Mary’s photo collection includes only a few photos of her mother, Eva. This is one of them. There is no indication of where or when this photo was taken but the location appears to be Marysville.
The back of the photo reads:
Which begs the question, what’s the story behind the name “Billie Be Damned”? We’ll probably never know.
This is a photo of Mary’s teacher. The year “1895” is noted on the back, which is the year she graduated. Unfortunately, she didn’t write the name of the teacher on the back of the photo. There is some writing at the bottom but it’s incomplete. It appears to begin B R A M B.
The picture on the front of this photo postcard was taken by George Schenk. Canyon Creek, formerly called Georgetown, was a gold camp and is located about 6 miles northeast of Marysville.
This is the back of the photo postcard, with a note written by Mary. It appears the note may have been written in two parts, since “Falls in Canyon Creek” is written in green ink and the remainder is written in black. I think Mary may have gone through her photo collection in later years and made a “best guess” at dates. And in this case, the “1898” date may be incorrect – assuming this photo was taken with the Kodak camera that was introduced in 1903 for the purpose of allowing amateur photographers to take and mail personal photographic postcards like this one.
I love this picture of Mary. She clearly valued education so this must have been a proud moment. Her confidence and optimism for the future are evident.
The note on the back of the photo, however, discloses a far different story.
Transcription of photo back:
Mary Rumping (1895) Schenk (1900) Schaffer (1916)1, Marysville, Montana
I graduated in May 1895, was 16 years old March-3-1895.2 I had a teachers certificate in the Fall of 1895. Taught two weeks in Wilborn, Mont. Somebody told I wasn’t 18 and I lost my position. I asked my father to let me go normal3 he said no “you ___ ___ ___ go and work out.[“] My heart was broke then and is yet as I preferred that work instead of working in an old house or kitchen. 1929-6-29 M.G.S.
To provide some context, it’s important to note that at the time Mary made this request of her father, her parents were in the midst of a long and contentious separation. In the final divorce proceeding years later, her father testified that Mary’s mother had turned the children’s hearts against him. Perhaps this explains, in part, her father’s hostile response.