while i was home for thanksgiving, i came across this old catholic book. me and my dad both knew it was old, but we had a big surprise waiting for us..
turns out, the book has always belonged to our family and dates back to 1904. hidden inside were two large locks of hair, one brown and curly and one blonde, some dried flowers, and a folded napkin with three baby teeth inside. in the back of the book, we found written birth and death dates all with our last name, with some born in the 1870s. In different handwriting, you can see that someone went back in the 1940s to write the death dates.
Lion H. Karch, written in the bottom right corner, was born in 1900 and died in 1905, so I would like to think that the lock of blonde hair and teeth could be his.
photographs and words by kristin karch