This undated photograph is from the Lettie Miller picture book. Our memory doesn't contain information about the exact date or circumstances of this photo, but we'd guess it's sometime in the early 1950s. It was definitely taken in the back yard of John & Lettie Miller's home at 450 Ann Street in Chadron, Nebraska.

Lettie Maiden Miller (left) and Betty Maiden Love hold the prize catch of the day -- a good-sized snapping turtle. That may explain why the family dog, Rusty, appears to be tied to the clothesline pole. Old "Ruh-ruh" was almost never -- that we recall -- on a leash or line.

Where did the amphibian come from? Good question -- for which we have no answer.

These are the younger children of Bill and Leota Maiden. Behind (left-to-right) are Dorothy, Henry, and Betty. Jackie, the youngest, is in front.

(Ray Scott collection - undated)

This photo was taken with an old "point and shoot" camera, we're quite certain. But the 3" by 3" image was particularly sharp, and we only recently found it lurking behind a group of rather run-of-the-mill Miller/Maiden family photos from 1977.

While it may not qualify as an "older" photo, it does go back some 35 years, and we were impressed with its quality. Click on the photo and select a larger sized image and you'll see what we mean.

Of course, we think the subject -- Lettie (Maiden) Miller -- was one of the prettiest ladies we ever knew.

What fun uncovering old photos tucked in the backs of envelopes or stuck behind other pictures in the old family photo box!

We visited Merle Wolfskill on her ranch west of Hulett, Wyoming in September 2005.

While we'd been intending to visit her again -- those intentions were for naught. We were saddened to hear of her passing on August 29, 2009 in the Spearfish, SD, Regional Hospital. Merle was a first cousin to Lettie (Maiden) Miller. Although I had never met her before, when I told Merle I was Lettie's younger son, she greeted me with open arms, and we enjoyed a couple of hours of visiting. I found her to be a warm and friendly person.

The photo shown here is a very small image and was used with her on-line obituary published by the Funeral Home of the Northern Hills.

This is an undated photograph showing Merle (Durham) Wolfskill's mother and father -- Ada and Tom Durham.

Like his parents and sister, Leota, Tom Durham homesteaded in Crook County. He married Ada Bear on June 17, 1917, in Belle Fourche, South Dakota and lived his entire life in Wyoming.

An old car can be seen in the left background of this photograph, probably taken in the vicinity of Hulett, Wyoming. You can click on the photo to see a larger image.

In the picture (left-to-right) are Leota Durham Maiden, Bill Maiden, Ada Bear Durham, and Tom Durham.

Leota and Tom were siblings. She died in 1951; he died in 1966.

These are the Wolfskill children: Merle and Gail. He was killed in action during World War II fighting in France. A member of the 95th Infantry Division, "PFC Thomas G. Durham" is buried at the Black Hills National Cemetery near Sturgis, South Dakota.

Merle died in August of 2009, within 10 days of the death of her cousin, Daisy (Durham) McGuire.

This photograph is undated, but it was probably taken in the late 1930s or very early 1940s.

I regret that I have no photographs of Daisy McGuire, although I do remember her. She was born and spent most of her life in and around Chadron, Nebraska.

While we may have no photograph of Daisy McGuire, we do have one of her father, Harold Durham.

This wonderful old photograph was likely taken in about 1906. This shows Allie and David Durham (seated) with their five sons. Left-to-right, they are: Tom, John, Bill, Harold, and Charles.

A similar photo was taken some years later with Allie and David Durham and their three daughters who grew to be adults.

Dorothea "Dee Dee" (Maiden) Crosby is shown here with her husband, Col. Richard "Ric" Crosby, III. Dee Dee is the daughter of Hank and Harriet (Linklater) Maiden, and she is a granddaughter of William J. and Leota (Durham) Maiden, who homesteaded along White River in northwestern Nebraska in the early 1900s.

Rick and Dee Dee were married for 29 years, before he passed away on July 10, 2008, in Stonebridge, Virginia.

This photograph of Lettie Leota (Maiden) Miller was captured from a short video that was recorded at her Chadron (Nebr.) home in August of 1993. She died in October of 1998.

Lettie was a great granddaughter to George Maiden, granddaughter of William Henry Maiden, and daughter of William Joseph Maiden.




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