Today I bring to you this lovely photo of Huck (Albin), Nell and Hazel Lundberg. And such a cute photo it is. I believe that i would have been taken around 1897, the year of Hazel’s birth. Huck, Nell and Hazel and the middle children of William and Emma (Peterson) Lundberg. They had three older siblings, a brother named Charles, and two sisters, Bessie and Esther. Their baby brother Chester was born in 1899, so not yet in the picture at this time.

I love Huck’s outfit. His scarf and coat give his appearance a Nordic quality: that and his fair hair and blue eyes. You can just see his boots as they are faded as part of the photographic process. What a wonderful big brother to stand there next to his sisters. Nell appears to have two collars on her clothing. A big, wide one and then a crocheted one adorn her outfit. The look on her face says that she will reserve judgment of whoever might be taking the photo. And baby Hazel is wide-eyed, ready to keep up with her older siblings. The chair she’s seated on appears to be velvet with the tassels hanging at the bottom.

To me Huck, Nell and Hazel remind me of this quote about siblings. Siblings are the people we practice on, the people who teach us about fairness and cooperation and kindness and caring, quite often the hard way. While we don’t often appreciate our siblings the way we should, it’s with them that our personalities flourish. Sibling relationships usually outlast marriages, survive the death of parents, and are stronger than quarrels that would destroy most friendships. Hazel had a close relationship with all her siblings and my hope is that you do too.