Don’t let the sepia tones fool you. Our ancestors were not all that different from ourselves.
They dressed their children in silly outfits and placed them on cute animals.
They took pictures of their food.
They had blanket forts.
They smiled.
And they knew when they were rocking their party dress.
So remember, their legacies may be left in black and white, but they lived their lives in color just like us.
All photographs were taken by Frank A. Rice of St. Joseph, IL. He photographed St. Joseph and the surrounding areas from 1900-1930 and perhaps even earlier. He operated a small, part-time portrait studio "of sorts," but he also documented a variety of outdoor community activities and events. The diverse images include holidays, sports, leisure activities, construction, swamp dredging, the railroad, local celebrations, and village street scenes. The Champaign County Historical Archives has thousands of his prints in its collection.
- Sherrie, Archives Librarian