Après-Ski, Central Minnesota, circa 1920

Gunilla Bergman, unk., unk., Charles Anderson.     Photo by Oscar Anderson

My grandparents and friends on a chilly day in central Minnesota. It is strange to see them as young people- my earliest memories of them was when they were in their late 50's, already well weathered from lives of hard labor. The awkward posing hints that this was not a candid picture, although why the women were crouching is not clear. The dour expression of my grandfather seldom left his face, while my grandmother was a far more cheerful soul than this picture suggests. It may have had to do with the fact that the photographer was my grandfather's brother, who had a reputation of being a ne'er-do-well. I remember him as a sick old bachelor who lived on coffee and Snús.

My mother's greatest fear was that I would end up like him.