Tag: Cocoa Beach

Color!

admin6 Comments

At this moment, most if not all of my readers are practicing some form of “social distancing” because of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. I hope you are all staying well and coping with the difficulties associated with this historic situation.

With today’s post, I have a suggestion that will hopefully lift your spirits and alleviate any boredom you might be experiencing. The suggestion comes courtesy of the MyHeritage genealogy website. Back in February (it seems so long ago!), MyHeritage introduced MyHeritage in Color™, a feature that automatically colorizes black and white photographs. As an introductory offer, users could upload and colorize up to ten photos. Once the limit was reached, a user would need a paid subscription to continue using the feature. I tried it out and was impressed with the results. However, I did not opt for the paid subscription.

A few days ago, I was surprised to receive this email message from MyHeritage.

Clipboard01

Yes, they are offering “free and unlimited access” to this feature. I took them up on the offer and went through my collection and colorized about 200 photos. More importantly, if you have old photos stashed away, you might want to try it out yourself. It’s a good way to stay active if you’re stuck at home. This shows what a photo looks like before and after colorization.

OLD CASBON GROUP REPAIRED-Comparison
Sylvester and Mary (Mereness) Casbon, with Sylvester’s descendants; about 1905,
Valparaiso, Indiana; author’s collection (Click on image to enlarge)

The results are impressive. The process uses artificial intelligence (AI) to decide which colors to use and where to place them. The computer algorithms are very good, but not perfect. If you look carefully at the photo above, you’ll see that the right hand of the girl standing in the front row is still gray. The AI failed to identify it as a body part. You can see a more extreme version of this in this detail from a photograph of Amos and Carrie Casbon’s family.

Amos kids
Detail from photograph of Amos and Carrie (Aylesworth) Casbon’s family and
home near Boone Grove, Indiana, about 1911; courtesy of Ron Casbon

The AI has missed two of the children altogether, making them look like clay sculptures.

On the other hand, some of the results are amazing. The AI seems particularly good at producing flesh tones, hair color, and vegetation. In most cases, it seems to do a good job with clothing as well. I would think that better quality scanned images are more likely to fare well, but I’ve had good results with poor quality originals.

Casbon Jesse and Elizabeth Ryan Cocoa Beach undated-Colorized
Jesse John II and Elizabeth (Ryan) Casbon, Cocoa Beach, Florida; adapted
from an iphone photo of the original; courtesy of John N. Casbon 

You can also see that the MyHeritage logo gets added to the colorized image—a small price to pay, in my opinion.

Do you have old black and white family photos or snapshots? I encourage you to try this out. Visit https://www.myheritage.com/incolor, where you’ll need to sign up for a free account. You’ll need to scan your black and white photos to make digital copies so you can upload them to the web page. I suggest you use a scanning resolution of 300 dots per inch or better.

Here are some of the favorites from my collection.

Sylvester & Mary Mereness Casbon 1889-ColorizedReuben Casban and Elizabeth Mary Neyland-Colorized
Left: Sylvester and Mary (Mereness) Casbon, courtesy of Ilaine Church;
Right: Reuben and Elizabeth (Neyland) Casben, courtesy of Phil Long

Lawrence Kate 3 boys and horse abt 1898-Colorized
Lawrence and Kate (Marquart) Casbon and family; seated on the horse, L to R, are Lynnet, Loring and Leslie; about 1898 near Hebron, Porter County, Indiana; courtesy of Don Casbon (Click on image to enlarge)

JamesC-ColorizedAmos C and Carrie wedding photo-Colorized
Left: James Casbon; Right: Amos and Carrie Belle (Aylesworth) Casbon; both courtesy of Ron Casbon

Donald and Herb Casbon-ColorizedCasbon Herman Floyd and Harriet-Colorized
Left: Donald Glen Casbon (L) and Herbert Aylesworth (R) Casbon, undated; courtesy of Michael J. Casbon;
Right: L to R—Herman, Harriet, and Floyd Casbon; courtesy of Claudia Vokoun (Click on images to enlarge)

Casbon Electric delivery truck ca 1940-Colorized
Lynnet Casbon and an unidentified man delivering a refrigerator in
Valparaiso, Indiana, about 1940; courtesy of Dave Casbon

Casban Margaret and Ellen hops picking-Colorized
Margaret (Donovan) Casban (second from left), her daughter Nell (third from left),
and others, hops picking in Sussex, England, early 1930s; courtesy of Alice Casban

 

Snapshots: Anna Mae and Jesse Casbon II

adminLeave a comment

Here are a few more odds and ends from the treasure trove sent to me by John N Casbon, grandson of Anna (1876–1957) and son of Jesse (1898–1974) and Elizabeth (Ryan, 1906–2000) Casbon.

John Newton Kitchel Family, about 1902

Kitchel John Anna Jesse Steven abt 1903
Photo Courtesy of John Casbon (Click on image to enlarge)

The inscription on the photo reads “Dads father/mother” with arrows pointing to John Newton Kitchel and Anna Mae (Casbon) Kitchel. The two young boys are Steven (left) and Jesse II (right). The “Dad” referred to in the inscription probably refers to Jesse and would have been added at a later date by one of his children. The back of the photo has a handwritten label that reads: “John Newton – F (?? – possibly “am”); Jesse II & Steven; Hunting Lodge; Wisconsin.” I like the composition of this photo, with a large tree stump and possibly garden in the foreground, guns and flags on the front of the log house.

The photo is undated, but I’m guessing it was the summer or fall of 1902, based on the apparent ages of the boys. Jesse was born in December, 1898 and Steven in August, 1900. The identities of the other family members are not given; they are possibly other relatives on the Kitchel side.

This was obviously taken before Anna and John Newton Kitchel were divorced. After the divorce, he remained in Wisconsin, while she went first to Minnesota, and then later to stay with her father Jesse in Indiana. She had the boys’ last name changed back to Casbon.

Anna and family

Casbon Jesse Steve Eliz Ryan Anna Fleming Betty Photo Courtesy of John Casbon (Click on image to enlarge)

The back of this photo (same handwriting as the previous photo) reads: “Betty – F(em?)– Mom – Jesse II – Steve.” John Casbon tells me that Betty was his sister Elizabeth Casbon (1924–2011). Second from left is Anna Mae (Casbon) Fleming. Given the labels on the two photos, I’m wondering if she had a nickname of “Fem” or something similar. “Mom” is Elizabeth (Ryan) Casbon (1906–2000). Next is Jesse II, and then Steven, Jesse’s brother (1900–1979).

The date of the photo is harder to determine. Betty was born in 1924. It’s hard to guess her age in the photo, but she looks like she could be in her early teens. Jesse and Elizabeth’s next child was born in December, 1937. I’m guessing the photo was taken before that, since the baby is not included in the picture. Elizabeth does not appear pregnant, so if the photo was taken in 1937, it would have been early in the year. The car looks like a 1930s design, but that doesn’t help. It’s possible the picture was taken in the late 1930s or possibly even early 1940s. The entire family was still living in Maryland at the time, so that’s probably where the photo was taken. I don’t have much else to say, except it appears that everyone in the family looks stylish and dapper!

Jesse’s Barber Shop, Glen Burnie, Maryland

Jesse barber shop MD
Photo Courtesy of John Casbon (Click on image to enlarge)

The back of the photo is labeled “Barber Shop in Glen Burnie Md – our car 1938.” When we last heard about Jesse (in 1922), he was in the confectionary business with brother Steven.[1] However, by the 1930 census, his occupation was listed as “Barber.”[2] John Casbon tells me that Jesse had been in the painting business with Steve and learned the barber’s trade from an older man. “Dad later had 6 chairs and made a good living and during the depression men needed a job so getting a haircut was very important.”[3]

Jesse’s Barber Shop, Cocoa Beach, Florida

Casbon Jesse barber ship Cocoa Beach FL Photo Courtesy of John Casbon (Click on image to enlarge)

According to John, his dad moved to Florida in 1947. “He moved to cocoa beach on a hunch that there was going to be a space program in a town of cocoa beach. … the barber shop was town hall and everyone came there to sit in AC and run the town.”[4] Jesse was an astute businessman who bought and developed a lot of downtown property. With Cape Canaveral on one side and Patrick Air Force Base on the other, the town was in an ideal location. The fact that the shop was air conditioned (see the sign by the door!) probably enticed his customers to linger. John says the family lived in the door to the left of the barber ship. Many German scientists also lived there, and John recalls playing with the children of Wernher von Braun.

Elizabeth and Jesse

Casbon Jesse and Elizabeth Ryan Cocoa Beach undated
Photo Courtesy of John Casbon (Click on image to enlarge)

You can see that this photo was taken in front of the Cocoa Beach barber shop and residence. Once again, it’s obvious and Jesse and his lovely wife were stylish dressers. The photo is also undated, but appears to be late 1940s or early 1950s to me.

Thanks again to John for the photos and his reminiscences. Reader contributions are always welcome!

[1]Jon Casbon, “Jess & Steve’s Excellent Adventure,” 9 Jul 2018, Our Casbon Journey (https://casbonjourney.wordpress.com/2018/07/09/jess-steves-excellent-adventure/ : accessed 26 August 2018).
[2] 1930 U.S. Census, Anne Arundel County, Maryland, population schedule, Glen Burnie, enumeration district 2-25, sheet 8A, p. 71 (stamped), dwelling 161, family 164, Jesse Casbon; imaged as “United States Census, 1930,” FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9RH3-8SN?i=14&cc=1810731 : accessed 26 August 2018), Maryland > Anne Arundel > Election District 5 > ED 25 > image 15 of 94; citing NARA microfilm publication T626, roll 845.
[3] John Casbon (e-address for private use) to Jon Casbon, email, 9 Jul 2018, “Glen Burnie”; privately held by Jon Casbon (e-address for private use).
[4] Ibid.