Dad's Slides: An Early Breyer Horse

Leslie recently began going through several large boxes that are stuffed full of our dad's slides. Dad was an amateur photographer with his own dark room, and my brother and sisters and I are very familiar with his films as we watched those frequently as a family. But, we never saw the thousands of slides that he took and then tucked away. Until now.

My sister bought a slide scanner and has been going through the first box, digitalizing the slides and then sending them on to the rest of us. I've been in tears more than once at seeing people, pets, and events that I did not remember until the photos brought them back.

As you might imagine, many of the slides of my sister and me have a horse in them. I'll be posting some of those in future blog posts. Here's one to start with.

This is Leslie opening her birthday gifts in April, 1969. That's a glossy grey Appaloosa Fighting Stallion, one of the prettiest colors Breyer has done on that mold. And he has a blue ribbon sticker!

That piece is still around and displayed on my shelves with my other Fighting Stallions. (Leslie gave him to me when she stopped collecting.)

And he's in great condition, especially considering that he was played with as much as he was.

I've seen people post photos on social media of themselves as kids opening now-vintage Breyers under the Christmas tree or for their birthdays. I never dreamed that there might be photos of me in that same situation. My fingers are crossed that among the thousands of slides Leslie has, there will be one of those.

But something much, much better than that is also happening. As I look at all these old slides that she is sending me, it is very clear that Dad loved his family. It feels as though he is sending me hugs from heaven. 

And that is the best thing coming out of those big brown boxes.