THEN:			NOW:
Hattie Warlick Payne Frix b. 22 July 1880 - Morganton, Burke, NC; d. 23 Sep 1943 - Richmond, VA	Back of Portrait	1955 Anchor, p. 175
Courtesy of Jim Atkinson of VA - 01/16/07		Courtesy of Eleanor Buckley Nowitzky ('59) of NC - 01/16/07	Courtesy of Joe Madagan ('57) of FL -

Finally scanned the Grandma Hattie photo that my mother (Frances Frix Atkinson - Thomas Jefferson HS - '37)
had on her dresser top for a good many years. The photo was stuck to the glass in a couple of places.
I noticed on the back, that it was from a studio in Newport News. Ever heard of that place?

- Jim Atkinson (John R. Tucker HS - '77) of VA - 01/16/07

Thanks so much for the image, Jim!  I put my copy - the one my mama (Maxine Frix Buckley - John Marshall HS - '25) had on her dresser - in an acid-free album several years ago.  When I saw your Farabees's Studio stamp on the back of Frances' copy, I quickly ran to peek at Baba's, wondering why I had never noticed such a thing before.  Mine bore no stamp, only penciled scribbles.

   Farabee's Studio was a prominent portrait studio in Newport News, within walking distance of the high school.  I'm doubly astonished - that we had no listing for it in Our Old Stomping Grounds, and that Grandma Hattie had her portrait made there. 
I had always assumed it was made at Foster Studio's in Richmond, as so many other of our family portraits were.

   Hattie moved to Richmond on 17 Mar 1916, and lived there for the remainder of her days.  Why on earth would she have gone to Farabee's to have her portrait made???

   We moved to Newport News in January 1954.  Maybe my mama took her copy to Farabee's, and had a duplicate copy made for your mama???  That would have been before you were born, our mothers are both dead, so now there's no one left to solve this riddle.....

   WOWZERS!  Thanks again, Cousin Jim!

- Carol Buckley Harty ('65) of NC - 01/16/07

Hi, Carol:

I sent you a digital photo of the front of the building that housed Farabee's Studio on West Avenue, next to the St. Dennis Apartments sometime ago. It was a NOW photo for your Old Stomping Grounds.

It was taken at night, but was a fairly good image. The gentleman who operated the business was a combat photographer during World War II and came to the Peninsula and secured employment with this firm, and later became the owner, and did not change the trade name.

I recall giving a copy of my transmittal to his daughter, Carole, who lives in Northern Virginia now, in hopes that she would become one of the "Krabba" subscribers, as she and her sister graduated from Hampton High School.

You probably did not make the connection at the time, and undoubtedly thought the old boy was off his rocker sending you this photograph.

I recall taking a close up photo of the front door because it displayed a merchant sign for Master Charge, now known as Mastercard.

- Joe Madagan ('57) of FL - 01/17/07
YIKES!!!  Thanks, Joe!

... As for Hattie, you are probably right. I did not know when you first moved to NN, but it makes
sense that my dear Aunt Maximus had a copy of her "Hattie" photo reproduced for my mother
(who went by many names). I somehow don't recall much of what transpired during the summer
and fall of 1954. Imagine that!

- Jim Atkinson (John R. Tucker HS - '77) of VA - 01/17/07
GIGGLES!  Thanks, Jim!  That's what you get for waiting until August of 1959 to be born!

(This page was created  01/16/07.)

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