Photo Record
Images
 
             
            Metadata
| Object Identification Number | 1986.050.022 | 
| Object Name | Print, photographic | 
| Donor | Edwards, Delbert | 
| Description | Black and white photo of two young women holding two babies. They are seated facing each other with the babies in the middle. The women are wearing light-colored short-sleeved dresses and have short hair. The babies are wearing light-colored knitted one-piece outfits and hats. A thin white border surrounds the photo. Handwriting on the back reads, "Ruth R. and her cousin Ruth Bauer / Isn't Myron Howard cute on this / picture Clyde Kenneth of course takes / a better picture since his eyes are dark." A "7 9" is also stamped in the lower right corner. This photograph likely came from one of albums 1986.050.001 - .005, owned by Mette K. Blair. | 
| Print Size | 5.625 x 3.375 | 
| Creation Date | 20th century | 
| Associated People | Edwards, Delbert Blair, Mette K. Bauer, Ruth R, Ruth R., Ruth Kenneth, Clyde Howard, Myron | 
| Search Terms | Edwards, Delbert Blair, Mette K. Bauer, Ruth R, Ruth R., Ruth Kenneth, Clyde Howard, Myron children baby babies knitting | 
| Provenance | This photograph shows Ruth R. and her cousin Ruth Bauer; one of the babies is Myron Howard. Clyde Kenneth is also mentioned, although not included in the picture. The photo came from an album owned by Mette K. Blair. ----- Mette K. Blair was born on August 20, 1895 on a farm near Kimballton, Iowa. Her parents Niels C. and Kristine L. (Bjorn) Blair were Danish immigrants and early settlers of Audubon County. She had one older sister - Karen. Their parents died within a year of each other, leaving Karen and Mette as orphans. The accession file says that they were 8-10 years old and were raised in Florence, Nebraska by Mrs. Chet Haas, the donor's mother's sister. A biographical article published in the October 1920 issue of Lutheran Woman's Work says that Karen was 17 and Mette 14 when their parents died; they stayed on the farm by themselves for six months before moving to Benson, Nebraska in September 1910. The same article gives further information, noting that they attended Benson High School and both graduated on June 10, 1915. Mette was confirmed in 1913 at the Kountze Memorial Lutheran Church of Omaha and began to think of missionary work. She trained to become a registered nurse at Clarkson Hospital from 1915-1918. After graduating, Mette joined the National Red Cross to serve during the World War I, working for three weeks as a civilian relief nurse at Fort Omaha during the flu epidemic before the armistice was signed. After traveling with her sister and doing private nursing, in September 1919 she became a student at the Moody Bible Institute. Then, from January - April 1920, she worked at the Post-Graduate Hospital in Chicago before taking a position managing a small hospital in Arapahoe, Nebraska. In October 1920 she was preparing to do missionary work. She joined the Lutheran Missionary Service and worked in India for over 30 years, as well as doing special trips around the U.S. Most of her time was spent at the tuberculosis sanitarium in Visrantipuram, India. Mette retired from the service in 1963 and traveled back to Omaha. She died in 1978 and is buried in the Kimballton, Iowa as are her parents. | 
| Images | 165\1986050022.JPG | 
| Accession number | 1986.050 | 
