Family Photo and Love - #52 Ancestors

Merritt and Maude Emma Agard 60th Wedding Celebration

This family photo exemplifies love as each of these couples married young and stayed happily married until death did they part. They served as a strong moral core for their families and for everyone who knew them. They used their talents to the benefit of the communities in which they lived.

The photo was taken in 1983 on the occasion of the 60^th wedding anniversary of Merritt Martin Agard and Maude Emma (Hardenbrook) Agard. The couple on the left is their son John Richard Agard and his wife Beverly (Shepard) Agard; on the right, Edward Francis Nunn and Carol (Agard) Nunn (my parents). The photo was taken at our family restaurant, Taughannock Farms Inn, overlooking Cayuga Lake near Trumansburg, New York.

Merritt’s version of how he met Maude: It was at one of their church suppers (Jacksonville M.E. Church) that he caught Maude Hardenbrook’s eye. Maude had attended with another young man from the community. Merritt, being mischievous, turned the lights out during the supper. While the lights were out, he raced in, took Maude’s hand, and took her away from her companion.

Maude on the other hand liked to tell the story that on one of their first dates, Merritt tried to kiss her and she slapped his face. In any event, they sorted all that out, were married, and celebrated their 60^th anniversary in August 1983.

From their wedding book: They were married at Willow Creek on August 22, 1923 by the Reverend R. L. Smith. Witnesses were Helen Atwater and Alfred Hopkins. Guests were: Mrs. E. Hardenbrook, Mr. Enos Hardenbrook, Mrs. Arthur Agard, Mr. Arthur Agard, Mrs. Menzo Wortman, Mr. Menzo Wortman, Mr. W. L. Twekin, John W. Agard, Mary A. Simpson, Moreia Higgins, Fred D. Higgins, Mr. and Mrs. Herbert Agard, Frank J. Beardsley, Mrs. F.J. Beardsley, Adalade C. Tucker, Mr. and Mrs. John Rightmire, Delia Rightmire, Mr. and Mrs. C. Owen Carman, Dorothy M. Vann, M. Gertrude Godfrey, Eleanor M. Drew, Mrs. Walter Higgins, Mary Higgins, Leon Drew, Walter Higgins, Emily H. Gardner, Mr. and Mrs. Raymond Darling, Cornelia B. Thompson, Mrs. C. H. Smith, C. H. Smith, Kenneth Hardenbrook, Alice D. Sherman.

J. Richard Agard and Beverly Jean Shepard were married July 1946 in Sage Chapel on the campus of Cornell University.

Edward Nunn and Carol Louise Agard were married September 12, 1941 in the rectory of Immaculate Conception Church in Ithaca, New York with J. Richard Agard and Adeline Agard in attendance. The reception was held at her parent’s home on Jacksonville Road. Photos of their wedding can be found on an earlier blog.

I miss these loving members of my family.

Fearless Females - How they met at Taughannock Falls State Park

Edward Nunn and Carol Agard
abt 1940

Because he matriculated at Cornell University, my uncle, Harold “Bus” Nunn, not only secured a lifeguard position at Taughannock Falls State Park for himself, but he also succeeded in getting a lifeguard job for my father, Edward Nunn.

With their two sons employed upstate, it made sense for Harry and Mary Nunn to leave the Bronx for the summer and camp in the Finger Lakes Region.  After setting up tents at Taughannock Falls State Park, and having his family settled in, Harry drove the windy two-lane Route 17 back to the city to work for New York City's Public Works Department.

In the meantime, Maude Agard worked at the park’s bath house, and her children, Carol and Richard rode their bike (Carol on the handlebars) down the steep hill each day to bring their mother her lunch.  It wasn’t long before 14 year old Carol noticed the handsome 17 year old lifeguard from New York City.

Fun at Taughannock Park
Carol in dress; Edward standing, facing camera

The park was a gathering place for young folks and the summers were filled with fun. The above photo is an example of that! I am so thankful that I, too, spent my summers enjoying the park, and swimming in Cayuga Lake.

Edward Nunn
abt 1940

As for Carol and Ed, Carol later admits that he chased her until she caught him!

Wedding Wednesday - September 12, 1941

Soon after I began my genealogical research I realized I had never seen any pictures of my parents’ wedding.  I mentioned this to my mother and learned that no pictures had been taken with the exception of those on an eight mm camera owned by her Uncle Bill Agard.  Because it was a “moving” picture camera, no photographs were produced.

Consequently, on September 12, 2001 when my parents would have been married sixty years - would have been except my father died in 1988 - it really bothered me that my mother did not have one photo of their wedding day.

Since Bill’s daughter lives in the family farmhouse, I asked her about the film. After several months it was miraculously located and mailed to us. A local technician repaired the tear in the tape and transferred it to a VCR.  But I needed it on a CD so we could put it into the computer and using PhotoShop make stills that we could send to my mother. I mentioned the situation to our neighbor, a commercial photographer, and he said he would give it a try. He successfully transferred the VCR tape to a CD and then showed us how to manipulate the film in PhotoShop. Another neighbor gave us special Kodak paper on which to print the photos, and on March 18, 2002 via Federal Express, my mother saw, for the first time, pictures of her wedding day! 

This photo is a sampling of what we captured from the 8 mm film. Top left is their friend and fellow lifeguard, Chuck Lueder; middle is Mother of the Bride, Maude Agard ; right is Uncle Bill Agard. The wedding party consisted of Maid of Honor Adeline Agard (Tamburino), Carol Agard Nunn, Edward Nunn, and Best Man J. Richard Agard.

The marvels of technology!

Sentimental Sunday - Christmas Memories

Mary and Skip Nunn abt 1956

Christmas at our Taughannock Boulevard home never varied.  Our tree was cut from the back woodlot, and then decorated with a few ornaments, popcorn strings, and lots of silver tinsel. The best part were the candle-shaped lights that bubbled up when heated.  A simple cardboard crèche was put out – one I still have and use.  On Christmas morning my brother Skip and I woke early, sneaking down the stairs to see if Santa had come. Once Mom and Dad were up, we were allowed to open our stockings before heading out to 8:00 a.m. Mass at St. James in Trumansburg, NY.  Using our negotiating skills, we finally got them to agree to let us open our stocking plus one present before church. Back home, our grandparents, Merritt and Maude Agard, and great-grandmother Laura Hardenbrook arrived for Christmas breakfast. Excitement mounted as we waited to open presents.  Santa always did well by us. You can see in the above photo that I had received a new carrying case for my Ginny doll while Skip proudly shows off his new bow and arrow.  We kept busy playing with our new toys until later in the day when we drove two miles north to our grandparents’ house for a family dinner that included aunts, uncles and cousins. 

In raising our own family we developed new Christmas traditions. Mass was on Christmas Eve, presents were opened early Christmas morning always accompanied by Finnish Coffee Bread or Cinnamon Tea Rings.  Our children enjoyed their new toys and mid afternoon we drove seventeen miles north to Ithaca to join the rest of the Maki clan for a large family gathering.  By evening we were exhausted but happy. It was another wonderful family Christmas together.

Our children are now grown and living elsewhere, and so we are in the midst of establishing new Christmas traditions. In the meantime, the tree is trimmed, the crèche is out, the coffee bread is made, and we welcome our family with love whenever they can get here.  

Sentimental Sunday - Camping at Taughannock

Taughannock Falls State Park abt 1940

Cayuga Lake - New York State

This is a great photo because it ties some of the best times in my parent's lives with my best memories of spending summers at Taughannock Falls State Park. 

This particular memory came about when a friend who grew up in New York City recently talked about how her family vacationed in the Catskills during the summer. Her comments sparked memories of how my paternal grandparents also escaped the city’s oppressive heat, but instead of the Catskills, they went further north. Their son Harold Nunn attended Cornell University, played on Cornell’s football team, and had secured a lifeguard job for himself and his brother, Edward, at nearby Taughannock Falls State Park. He suggested his parents camp in the park’s campgrounds for the summer. So while my grandmother, Mary Doyle Nunn, and her teenage children camped through the summer months, my grandfather made the grueling trip up and down the two lane Route 17 to work his job in the city, returning to his family on the shores of Cayuga Lake whenever he could. 

The park had a bathhouse, and my maternal grandmother, Maude Agard, was the attendant. Her daughter Carol and son Richard would ride their bike – Carol on the handlebars - down the steep hill to the park bringing their mother her lunch. And that is when Carol Agard spotted a handsome lifeguard named Edward Nunn.

Edward Nunn abt 1940

 The first photo is of particular interest as it was a source of anxiety for my mother (pictured center with hand shading her eyes). The perfectly formed acrobat is Genevieve Cosintini, daughter of a well-known Ithaca family, and someone my father (far left with a big smile on this face) seemed to enjoy. Genevieve’s parents are sitting on the grass at the far right. My mother, a farm girl, was very jealous of the city girl, Genevieve, and related she was especially upset the evening the Nunns were invited to the Cosintini’s for dinner. 

Aren’t we fortunate that Dad chose the right gal to be his soul mate. 

Edward Nunn and Carol Agard abt 1940

Maude Agard's Dream

In October 2001, Carol Kammen of the Ithaca Journal highlighted in her column the family business oral history I had produced with my mother. The title of her column was, “Now is the time to record the history of our institutions.”  She encouraged local businesses and historical societies to document those operations before their participants were no longer around to ask.

Taughannock Farms Inn

Maude Agard's "tea room"

My grandmother, Maude Agard, loved to cook. Her dream was to have her own “tea room,” and on her 40^th birthday, May 16, 1946 she realized that dream with the purchase of a summer home, owned by a Philadelphian Robert Jones, that overlooked Taughannock Falls State Park. According to the oral history my mother recounted, “The first night they were open to the public…they served less than twenty people and ran out of food! Mother had no idea how many people to prepare for. But, word got around, so Taughannock Farms grew and grew.”

There were no printed menus; the extensive list of appetizers, main dishes, and desserts was recited by the waitresses. Dinners were served family style. The rolls were made on the premises each day, as were the salads, pies, and other desserts. Soon after my parents became partners in the business and so that is where I grew up.  Anyone growing up in a family business knows that everybody works. And we did. But we, including our employees, were all “family,” and that is a special attribute of a family run business. 

Taughannock Farms Inn - The Early Years is archived and can be accessed at the Ulysses Historical Society in Trumansburg, NY. I encourage everyone who is part of a family business to document its history; it is too precious to lose.