I’ve tried to record our family tree in some sort of format that isn’t to confusing….probably with little success.
First of all there is a formal family portrait of my Grandfather Frank Hopkins. He is seated in front row left looking quite natty with a handlebar mustache. Seated in the middle is my father’s brother Clifford and next to him is my father in knickers and his hair is neatly combed. The three girls in the back row are his sisters. Esther stands in the middle and the other two sisters, Mabel and Ida died in 1923 and 1930, respectively. If you refer to the family chart you will see that Ida was three years older than Mabel. It is anyone’s guess, as to which sister is which. I am guessing the girl on the left with the bow in her hair appears to be younger and therefore I am guessing Mabel. Ida died before I was born and Mabel died when I was less than a year old, I have no memories of them. Uncle Clifford and Aunt Ester and Grandfather were more familiar and had impact on our lives.
Referring again to the family chart you will note that my father’s mother, Anna passed away in 1906 in giving birth to my father. His second marriage was brief, ending in divorce and was later married a third time. We are of the opinion that this photo was taken after the family migrated to Vashon Island from Minnesota.
I have only vague memories of Grandpa Hopkins. If we visited him often I have no recollection. He lived in a large white house on Vashon, two stories high on a sizable piece of property. As to his trade, I am not sure how he made his living…. possibly farming. In looking at the family portrait he appears somewhat prosperous….maybe a little on the stern side.
Walter’s older brother, Clifford was always a welcome visitor. He was employed at some level at the Washington Chocolate Factory in Seattle. Whenever he called on us he always brought a large slab of chocolate from the factory. When I say a large piece….it was about two feet long, a foot wide and two inches thick!!! If we kids had it our way we would have sat down and eaten it in one sitting, but Dad always rationed it out. He would put it on the kitchen counter; hack off uneven chunks with a large butcher knife and we would all get a piece. It took a while for the selection process as we all wanted to get the largest piece. Then Dad would put it away until the next offering. We never did figure out where dad hid it in the interim. In later years oldest brother Eugene worked at the chocolate factory and made pretty good money, one of his first jobs after he left home.
Walter’s older sister, Esther and her husband Harry were frequent visitors often coming over on Saturday night for drinks and to play cards. Aunt Esther never had children and was not a really warm and fuzzy Aunt. I am not sure she even knew how to cope with children so she came off as somewhat aloof. She and Uncle Harry had a grand house in the Wallingford District. At one time we lived with them during hard times. Marilyn lived with them for a little while when mother had trouble coping with all of us.
My Grandfather died and was buried on Vashon Island. Our family has a plot where he, his sisters Mabel and Ida, Ida son Vernon and my father are buried. We get out to Vashon frequently to visit the graves and drive around the island visiting the old homesteads. Over the years little has changed from the days we lived there.
First of all there is a formal family portrait of my Grandfather Frank Hopkins. He is seated in front row left looking quite natty with a handlebar mustache. Seated in the middle is my father’s brother Clifford and next to him is my father in knickers and his hair is neatly combed. The three girls in the back row are his sisters. Esther stands in the middle and the other two sisters, Mabel and Ida died in 1923 and 1930, respectively. If you refer to the family chart you will see that Ida was three years older than Mabel. It is anyone’s guess, as to which sister is which. I am guessing the girl on the left with the bow in her hair appears to be younger and therefore I am guessing Mabel. Ida died before I was born and Mabel died when I was less than a year old, I have no memories of them. Uncle Clifford and Aunt Ester and Grandfather were more familiar and had impact on our lives.
Referring again to the family chart you will note that my father’s mother, Anna passed away in 1906 in giving birth to my father. His second marriage was brief, ending in divorce and was later married a third time. We are of the opinion that this photo was taken after the family migrated to Vashon Island from Minnesota.
I have only vague memories of Grandpa Hopkins. If we visited him often I have no recollection. He lived in a large white house on Vashon, two stories high on a sizable piece of property. As to his trade, I am not sure how he made his living…. possibly farming. In looking at the family portrait he appears somewhat prosperous….maybe a little on the stern side.
Walter’s older brother, Clifford was always a welcome visitor. He was employed at some level at the Washington Chocolate Factory in Seattle. Whenever he called on us he always brought a large slab of chocolate from the factory. When I say a large piece….it was about two feet long, a foot wide and two inches thick!!! If we kids had it our way we would have sat down and eaten it in one sitting, but Dad always rationed it out. He would put it on the kitchen counter; hack off uneven chunks with a large butcher knife and we would all get a piece. It took a while for the selection process as we all wanted to get the largest piece. Then Dad would put it away until the next offering. We never did figure out where dad hid it in the interim. In later years oldest brother Eugene worked at the chocolate factory and made pretty good money, one of his first jobs after he left home.
Walter’s older sister, Esther and her husband Harry were frequent visitors often coming over on Saturday night for drinks and to play cards. Aunt Esther never had children and was not a really warm and fuzzy Aunt. I am not sure she even knew how to cope with children so she came off as somewhat aloof. She and Uncle Harry had a grand house in the Wallingford District. At one time we lived with them during hard times. Marilyn lived with them for a little while when mother had trouble coping with all of us.
My Grandfather died and was buried on Vashon Island. Our family has a plot where he, his sisters Mabel and Ida, Ida son Vernon and my father are buried. We get out to Vashon frequently to visit the graves and drive around the island visiting the old homesteads. Over the years little has changed from the days we lived there.
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