
He married Nora Belle Baker after she and George Saunders divorced.
Arnold is my grandfather Delbert's younger half-brother.

Arnold bears a strong family resemblance to my grandfather,
and also to my grandfather's grandmother, Martha (Woodside) Baker.
Their eyes and "crooked" ears are clearly a Woodside feature.
There is no date on the photo.

George Carsten was born about 1891 in California.  The 1920 Census Tulare, in San Joaquin County, California, lists George Carsten at age 27 and notes that he is a native of California.  It lists his occupation as switchman for a railroad. Nora is also listed as age 27 at the time.  Their children are listed as "Jas" (James) Saunders, age 10, born in Idaho, and D. (Delbert) Marion, age 9, born in Montana. Both James and Delbert are listed as step-sons.  Arnold Carsten grew up to live in Woodland and had three boys.

Mysterious Idaho Cousins

(Click to enlarge.)

Among my grandfather Delbert Saunders's photos is this one
that is simply labeled "Cousins in Idaho."
The back of the photo is stamped with the date Aug 3, 1933
and was processed by Bear Photo Service.
Though I have no idea who these folks might be,
I love the "Americana" portrayed in this picture --
a Mid-West Farmer and his wife and daughter.

Great Uncle Frank Baker

 Great Uncle Frank Baker, and his sister Nora Belle (Baker) Saunders.
Nora Belle was my grandfather Delbert's mother.
Frank was younger than Nora Belle, but his birth date is unknown.
Based on the style of the houses, the photo appears to have been taken in Oakland, Calif.
There is no date on the photo.

 A very tiny framed photo (about 1-inch high) of Great Uncle Frank Baker.
There is no date on the photo.

Frank Baker's daughter, Lillian.
Frank married Nola Phipps.  To my knowledge the had only one daughter.
There is no date on the photo.

Nellie (Baker) Jilbert

 My great Aunt Nellie (Baker) Jilbert and her husband, whose name is unknown.
Nellie was the youngest of the Baker daughters.
Her birth date is unknown, but it is likely some time in the early 1900s.
Her older sister, Nora Belle (Baker) Saunders,
was my grandfather Delbert Saunders's mother.

There is no date on the photo.

A small, photo-booth-style of my Great Aunt Nellie.
There is no date on the photo.
Nellie had one son whose name was Jake (nicknamed Jakey).
Jakey married a woman named Rose.
Together they lived in Tracy, raising their two children, Beverly and Richard.

 Great Aunt Nellie with her granddaughter,
Beverly Jilbert, daughter of Jakey and Rose Jilbert.
Also in the photo is my father, George Marion Saunders.
A note on the back of the photo says is was taken in Tracy, California.
From the white picket fence, my father remembers that
this was Jakey's and Rose's front yard.
He and Beverly I spend played together there often.
The photo names the other two girls as Joyce and Diane Calhoun,
though we don't know who these girls might be.
My father remembers Aunt Nellie, but she was not married when he was a child.
He cannot recall whether she was widowed or divorced at the time.

Great Aunt Nellie, with a fish.
The back of the photo is stamped with a July 27, 1937 date,
processed by Bear Photo Services.

Mamie (Baker) Meyers and Her Family

 My great aunt Mamie (Baker) Meyers.
She was a younger sister of my great grandmother, Nora Belle (Baker) Saunders.
Mamie was born Jan 1, 1895 in Glendale, Montana,
to Martha (Woodside) Baker and Fred Baker.

There is no date on this photo, but she appears to be in her thirties or early forties.

 This is a photo of Mamie with her first husband, Joe Michels.
No one can remember why Joe and Mamie's marriage ended.

Mamie with her son Kenneth Michels.

Kenneth died in childhood from polio and was never spoken of

after Mamie married her second husband Henry Meyers.

There is no date on the photo.

Mamie again with her son Kenneth.

There is no date on the photo.

Kenneth Michels.
There is no date on the photo, but a note on the back
places the location as Neptune Beach, Alameda, CA.

Another photo of Kenneth Michels, in childhood.

Mamie with my father, George Marion Saunders.

Mamie and her husband, Henry Meyers, owned the house
across the street from my paternal grandparent's house,
at 624 46th Street, in Oakland, CA.
In her long life, she was "Aunt Mamie" to both her nephew (my grandfather)
Delbert "Bud" Saunders, and my father, George Marion Saunders.
There is no date on the phot, but I estimate it was taken about 1944 or 1945,
when my father was three or four years old.
A note on the back of the photo places the location as 46th Street, Oakland, CA.

Mamie and Henry lived well into their seventies.
She was alive when I was a child old enough to remember her.
I can recall visiting their home when I was around five years of age (approx. 1968),
which would have made Mamie about seventy-three.
She made me this sleepy-time puppy which I cherished all my childhood,
and still have tucked away in a memento box.
Once, when I had to sew up a tear in its threadbare cloth,
I discovered that she had stuffed it with her old silk stockings.
No wonder it was so soft.

James Robert Saunders As a Young Man.

A portrait of my Great Uncle, James ("Jimmy") Robert Saunders, as a young man.
Jimmy was my grandfather Delbert ("Bud") Marion Saunders' older brother.
There is no date on the photo, but it was taken at the
Novelty Studio, on 1018 Broadway in Oakland, CA.
A note, written in my grandfather's hand on the back of the note
names the girl in the photo as Anita Kerr.

James Robert Saunders As A Boy

 The boy in this photo is my great uncle, James ("Jimmy") Robert Saunders.
The girl is just named as a "friend."
Jimmy was the older brother of my grandfather, Delbert ("Bud") Marion Saunders.
Jimmy was born in 1910.  This photo is dated 1912,
when he would have been two years of age.

I imagine that, like any little brother, Bud idolized his brother Jimmy,
because he spoke of him often and with great affection.

Another portrait of Jimmy Saunders, probably at the same photo session
since the shirt he's wearing is the same as above.

 Another portrait of Jimmy Saunders, dated two years later in 1914,
when he would have been four years old.

 A picture of Jimmy Saunders taken in San Francisco, at Ocean Beach.
The photo was turned into a post card.
My grandfather notes that it was available for sale Ocean Beach for over fifty years.

On the back of this particular post card, is a note from my Great Grandmother,
Nora Belle (Baker) Saunders, to her mother, Martha (Woodside) Baker.
The note is addressed to Mrs. M.E. Dwight of Dillon Montana, dated Oct. 12, 1913.
(By then, Martha had re-married Dan Dwight,
after the death of her first husband, Fred Baker.)
The note reads:

"Dear Mama, Here is Jimmie taken on the beach today,
at the Ocean Cliff House and his pet dog.
Wish Delbert was only here too,
but I knew you wanted to see Jimmie anyway."

Delbert "Bud" Marion Saunders and his Grandmother

Delbert "Bud" Marion Saunders (kneeling) with his dog.
Standing behind him on the left is his grandmother, Martha Emily (Woodside) Baker.
I'm not certain who the other three people in the photo are.
The man standing on the right looks very much like Bud did when he got older,
so the man may be one of Martha's brothers.  The woman beside him is likely his wife.
The man standing beside Martha may be her son, Frank.
The photo is dated Aug 3, 1933.  Bud was 20 years old at the time.