Summer with the Dolloffs – Family and Friends, 1938

Photo Friday
Linwood Dyer Photo Collection, Part 080
Album 2023.02.05.
By Don Taylor

A series of black-and-white snapshots from a family album of Jeanette Johnson that depicts members of the Dolloff family along with friends and relatives during the summer of 1938. The photographs show both recreational beach outings and casual domestic scenes. The backs of many of the prints are stamped “Sep 16 1938”, indicating development at that time. The clothing, swimsuits, and automobiles further confirm a late 1930s date.

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Individuals Identified

From handwritten annotations and contextual clues, the following people appear across the photographs:

• Mr. Harold Dolloff – adult male, photographed in casual clothes and in swimwear.
• Mrs. Eva Dolloff – adult female, seen in dark swimsuit and in other family groupings.
• Ken Dolloff – young man, appears in swim trunks, often barefoot, sometimes identified directly (e.g., with Mrs. Harmon).
• Jeanette Johnson – young woman, photographed in a two-tone halter-style swimsuit.
• Mike Gordon – man in swimwear (named in one beach photo).
• Mr. Newall – older man in suspenders, not in swimwear, present in a group beach photo.
• Mrs. Harmon – woman in a floral dress, identified in one cottage photograph with Ken Dolloff.

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Photograph Summaries

1. Archery Scene (Domestic Setting)
   1. Mr. & Mrs. Dolloff with a young woman (the album compiler, “I”) in a yard beside a clapboard house. One woman aims a bow and arrow while the others look on.
   1. Date stamped: September 16, 1938.
2. Group at the Beach
   1. Five individuals posed on rocks: Mr. Nuwall, Mr. & Mrs. Dolloff, Jeanette, and Mike Gordon.
   1. Early automobiles and fencing visible in the background.
   1. Swimwear styles and cars date securely to late 1930s.
3. Jeanette Johnson & Young Man (likely Ken Dolloff)
   1. Posed barefoot in swimwear beside an automobile.
   1. Large house visible in distance across the road.
4. Ken Dolloff & Mrs. Harmon
   1. Ken in swim trunks, Mrs. Harmon in floral dress and sturdy shoes.
   1. Outdoor woodland/cottage setting with rustic shingled building in background.
5. Jeanette Johnson & Eva Dolloff
   1. Jeanette in two-tone halter swimsuit, Eva Dolloff in dark one-piece swimsuit.
   1. Standing closely, arms around each other, next to an automobile.

Fashion & Dating Analysis

• Women’s swimsuits – one-piece tank styles, halter necklines, and belted or tied waists are all consistent with 1936–1939 trends.
• Men’s swim trunks – high-waisted with belts, typical of the late 1930s.
• Automobiles – rounded fenders and design details visible in multiple photos place the cars firmly in the mid-to-late 1930s.
• Clothing (non-swim) – Mrs. Harmon’s puffed-sleeve, calf-length floral dress also aligns with late 1930s women’s daywear.

Together, these details corroborate the 1938 development date.

Genealogical Value

• The photographs document the Dolloff family and their circle of friends in summer recreational settings (beach, cottage, archery practice).
• They provide visual confirmation of relationships, especially between Harold and Eva Dolloff, their son Ken Dolloff, and Jeanette Johnson.
• The presence of labeled companions (Mr. Newall, Mike Gordon, Mrs. Harmon) helps place the Dolloffs within a wider social network in 1938.
• These images add context to family history, illustrating leisure activities and fashions of the period.

Conclusion

The Dolloff photographs form a coherent group of late-1930s family images, centered on Mr. & Mrs. Eva Dolloff, their son Ken Dolloff, and close associates including Jeanette Johnson. With identifications written directly on album pages and corroborated by clothing and automobile evidence, they represent well-dated and reliable visual documentation of the family in 1938.

If you can positively identify the individuals in these photographs or if they are previously unseen images of your family members, I would love to hear from you. Just use the comment feature below. Feel free to incorporate these photographs into your genealogical research, citing “Photo Courtesy: Scarborough Historical Society.”

This article was prepared with the assistance of ChatGPT, an AI language model developed by OpenAI, to support research and drafting.