Saturday's Old Photo: The Gift

A few weeks ago I posted a photo of my dad’s family and mentioned that there had been one more child, a boy who died when he was only a couple of months old. And here is that little one, wearing a cap and wrapped in a knit blanket, cuddled in my grandma’s arms.

On the back of this photo she has written

To Frankie [that’s my dad] -

Harmon Charles Vogt

Taken at the age of 2 months and 1 week.

Born Sept. 20, 1932

Died Dec. 12, 1932

Harmon was born with spina bifida. Counting up, I figure he died a couple of weeks after this picture was taken. If he were still living, he’d be seventy-seven years old, but as it was, Harmon Vogt’s life was more of a mist than most.

In all the other photos of my grandma, she’s looking straight at the camera. Here she’s looking down at the baby she knows will be taken from her. The Lord gives life and the Lord takes it away, leaving us with a few genuine sepia photographs for remembering.