WSC memories of Charles Gaines and Hazel Gowdy 1915-17 - A photo album

(By Tim Steury, Washington State Magazine, Fall 2009)

After we ran the story about Xerpha Gaines, we received a note from Jeri Archer, Xerpha's great niece, wondering if we would be interested in a collection of photographs found in the belongings of her grandparents, Charles D. Gaines '16 and Hazel Gowdy '17. The photographs are all from the mid-teens. Some are inscribed: Campus Day 1913; W.S.C. Band 1914; Sophomore Tug of War (Silver Lake) 10-3-13. People are generally not identified, but it soon becomes clear who Charles and Hazel are. Charles in his buggy, his horse looking back at its driver. Hazel in a long white skirt and dark blouse, round-cheeked and smiling, taking a step forward, presumedly toward her Charles who is taking the picture.

Some photos will always be mysteries. Who are the friends in the photos? What are they doing? What is this person laughing at? Why are 18 people sitting on an open flat-bed Ford truck? Where are they going?

The photo album

Bound in a black, stippled cover embossed with "W.S.C. Memories," the album contains postcards of Washington State College and stock photos interspersed with snapshots of people, homes, and events from the lives of Charles and Hazel.