Not every photo we take is a good one or one worth keeping. I would bet that most of us have cell phones filled with mediocre photos. But every now and then there is a photograph that is special — a family favorite, destined to be kept and passed down to future generations.

One such photograph was taken on the occasion of the marriage of John “Jack” Mattimore and Joan Collins in August of 1957. By this point, Harry’s brood was growing ever larger. Jack and Joan, of course, went on to have Fr. Jack, Colleen, Joanne and Michael (RIP).

It seems weddings (and funerals) are the main occasions when these large family photos are usually taken. I hope you can view this on a tablet or phone that lets you enlarge the image so you can see the happy, smiling faces of Harry’s clan. OK, maybe not all of his grandchildren look so happy, but hey, that’s to be expected of kids. But you can tell from looking at this what a special family Harry had. The best thing about it to me is how at ease and natural everyone looks in this photo; this is anything but a stiff wedding portrait. I’m sure all of the Harry Mattimore families have a copy. My mother had one, which is how I came to have it.

I’m glad to say that I recognized most in the photo with the exception of some of Harry’s grand kids — who are my generation of Mattimores. Thanks to Jane Hashey for helping me out on some of the identifications, and for telling me the occasion of the photograph. Based on the corsages, clothes and happy faces, I had guessed either Easter or a wedding. How many people can you identify? Below is the same photograph but with names added by me. And hopefully I didn’t mix up any of the Sheehan boys! If you see anyone misidentified, please let me know.

Do you have a favorite family photograph? Or any photos you’d like shared in this blog? Feel free to email copies to me at rozanne.hakala@gmail.com and I will share them in a future post.