Pouring over Altman Family photos with my grandmother was one of my favorite past times. Gram had a few very old albums which were organized accurately by event or year, but the majority of the picture books had no rhyme or reason to them, and many snapshots were tossed into boxes with other ephemera. For example, a picture of her grandfather and perhaps her elementary school graduation program would be in the same box as a Polaroid of my cousins from the 1970's and a light bill from the 1980's. Frustrating as it was, the lack of organization made sense considering Grama had ten children and those children had children--like me--and we'd all been looking through and messing up the photographs for fifty years.
One time when I was visiting from college, I made a stab at putting the pictures in some kind of order. With Grama at my side, I'd pull a photo from the box, flip it over, and if it was blank and I couldn't identify the person, I'd ask, "Ok. Who's this?" and so on. I didn't recognize the two dudes in the photo below. Grama said, "Oh, that's Dad and Glade uptown."
"Dad" referring to her husband (my Grandfather), and Glade referring to his uncle Glade Merryman (so close in age, they were more like cousins). Suspicious, I looked at the picture again. Neither of these dudes is Grampa nor Uncle Glade. Not even close. Not on a good day, a bad day, a snowy day, there isn't a trace of a resemblance nor a chance in hell. Thus, I found her answer hilarious, and it quickly became a little family joke. Even though we don't know who the Dad and Glade doppelgangers are or where they're standing, it's still a great photo and always makes me laugh.
Without further ado, please enjoy "Dad and Glade Uptown" knowing that the only accurate part of the title most likely is the uptown part; I'd have to have an Olean native confirm that.
"Dad and Glade Uptown" ~ Olean, New York ~ Circa 1950's
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