Rosalia Jane Mannheim Hon and Mary Gertrude Mannheim as young girls

Here is  a conserved image of my Grandma Hon, Rosalia Jane Mannheim Hon, and her younger sister, Mary Gertrude Mannheim, as little girls. They are both in nice dark dresses and Grandma is wearing what might be a cameo necklace. Originally this image, in an oval frame, was in my Grandma's bedroom (she lived with us) and awhile after she died in 1973 I moved into her room. I still have the image. Unfortunately one day the wire split holding the frame up on the wall and the image, which had adhered to the glass, was damaged. I hired a professional photographer to remove crack lines caused by broken glass from my great aunt's face. It turned out very nicely. The color tones in the original are creamy browns and it is a very high quality photograph done by a high quality photographer. Here is the best reproduction we could get in shades of gray. You can see every strand of hair. It looks like Mary Gertrude was a redhead.

Under the age of 18 when their father died, the girls were considered orphans even though their mom lived. Grandma told my mom that both girls and their mother lived for awhile with a maternal aunt and later with one of their older brothers, I do not know which one, who was a very strict disciplinarian. She did not offer more detail. They were very unhappy living with him. Grandma did not like to recall that period of her life.

Update: According to the 1910 federal census for MN, Mary McKinnon McKay (the aunt) and her daughter, Margaret McKay, had living with them: her brother Edward Mannheim (age 27) and nieces Rosalia (16) and (Mary) Gertrude (14). Edward, Rosalia and Mary Gertrude mother, Elizabeth McKinnon Mannheim had died in 1907, their father died in 1899. Can you imagine losing your parents both within 8 years by the age 14, 16? or even 27? That's rough.

Before my great grandpa Joseph Mannheim died, his family employed a cook. I was not surprised to find that out as my mom, Grandma Hon, and I assume her mother were not good cooks. I do not know if they were bad cooks because great grandma had a cook and therefore never learned or because they were just bad cooks.  Good thing I learned to cook in the coops at college and broke that tradition.

More about Grandma and my great aunt next.