East Side scrapbooks reveal glimpses of the past
Posted by eastsidehistorymadison on February 8, 2009
In the summer of 2008 Alice Dillman loaned her childhood scrapbooks to the East Side History Club–and they provided some of our favorite images of the East Side through a child’s eyes. Her scrapbooks covered school and sports activities, including her correspondence with journalists over misreporting of girls’ sports in the local paper. You go, girl!
Marlene Hilelstad, East Junior High 1948-49, photo by Alice Dillman
At our January meeting Jane Curtis gave the East Side History Club a “mystery” scrapbook found in the closet of her home on Dixon Street. Its pages reveal its creator was most likely Frank Houser, an engineer with the PSC who had a passion for photography. The scrapbook combines cartoons lampooning amateur photographers with clippings of Houser’s published photos and other mementos. The scrapbook chronicles the rise of photography as a popular hobby through its unique combination of published cartoons and personal mementos.
