Olga was born in 1901, so she was 22 yrs old in this photo. Unfortunately, four and a half years later, she died of complications related to tuberculosis. (Her younger sister, Mary, died of TB four months prior to Olga's death.) My mom said that her dad, who was the second-youngest child in the family, never talked about his older siblings who passed away before their time (a brother, John, died in 1922 at age 16 of rheumatic fever). Either he didn't remember much, or those times were just so painful for the family that he didn't want to bring it up. I'm glad this photo has survived, though. I think Olga's eyes look just like mine, both in shape and color. I've got the Bellan eyes.
©2014, copyright Emily Kowalski Schroeder