Family

Photographer: Martin Sernstinger, developed (at Michigan News) June 8, 1955. Explored! #56 on Flickr [July 6, 2007.] Thanks! My father--Roger Dinda--is on the left in this photo. The guy in the middle is Fred Stone, and I'm not sure who the other is; since Dad & Stoney were off-duty firemen, I presume the other guy was as well [Sam Garrison, it turns out; see my brother's Flickr comment ]. Dad was a firefighter when I was young, and considered himself still a firefighter until he died. On his off-days, he held other jobs. The fallback job--this one--was called "driving hacks." Or just "hacking." The photo was taken on Michigan Avenue (still called Main Street in 1955, methinks) in Kalamazoo, in front of the cab stand beside Michigan News Agency. The official-looking building across the road is the Kalamazoo County Building, which still looks about the same; on the other hand, Michigan Avenue's been a One Way road for most of my life. Michigan News still stocks comic books, which was the attraction when I was a kid. Good place to buy maps, too. Since the picture dates from 1955, it's over fifty years old. Mom had us digging through boxes of old photos shortly before she died. This one was the best of a stash of Sernstinger pix which had mostly obvious firefighting connections. Dad was a little chubby, I see.... New scan uploaded 12/30/05.

Alvin Holmes and my brother Richard at the sag wagon for a Kalamazoo Bicycle Club event in the late 1970s. The car looks like Sandy Kimbrough's. The things I can't remember about this photograph are pretty annoying: I don't know where it was taken, what event we were hosting, what the date was, or who took the picture. Age and distance seem to have done my memory in.... Camera and photographer unknown.

This is Harriett (Hatti) Dinda on Mother's Day, 2000. Joan and I met Mom, Debbie, & Dick at Meijer Gardens in Grand Rapids, and wandered through the spring flowers and the sculptures (da Vinci's horse had just arrived). A wonderful day, and I took some delightful portraits. Camera: Nikon N90s

Photo taken on the main harbor's breakwater at Marquette, in August, 'round 'bout 1990. We were taking the long way home from a weekend in Two Harbors, Minnesota. Looks like Dick's about to take a photo of the old downtown ore dock. Neither of us is very good at portraits, from either end of the lens; moveover, if either is carrying a camera, generally we're both carrying two. Regardless, this one came out well....

Perhaps the best photo I've ever taken of Joan.

My mom, and her dad, on an Iowa porch around 1930. This old, battered photograph is a family treasure.

Proving beyond contest that it's quite possible to take bad photographs with an excellent camera.... Dubuque, Iowa. Camera: Nikon N90s

My father, Roger Dinda, 'round about Christmas 1971. I was just back from 'Nam and playing with my camera. Not so long ago, folks whose political involvement was driven by faith tended to support liberal causes--equal rights, school integration, and ending the Vietnam war. Dad fit that profile. Those issues took over his life for a few years in the late sixties and early seventies and he was heavily involved in a non-partisan local political group called Action Now. Definitely a different time. Camera: Minolta SRT-101. Updated to a better scan 11/28/05

Joan's a little obscured by the soon-to-blossom Baby's Breath, but I really like how this picture came together.

Joan and I define "long ride" differently. This barn is at the far corner of a fourteen-mile loop from our house; she considers it a long ride, while I consider it a short one. So it's pretty common for me to follow a joint ride with a second, more stressful, jaunt. This is a potential problem, but we'll work something out. That pretty jersey's something I picked up on eBay; the design's from the eighties and the tag inside says its size is XL. Tag's wrong; the jersey fits Joan a lot better than it fits me. Looks good on her, so I'm satisfied, but I'd really prefer that it fit me. Oh, well. Apologies for the sloppy work in PhotoShop Elements; I'm still experimenting and may repost.....

Joan, on the Escarpment Trail above Lake of the Clouds in Michigan's Porcupine Mountains State Park. J.W. Foster and Josiah Whitney, who surveyed the Lake Superior mineral deposits for Congress in the middle of the nineteenth century, included an engraving of this lake, which was then called "Carp Lake" (the river remains the Big Carp-- see msprague's comment , below ). It seems that the Porkies were already a tourist destination at that time. Lake of the Clouds is clearly a preferable denomination....

It's my sister's birthday, and I thought I'd celebrate (commemorate?) it with the best picture I took when we were helping her move a couple weeks ago. Happy birthday, Debbie!

Joan and Taffy, having a little chat through the door.

When we dropped in on my Uncle Keith's 80th birthday party the other day, Aunt Jackie handed me this photograph of me and my grandfather. According to the note on the back, I was eight months old--so we'll date the picture as October, 1949. In all honesty, I don't remember Grandpa ever looking this young; he was 60 years older than me, and I really only remember him as an old man. Scanned from a faded, small, slightly-out-of-focus print. Not sure who took it, nor where the photo was taken, but it must be in or near Kalamazoo. Significantly cropped to remove a bush which doesn't contribute anything much to the original photograph. Some noise removed, but I couldn't do much about the focus problems. Not particularly related: The view counter on my photostream went over 9000 while I was posting this photo. Thanks for looking.

Joan on the deck at Mom's house a couple years ago. We were repainting that deck in preparation for selling the place. Since I mentioned the changes to the house in a caption a couple days ago, I thought I'd show 'em. It's a great house; I trust the new owners appreciate it.

Joan, and our shadows. Mount Hope Highway, a few miles from home.

My father, Roger Dinda, newly promoted to Driver, and Kalamazoo Fire Department's truck 16, in 1955 or thereabouts. This was taken in front of Old Station 1, the Central Station at the time. 'Twas called "Ones" or "Central," as we discussed in the comments to one of my brothers' pix. The station's been gone since the sixties. Another Martin Sernstinger photo. I have a bunch of these, and have created a special set for 'em.

My sister, Debra Jean ( Preacher Debra ), my mom, Hatti, and my brother, Richard ( Kalamazoo Richard ), at Meijer Gardens in Grand Rapids on Mother's Day, 2000. Shot with my Nikon N90s. Since we've just decided that driving 90 miles each way in today's weather wouldn't be a good way to spend Thanksgiving, I'll not be seeing Debbie & Dick for the holiday. So I'm posting my favorite picture of them. Thanksgiving blessings, everyone.