Stan the little man

I am happy to offer a group picture of Julia Clara Opseth and Benhard Ranum, doing business of course, as Mr. and Mrs. Benhard Ranum and their children, Harry Arthur, standing, and Stanley Kenneth Ranum.



Harry was born in 1911 and Stanley in late July of 1914. I would guess this picture is taken around the time Stan was one. It is another in studio picture.



For those of you who want to look closely at the details. Look at that cute little man, Stan with his pudgy little body and pug nose. Noses like that generally flattened down and aren't as cute but they are nice noses. I wonder why in the name of heaven grandma dressed him in lace underwear!? I do think he offered facial expression and their is depth in his eyes? Do you see that, or is it just because I knew him so well. I am happy to see he has expression; no one could make him NOT have expression.



Harry looks dubious. Harry was dubious. He, like Newell in the Anderson portrait, is wearing a suit like top, short pants, and leggings. LOOK AT HIS SHOES! Stan is wearing a sandal like shoes too.



I am proud of Julia for having at least a little smile. When enlarging the picture for the purpose of detail, I noticed she had something around her neck and that she was wearing a dress with a smocked waist. The dress makes me wonder if she wore that sort of garment during, "her time or when she was in a family way".



It appears Benhard is making room for daddy. Couldn't help the punishment. For those of you who watched Danny Thomas with his family in the fifties, you will remember a sitcom called, "Make room for Daddy".



And so it was that Harry, the oldest and a graduate from Lincoln High School in Thief River Falls, MN, (class of 1929 and taking classes in Latin), we was the dubious one. Stan graduated eighth grade from Rosebank Country School in New Solum Township. The best way to explain the difference between these two brothers would be to say what Daddy said, "Harry thinks a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush AND I think two in the bush is better than one in the hand." Harry wanted security; Stanley wanted to speculate.



In checking the recorded births in Warren, MN, Stanley was registered at Kenneth and Stanley was added later. Stanley is written in the margin in red.



We have met Lloyd Anderson and Stanley Ranum as babies.



The two grandmothers are both ELLA. Oh this is fun!



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