The inaugural Family Archive Caption Contest #1 here at Walking the Berkshires prompted numerous wry and witty suggestions from my valued readers. The judges have made their decision, and we have a winner!
Congratulations to Brian Downey of the excellent blog Behind AotW for his caption:
"Oh, he's a good lad, but I prefer the Porsche 356 Speedster"
Brian's entry appealed for many reasons, not the least of which was that it is virtually the last thing I would have expected the subject of this family photograph to say. As promised, the actual facts (as far as can be determined) behind this image are these:
That endearing older woman with the blue tinted hair and padded headscarf is none other than my beloved great aunt Margaret "Margie" Ogden (1905-2003), the family genealogist whose extensive archive is now in my keeping and forms much of the inspiration for the posts that appear here on matters historical or relating to kith and kin. The driver of the car is her nephew Archibald "Archie" Ogden, who lives in the Virgin Islands and has inherited his father and grandfather's red hair and impish smile. Whose car they are riding in I have no idea...
Update (2/2/2007) I am told by reliable authority (a former high school classmate and reader of this blog who had a business restoring old British sports cars) that the vehicle in this photograph is an MGA. These were made in England by MG from 1955-1962 but he can't tell the model year from the photograph. Archie's parents lived in London for many years, so I now suspect the picture was taken in Britain. The chances of the ex-pat Ogden's owning one of these beauties are absolutely nil as they were notoriously short of funds, and sad to say even on occasion had to hock the family silver, but it is certainly possible that Archie charmed the keys off a friend to take his aunt for a spin.
...It is, at any rate, not Margie's venerable late 1960s vintage Dodge Dart, done in by a hurricane's surge at Point Pleasant, NJ in the late 1980s. The year is 1964, which one might have guessed from the (uncharacteristically) fashionable attire worn by Archie and those merry unknowns in the background. It is likely a wedding, but I have not determined which.
Since that was such fun, here is the next installment of the Walking the Berkshires Family Archive 
Caption Contest (#2). As with the previous contest, please submit your wittiest captions (or if you prefer, a short story in 50 words or less with plot twists, character development, and a conclusion) and don't hold back just because these are my relatives. Family is fair game when it comes to humor.
Caption this!
