Small Clues Can Lead to Big Rewards

 Today, while volunteering at the Columbia County Historical Society, I came across a box with a sign “Unidentified” and I asked what was going to happen with the photos in this box. My colleague responded that he wasn’t sure, but there was no sense cataloguing these without names.

If you have been following my journey, you know that I love photos, a good mystery, and trying to bring to life the photos--to the point of connecting them with their descendants (See A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words!)

I couldn’t help myself but look through the box to see if we could figure out who some of these people were. I came across this photo, which seemed to be a senior class photo. It was still in its cardboard frame. There was no name written anywhere, but there were two very important clues that led us to identifying her.

First, the writing under her photo reads “A Portrait by Ralph G. Phillips”. This was a professional photographer based in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania. 

Second, the embossed emblem in the right hand corner said “Class of ‘39”. This second clue made it pretty darn easy to find her. We thought that it was a high school graduation and the most likely school was Bloomsburg High School. Fortunately being in the CCHS, where they have a robust collection of yearbooks, it was an easy task. Sadly, this photo doesn’t appear among the senior class.

I suggested maybe it was college and to try Bloomsburg University (then Bloomsburg State Teachers College). My colleague disappeared for about 10 minutes and reappeared with a broad smile saying that he had found it! She wasn’t at Bloomsburg High School or College and not in Orangeville either, but she WAS a senior in 1939 at the Scott High School (now a part of Central Columbia High School)!

Melva's senior photo in Scott High School 1939

Meet Melva Orpha Kocher, born 18 April 1921 in Orangeville, Pennsylvania, daughter of William and Orpha Stiner Kocher. After high school, she went off to Bloomsburg State Teachers College and majored in Business Education. She graduated in 1943. Here she is in the 1943 Bloomsburg College Yearbook.

She became a teacher at Hughesville High School in 1945 and continued after her marriage to Dr. LeRoy Wintersteen, dentist in Danville, PA.

Mrs. Melva K. Wintersteen in
1949 Hughesville High School Yearbook

In the 1950, she was a dental assistant, probably helping her husband with his business in Danville. Sadly, she died at age 62 in 1984. Her obituary  identified that she also taught in East Lycoming School District. She was a member of the Eastern Start, Business and Professional Women and Shiloh United Church of Christ, Danville. Her brother, Richard Kocher and her husband of 36 years, Dr. Leroy Wintersteen survived her. they did not have any children.

While there are no descendants to alert that we have her photo, I feel good knowing that we were able to identify one of the photos in the "unidentified box" and share her some of the story of Melva Orpha Kocher Wintersteen's life.

A small clue can sometimes be all that you need!

Connecting Two Childhood Friends

Columbia County Historical Society building

Usually I talk about my own family history journey, but this blog entry is about an absolutely wonderful experience that has filled my heart to overflowing and is only tangentially related to my family history journey.

Last fall, I began volunteering at the Columbia County Historical Society in Bloomsburg, PA. Volunteering there is a win-win for me and my research on Jim’s family who is from this county. I learn more about the holdings while helping them to catalog photographs and help people who might walk in off the street to do research on their families. 

It’s also a win because I have met numerous lovely volunteers who religiously turn up several times a week, every week! (Some people look at me funny when I squeal in delight when I find some official paperwork associated with my husband’s ancestors like the one shown here. It’s an Order of Resurvey for Caleb Hopkins [Jim’s 5th great-grandfather] on the original paper from 1806. On the contrary, the volunteers at the historical society get all excited with me and “ooh” and “aah” over a find like this. They ARE my people!)

One of these volunteers, we’ll call her Susan, is one of these lovely people. She is also one of these kinds of people that make anyone feel welcome to be there and always introduces me to others and makes sure they know who I am. One day, early last fall, she asked me if I knew a professor who worked at Bucknell, we’ll call her Alice. Susan didn’t know if she went by her maiden or married name but she mentioned her maiden name and I said, “why yes, I do know Alice! But I know she retired many years ago so I haven’t seen her in a while.” Susan said that she hasn’t seen her in a long time but they were good friends when they went to high school in Millville. We only talked about Alice that once, but it was something that was filed away in my brain, hoping to one day see Alice.

Columbia County Court House

Fast forward to two weeks ago, I happened to be in CCHS dropping off some documents and I saw Susan. We chatted only briefly because I wanted to run across the street to the Columbia County Court House to look for a Will document for a project and had to get back to Bucknell by noon. I did my quick search and was heading back to my car parked behind the CCHS. As I was walking back, who did I see? Alice and her husband!

At that moment I couldn’t for the life of me conjure up Alice’s name or Susan’s for that matter, but I knew Alice and she recognized me. She said she knew me but couldn’t place me and I said, “I’m Lynn Breyfogle and we knew each other from Bucknell” and I went on to say, “and you need to follow me because I have someone you have to meet!” I didn’t wait for an answer but Alice and her husband dutifully followed me back into the CCHS building. Susan’s back was to us so I rushed over and tapped her on the shoulder (I still couldn’t conjure her name) but was able to say, “I have an old high school friend of yours”. 

Susan looked at Alice and said, “who are you?” Alice responded that she was Alice…. Susan squealed and raised her arms to go to hug Alice while Alice stood bewildered saying, “Who are you?!” Susan laughed and said I’m Susan …. And Alice immediately raised her arms and pulled Susan into an embrace! Not just a hug, but one of those embraces that lasts for minutes. They pulled back to look at each other and both said, “I didn’t recognize you!” and hugged again. Then dozens of questions and answers tumbled out.

I was already late for campus, so I left the women and quickly headed to my car. My heart was full and my eyes were wet with tears. 

The next day Alice wrote me an email of thanks and said that they hadn’t seen each other since high school graduation in 1968! I talked with Susan the next week and they are so delighted to rekindle their relationship and had set up an appointment to get together and get caught up on the last 56 years.

What an amazing coincidence and I was definitely in the right place at the right time! It reminds me of connecting my dad with his childhood friend, Randy. While this situation wasn’t really making use of my genealogical skills, I wouldn’t have ever been able to do this without volunteering at the CCHS.