Blast from the Past: Children's Picture Day

Ever heard of the Alachua County Library District's Heritage Collection? No?! The Heritage Collection consists of over 1,100 historical photographs from all aspects of daily life in the Alachua County area. Treat yourself to a journey of amazing historical detail and profound human interest through this annotated photographic exposé of the Alachua region spanning the 1870s through the 1970s. Experience and understand local history in a different way, through the faces and places of the past that still influence the present.

School has started and that means first day of school photos and picture day at school. Take a look at these images of children and families from the past. Some are done by professional photographers with fancy clothes, stern faces, bad haircuts, and props to keep little ones still. Others are in the moment getting children to stop playing long enough to pose with their siblings, cousins, and friends. So many bows in little girls' hair! Do you remember taking photos like this as a child?

Thomas Fay 1898 baby portrait — Thomas Holland Fay was born March 9, 1896 in Rochelle and lived most of his life in downtown Gainesville.

J. Parsons 'Hovey' Bell with snake around neck 1890s — J. P. H. Bell, called Hovey, poses with a snake around his neck in the late 1800s.

Anderson Family 3 adults and 4 children in front of old house — The Anderson family from Brooker. Lem, Angie, Lydia, Mary, Roland, Henry, and Harmon.

Marie Lartigue 9 month old portrait in 1901 — Marie Isadora Lartigue born in 1901, is 9 months old in this portrait done for her grandmother.

Williams family 1900s 2 adults and 2 children — Hampton and Emma Williams, local teachers at the Union Academy, pose with their children Jannieve and Reginald.

Berkstresser child in hat — One of the Berkstresser children of Hawthorne posing in her fancy hat.

Ella Gruelle and her doll — Ella Gruelle has her portrait taken with her favorite doll.

Tillman family 1900s mother and sons — Mae Tillis with her sons Grover and Truman.

Marie and Laura Lartigue in 1910 — Sisters Marie Isadora and Laura Dorothy Lartigue.

Bill and Esther Phifer-in stroller — Bill Phifer from High Springs stands next to his sister Esther in her stroller.

Foy family 1900s 2 adults and 5 children — Mike and Mary Foy pose for a family portrait with the five children.

Berkstresser child in wagon — One of the Berkstresser children from Hawthorne standing in her toy wagon.

Arthur and Earle Godwin baby portrait — Arthur and Earle Godwin trying to sit still for this portrait.

Bill and Dick Williams in a wagon — Twins Bill and Dick Williams of Hawthorne, playing in the "Blue Streak Coaster" wagon.

Lartigue cousins around 1912, 2 teenage girls — Cousins Doris Latrigue Lyell and Marie Isadora Latrigue, ages 14 and 12 in the early 1910s.

Dorothy Lartigue and her doll — Laura Dorothy Lartigue with poses with her doll, while the dog on the porch keeps watch.

Godwin boys on tricycles — Arthur and Walter Godwin on their tricycles.

Laura Dorothy Lartigue 1910s — Laura Dorothy Lartigue was the third and youngest child of Dr. Etienne and Allie Lartigue.

Ed Chestnut sitting in large toy car — Ed Chestnut was born in 1903. His brother began Chestnut Funeral Home in 1914, which still operates today.

Ken Traxler at 15 months — Kenneth Traxler, born in Alachua in 1921. Here he is at 15 months in his little sailor outfit. His mother was Jewel Godwin.

Arthur Godwin sitting in a wagon holding hit pet raccoon — Arthur Godwin and his pet raccoon.

group of children in costume — A children's dress-up party? Could it be Halloween?

Ken Traxler portrait — Kenneth Traxler, aged 5, attended UF, served in the US Navy in WWII, and became a reverend in Brazil and New York.

Mary Godwin on a vine swing — Mary Godwin using a vine as a swing.

Merchant family, man watering bushes and mother with 3 children — Dr. H. M. 'Harry' Merchant and his wife, Elizabeth Williams Thomas Merchant with their children Betsy, Miller, and Sally.

Louise and Charles Chestnut — Louisa Kendrick Chestnut and her great-grandson Charles Chestnut III in the 1940s.

Godwin family at Easter, 2 adults and 3 children — Ernest and Mary Godwin with their children Mary, Arthur, and Walter on Easter morning.

3 Seminole Native American children — Native American children from the Seminole Tribe pose for the camera in the 1940s.

2 children from 1st United Methodist Church praying — Praying children from the First United Methodist Church of Gainesville.

Hickox family, 2 adults and 3 children — Milton L. Hickox and his wife, Annie Fay Capell Hickox of Hawthorne, sit for a family portrait with their children Herbert, Harriet, and Frank.

Blast from the Past: Children's Picture Day

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