Iowa Hart Reunions in the 1950s Are Fondly Remembered
Editor’s Note: Picking up on the seven Hart boys who scattered west or stayed in Iowa, I asked Joe about a reunion photograph he had sent me, one that seems to show that whole generation with what must be thirty infants in arms. Joe remembers two Hart reunions from his boyhood; the picture I had in mind was taken around 1951, when he was three or four, and he is in it, sitting on the floor among his cousins. He also mentions another favorite photo of James and Anna Hart with their seven sons. I told him I would love to see more of these snapshots of a much broader story.
Transcript
Speakers: WJB — William J. Bowe; JH — Joseph Hart. Transcribed from the recording; punctuation added and obvious mis-hearings corrected.
WJB: So we had — you were saying, of the seven Hart boys, some went out west and others stayed in Iowa.
JH: Mm-hmm.
WJB: I know there is one picture, I don’t know what year it is exactly, where there was a reunion, and it seemed like every one of the — maybe it was that generation of the seven boys, but there must’ve been 30 infants in the arms of this one picture. Do you know the picture I’m referring to?
JH: Yes. And there were actually two reunions that I remember as a young lad, and the one that you’re referring to was when I was probably about three, four — I don’t think I was probably five. So about 1951 probably is when that picture was taken. And, of course, I’m in that picture sitting down on the floor amongst all my cousins, and yeah, that’s a really neat picture. I enjoy that. The other nice one that I sent you, I think, is just James and Anna with their seven sons. So that’s another nice one.
WJB: Yes. I would love to see more of those pictures. But the ones that you sent along are great snapshots, of course, of a much broader story.
