Have Dog, Will Travel

Two women (probably E. Hatterius Skogberg and Amy Paulson) in a buggy with a dog. Olivia Area, Calhoun County, Texas, circa. 1900-1910

In this picture, our two “washer women” (last seen in the post “Water, Water, Wooden Water Tank”) leave in a buggy. A small dog is “draped” over the rein hand of Emma Skogberg. 

Several things interest me about this picture:

* The dog. We learn that having dogs “help drive” did not originate with the automobile.

* The hat that Amy is wearing. This appears to be the same type of large brimmed hat worn by Amy and others in earlier posts. In this picture, the brim is pulled down by a scarf which appears to be holding the hat in place, possibly a strategy to keep the hat on during a windy ride. (Remember that towel blowing in the wind in those earlier pictures.)

* The house with the large wooden water tank and its yard.  Note the weedy, un-ornamented  “front” yard (or could this be the back of the house?), the broom hanging on the wall, the barbed wire fence attached to the gate.  The house appears to be only a single room wide – as we can see through to the window on the opposite side. Again it is sided with the board and batten siding that is typical of houses in this set of pictures. I keep wondering if this might be some sort of common community building that included a community water tank, rather than an individual house.  Sort of like the laundromat I am sitting in at this moment!  But I have no written or oral documentation that such a building might have existed.

Negative quality here is fair. Too bad about the damage that mars the middle of Miss Paulson’s face.

Identifiers:

Negative #: Paulson259.jpg (1200dpi tiff downsized to 400dpi jpeg)

Place: Olivia area, Calhoun County, Texas

Date: Early 1900s? Circa 1910?

People: (tentative identification):

* Emma Haterius Skogberg (16 Nov 1879 - 21 Feb 1939. Emma married Fred Skogberg in 1904 – so whether she is Emma Haterius or  Emma Skogberg at the time of this picture is unknow)

* Amy Justina Paulson (10 Dec 1881 - 18 Oct 1918)

Related Posts / Pictures:

            “Water, Water, Wooden Water Tank”  Negative # Paulson244.

            “Washing Clothes”  Negative # Paulson275.