A photograph of a mother holding a baby while a small boy stands next to her.
Mrs. T.O. Hannaher writes “Winter 1931 / Bill 0 / T.P. 6” but does not identify herself or the driveway (west) side of 609 Fourth Avenue South. Bill could be at most 6 months old if it was still his birth year. T.P. is wearing leggings under short pants. The stamp of The Oyloe Studio of Moorhead, Minnesota promises any size film developed and printed for 25¢. Gerhardt E. Oyloe had bought a studio on Center Avenue in 1930.
A photograph of a small boy helped by his mom to walk on a shoveled sidewalk.
The people are identified on the back in ink as Marguerite HILL HANNAHER and Wm J HANNAHER, I’m guessing Billy is two.
A little boy stands by a tricycle in the front yard.
His mother wrote “Billy Jo / 2½ yrs” (which would literally be Christmas time) and he’s standing in the front yard late in the day.
A photograph of three boys and a dog in the backyard.
His mother wrote “T.P. Bill + / Bill Jansen / about 1933 or 34” but the canine’s identity goes unremarked.
A photograph of two boys standing in the back yard, Bill looks at the camera.
An adult Liam writes “with T.P., ca. 1934”, the stamp of The Oyloe Studio is present. Billy is wearing a cap and looks at the camera, while his older brother is turned away from the sun. Thomas is wearing a wide-collared shirt under a V-neck sweater and well-bloused knickers over argyle knee socks and lace-up shoes.
A photograph of two boys standing in the back yard, neither looks at the camera.
The participants are labeled as THOMAS P HANNAHER and WM J HANNAHER of MOORHEAD MN. 609 4th AVE So, the stamp of The Oyloe Studio is present. Billy may be bothered by the sun, his older brother is congenial but also looking away from the sun. The photographer has moved between frames.
A little boy sits on a concrete step at the back door of the house.
An adult hand writes “Back doorstep in Moorhead, ca. 1934” about the boy in a naval blouse, dark shorts, ankle socks, and T-strap shoes.
A little boy stands by a four-wheel cart in the backyard.
An adult Liam writes “ca. 1934,” THE OYLOE STUDIO stamp is present.
A little boy sits in a boat at the dock while a man stands.
There is an Oyloe Studio stamp, his mother wrote “Ray + William J.” to which an adult Liam added “ca. 1935.”
A photograph of two boys standing in the front yard, both look at the camera.
The participants are labeled as WM J HANNAHER and THOMAS P. (ditto mark) of MOORHEAD MN, no stamp is present. Thomas is still favoring the well-bloused knickers over patterned knee socks, now with cap, but Billy is more modern with a jacket over his sweater and long pants.
A photograph of a boy riding a tricycle in the back yard.
His mother wrote “Taken / Fall 1935” (and then a different hand wrote “WM J HAnnaheR / MOORHEAD, MN. 609 4th AVE SO”) he would have been four. Those are likely the garages of people with addresses along Seventh Street, to the southeast.
A photograph of a boy riding a tricycle in the back yard.
His mother wrote “T.P. / W.J. + Jerry doll” (and then a different hand wrote “WM J HAnnaheR / MOORHEAD, MN. 609 4th AVE SO”). The brothers are in full winter gear from caps to boots, Thomas plays a bugle, while Billy indeed carries a doll. The view is west to 603 4th Avenue South.
A photograph of a young boy in overalls standing in a yard behind a director's type folding chair with tall bushes behind.
William J. Hannaher, 5 years old, wearing overalls and a necktie, standing behind a folding chair presumably in the backyard.
A photograph of a young boy with a coat-wearing Grandma standing in the back yard.
Grandma (Ellen Edney, born 1853, died 1937) Hannaher and William J. about 1936.
A photograph of a six year old boy standing in the grass by a lake cottage.
Wm J. Hannaher (6) stands in the grass by a cottage on Lake Pelican, July of 1937.
A photograph of a six year old boy standing in the backyard.
The only notation is a penciled “1937” with Billy presumably in the backyard in Moorhead.
A photograph of a young boy and his aunt in winter clothes, standing on the step at the back door.
“Little Red School House / 1937 / T.O. + W.J.”
A photograph of a boy and his aunt in winter clothing, standing on the step at the back door.
An adult Liam writes “with Grandma Hill, ca. 1938”
A photograph of a boy, his grandmother, his aunt, and his father all in winter clothing, standing in the backyard.
The notation in pen is “T.O; Tresa / Granma / Bill” to which an adult Liam has added “ca. 1937” also in pen. Martha Bell (Alsworth) Hill stands as if she’s using her cane, but no mobility aid is visible.
A photograph of a boy in fall clothing, holding up a ball in the backyard.
“Billy 1938 - ?” Looking west again. Is it a bocce ball?
A photograph of girls and boys lined up in fron of the school door.
“William Hannaher / 1st grade” would place this photograph at the Saint Josephs door (based on later years) in June of 1938. The future Liam is, I would say, fifth from the left in the first row wearing overalls.
A photograph of two boys wear suits and hats, standing in the front yard.
Thos. P. Hannaher 14 yrs / Wm. J. (ditto) 8 yrs 4/16/1939 (a week after Easter). Hats in the front yard.
A photograph of two boys and their father, all wear suits, standing in the backyard.
April 16 - 1939 (a week after Easter). Wm J. Hannaher 8 / Thos. P. (ditto) 14 / Thos. O. (ditto) 57. No hats in this capture.
A photograph of a snowman and an eight year old boy, both are leaning.
February 1940, “Bill” is identified in the margin.
A montage of two photographs in the backyard, two boys, and two boys and their father.
These are adjacent in the photo album but 8 weeks separate the captures: on the left, the only notation is “Easter 1940” which was March 24th that year, the younger brother is wearing a baseball mitt; on the right, the identification is “May 19 — 1940/Wm. J. Hannaher 9/Thos. P. (ditto) 15/Thos. O. (ditto) 58” and the different day can be confirmed by the older brother’s different tie.
A photograph of two boys and their father standing in the backyard, the guy in the middle is wearing a raincoat maybe.
Easter 1941 / W. J. Hannaher 10 / Thos. P. ditto 16 / Thos. O. ditto 59. William was still 9, though, despite what his mother wrote. Is Thomas wearing a raincoat? What kind of shoes is he wearing? While the United States was not yet at war, the bombardment of Belgrade had started a week earlier.
A photograph of the fifth grade class standing at the school entrance.
June 1941 / 5 Grade / St. Josephs School / Moorhead Minn. William (with a determined set to his lips and wearing a plaid shirt and high-waisted trousers in front) had been promoted to the sixth grade on May 29th.
A photograph of two boys and their father standing in the backyard, all wear suits.
April 26, 1942 / Wm J. 10 / Thos. P. 17 / Thos. O. 60. They’re wearing the same suits in the photo with the Lincoln, William’s would survive another year.
A photograph of a man and his two sons all in suits stand next to a new MY1941 Lincoln in the driveway.
William Hannaher stands with his father Thomas O. and brother Thomas P. next to a MY1941 Lincoln-Zephyr V-12 Sedan in the driveway of their home in Moorhead, Minnesota. License plates were embossed red on cream for 1942.
A photograph of a boy and a puppy in the backyard.
Mrs. T. O. Hannaher wrote “Billy + Trix / 1942” and that’s definitely a puppy.
A photograph of two boys playing with a football in the backyard.
“Fall 1942 / Trixie / Pat Hannaher / Billy (ditto)” Brothers playing with a football in the backyard.
A photograph of a boy holding the leash of a dog.
“Palm Sunday / 1943 / April 18th—W J Hannaher / Trixy age One” Standing in front of their house with (the quarter-century older) 323 7th St S in back of them, the other house further back was torn down later. The City of Moorhead’s online property records don’t go back far enough to say when, the lot has been combined all the way to Eighth Street S where a Taco Bell now operates.
A montage of two photographs with two young men and their father, all in suits standing in the backyard. The sun is bright and a black-haired dog has joined them.
Easter, April 25, 1943: “TPH, WJH, TOH, TTH” on the first, “ditto” on the second. Thomas P. had just turned 18, William was finishing seventh grade.
A photograph of a boy and his mother, he wears a tie. The dog has joined them in the backyard.
An adult Liam writes “ca. 1942” when his mother plainly wrote April 194?— but someone has cut off the borders, too. This could easily be 1943 judging by the unidentified canine’s size.
A montage of two photographs at the same spot on the shore of Pelican Lake. William Hannaher is joined by Trixie and Art Hellander and by Tresa Hill and Trixie.
An adult Liam writes ca. 1942 on both photographs, but identifies Pelican Lake on only one, they’re the same two trees. William wears the same clothing in both photographs, but his hair is different (and the weather on the lake has changed, too). Arthur O. Hellander at 16 would have another two years before enlisting in the Navy (or maybe just one if this is 1943 based on the canine’s size). Tresa Hill was William’s aunt. Trixie goes unidentified.
A montage of two photographs with a young man and his father, both in suits standing in the backyard. The sun is bright and a black-haired dog joins them in the second photo.
Different hands but the same text, writing in pencil: Easter 1944. Thomas P. is away after joining the Marines.
A photograph of 13 year-old girls and boys on the steps leading to an institutional entrance.
The care with which the identities of the teens was hand-printed on the back of the print from “CRYSTAL PHOTO SERVICE” of Rushford, Minnesota and dated JUL 1944 is thwarted by someone cutting it down to fit a photo album. The purpose of the photograph is not explained, but the presence of Sister M. Clare, OSB (Principal) and Father Elmer Eisenschenk at the back and the timing suggest the eighth grade at Saint Joseph’s. Bill Hannaher is fourth in the third row. The one boy in front without a tie did ok for himself later in life, and of the other names, most were older than Bill, more than one went on to Moorhead High School (graduating the same year as Bill), and many stayed Catholic.
A photograph of a young man in a tee and long pants in a backyard playing a trombone.
An adult Liam writes ca. 1944 on the back. The distinctive mid-ridge chimney of 407 Seventh Street South is to the east of the backyard.
A montage of two photographs of a man and one son, both wear suits, they are standing in the backyard. A black dog joins them in the right-hand portion.
Billy, Dad and Trixie Sun. May 6, 1945: with the assault on Okinawa having started on April first, older brother Thomas is still away. A skinny Bill is now as tall as his father, Thomas O. Hannaher. The photographer has moved between frames.
A montage of two photographs with two sons and their father, all suits are single breasted, they are standing in the backyard.
An adult Liam writes “ca. 1946” and “ca. 1946 with dog” on the back. The war had ended and Thomas P. was back, all three wear single-breasted suits. Bill at 15¾ was finishing ninth grade and now the tallest of the three. Again the photographer has moved between frames.
A photograph of a broadly smiling white man, taken for his senior year yearbook.
William Hannaher poses for his senior (high school) yearbook photo. He would keep his mouth closed for future portraits.
A photograph of two sons and their father, all wear suits, they are standing in the backyard.
April 17, 1949: another week, and Thomas P. would be 24, he’d married already. William J. was finishing up his first year at a local college. Bill and T.P. wear up-to-date double-breasted wide-lapeled suits, while Thomas O. (who’d been retired for a while) does not.
A montage of two photographs with two sons and their father, all wear suits standing in the backyard, in the second photograph a child appears hiding behind a newspaper.
May 21, 1950: W.J., T.P., and T.O. endure the sun, then an intruder appears (first grandchild “Michael hide behind paper”). No new suits this year. Bill at a month away from being 19 had finished his second year of college in Moorhead. Again the photographer has moved between frames.
A photograph of reporter Bill Hannaher with framed photographs on the wall behind him.
William Hannaher in the The Minnesota Daily newsroom, ca. 1951. The Official Newspaper of the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, Minnesota claimed to have the World’s Largest College Circulation. A “Bill Hannaher” served as Wire Editor and his byline appears twice on the front page of the issue for August 7th that year (via).
A photograph of college students lined up for a class picture.
William Hannaher (20) stands in the third row, second from right, with classmates in Russian in the summer session of 1951 at the University of Minnesota (newspaper bylines place him in both the first session of June 20-July 28 and the second of July 31-September 1). Prof. Thomas F. Magner ( 1918-2004 ) is second from right in the front row, he would publish Introduction to the Serbo-Croatian Language while still at the University in 1956, and revise it in 1991 (with a paperback released in 1995 ) as Professor Emeritus of Slavic Languages at Penn State University.
A photograph of the face of a coiffed young man wearing a suit and tie.
William Hannaher poses for a head shot at HENRY VERBY/PHOTOGRAPHY/2884 Broadway/New York 25, N.Y., probably while he was pursuing a master’s degree at Columbia University. The Moorhead Daily News would use this in its front-page article in 1957.
A photograph of an extended family on the brick front steps of a house.
July 17, 1954, an extended array of Hannahers poses on the front steps of the house in Moorhead. What the writing on the back doesn’t identify is why—Wm. J. had received his master’s degree in New York the previous month and would be inducted into the Army three days later and heading to basic training.
A photograph of US Army soldiers in basic training posing in a field.
William Hannaher (23) stands third from the left at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, about April, 1955. The rifle he and his compatriots in basic training (possibly as part of the 525th Military Intelligence Group) are carrying is probably the M1 Garand . The installation was renamed Fort Liberty in 2023, and named Fort Bragg again in 2025.
A scan of a photograph in a passport shows a young man wearing eyeglasses, a suit, and a striped tie.
William Joseph Hannaher receives a passport valid for 2 months, he’ll use it for travel to Greece, Turkey, and Yugoslavia before returning to Germany and Army life. Was it Official Government business or official leave?
A montage of two photographs showing life on deck of a transatlantic voyage was sunny but chill and windy.
William Hannaher (25) aboard the French ship Liberté (since 1950, previously the German-built SS Europa ) in the Atlantic, November 1956. William identifies passengers Betty Thompson and Louise Parsons (with braids and no socks) but not the photographer. They are traveling westbound from Le Havre, headed for New York. William’s beret seen in one photograph but not the other was blown overboard. The stairs, flagpole, and curved railing places the action on the aft-most part of deck A with the photographer moving from the port quarter to more inboard.
A photograph of suit-wearing men ready for training at the Foreign Service Institute.
William Hannaher (25) stands last in the third row in front of the Mayfair Building at 2115 C Street NW in Washington D.C., the Foreign Service Institute’s first home was soon to be demolished for the construction of the State Department Extension . He and presumably the others are starting their 6-months training course.
A scan of a photograph of a trim white man in a jacket and tie.
W J Hannaher poses for a photograph in a jacket and tie, it would be used for his Yugoslavian drivers license issued March 15, 1958.
A photograph of a cobblestone street with a dark car, a truck, and another car parked.
His mother wrote “June 1958/Yugoslavia” on the back, perhaps William Hannaher did not mention his pre-1959 Mercedes-Benz 180 (with the narrow grille lacking a star) or the two women accompanying him (or the photographer). That’s a MY1957 Chevrolet Suburban and a MY1951 Chevrolet parked along the curb behind him. The “CO” on the license plates doesn’t match any city code that Yugoslavia would have used at the time.
A photograph of a bearded white man wearing glasses, a suit, and a tie.
William Hannaher (28) poses for a photograph which he will use for the passport issued to him on August 27, 1959.
A photograph of a young bearded man wearing a suit, V-neck sweater, tie, and eyeglasses looks aside for his portrait.
William Hannaher poses for a photograph at a ¾ face angle.
A photograph of a groom and bride standing by a heavy wooden door.
William Hannaher and Svetlana Gođevac (26) on September 3, 1959, their wedding day. Svetlana’s copy of this photograph has William’s hand identifying the location as the Studenica Monastery.
William Hannaher and his MY1959 Mercedes-Benz 180.
William Hannaher (28) stands next to his MY1959 Mercedes-Benz 180 somewhere on the road (“Sunny afternoon in the Black Forest, Nov. 1959”) 2½ months after his marriage. He’d bought it at the factory in Stuttgart and retained the West German oval-for-export license plate. The specific day in November (“20”) comes from Svetlana’s copy of the print, she also confirmed the location as Шварцвалд in southwest Germany.
William Hannaher carries his son, Queens has had a snowfall.
Working with a print made in August of 1963, William writes “With Constantine, 66th Ave., winter 1960-1” on the back. Snow had hit the area December 12th, January 19-20, and February 3-4.
A photograph of a dark-haired woman, a red-haired man, and their son as they visit a camera store.
Undated, but no winter apparel is evident. Svetlana Hannaher, William Hannaher, and their son are in a camera store. They can’t afford to buy a camera, so they will use coupons from soup can labels to get a Kodak Hawkeye Flashfun.
A photograph of a dark-haired woman, a red-haired man, and their son as they stand by the Mercedes-Benz 180 in the driveway in Moorhead.
The print says September, the trip to Moorhead started in August. Svetlana, William, and their son are here to visit his parents. It’s impossible to see whether the MY1959 Mercedes-Benz 180 retains its star or turn signal. William’s income this year is below average for the nation, and about half of the average for families headed by college graduates.
A photograph of a grandfather holding a grandson, a grandmother, a dark-haired woman, and a red-haired man at a lake shore.
Mr. Thomas O. Hannaher holds a grandson while his wife, his daughter-in-law Svetlana, and his younger son William stand alongside, it’s probably Lake Sallie.
A photograph of two couples standing in front of the fireplace in Moorhead.
The fifth child for skilled and respected businessman Thomas P. and his wife Mary had arrived in May. Svetlana saved money by never visiting a hairdresser (and cutting everyone’s hair at home).
A photograph of a grandfather, a grandmother, her sister, and a red-haired man with a son in front of the family house.
Working with a print made in August of 1963, William writes “Front yard in Moorhead, fall of 1961” but doesn’t identify his father, his mother, his aunt, or his child.
A montage of two photographs with a father and a smallboy, on a beach.
William writes “with Constantine [on the sandy] beach on/of Roslyn Harbor, early 1962” although it’s far more likely the beach was to the north, for example, what is now the North Hempstead Beach Park. There would have been no admission fee at this time of year.
A montage of two photographs each of a young boy posed on a brick pillar in front a high school with Georgian Revival architecture.
Constantine is posed in front of the Forest Hills High School, Easter 1963 (a bunny figure is visible in the pose with Svetlana). The family had experienced a collision the previous day. Perhaps William thought his son would go to this school some day (at 67-01 110th Street it was barely a block away from their apartment on 66th Avenue).
A montage of two photographs each of a young boy, his father, and his grandfather posed inside and outside.
Three generations of Hannaher, September 1963. The sun is just as bad as at Easter.
A montage of two photographs each of a young boy and his father watching a parade.
It was Tuesday, March 17th but William only writes “St. Patrick’s Day, 86th St., 1964[.]” They were standing (Svetlana would have been several months pregnant) on the north side of the street at the end of the parade route.
A photograph of visitors to a Park Avenue apartment.
No one looks particularly happy visiting her relatives in Manhattan, William is 33½. Svetlana’s father Slobodan, visiting from Yugoslavia at 67, holds a second grandson born in July. We called the (here unseen) relative tetka Anka but the “aunt” relationship would have been in Slobodan’s generation. Anka Gođevac-Subbotić (1890-1983) was known for pioneering activities as a woman in international law.
A montage of two photographs of the Hannaher family now with two sons.
New son, new apartment, no prospects (but he has an Olivetti typewriter): William wrote “With Constantine and Stephen, Jan., 1965” while his mother wrote “August 1965 / Leaving Moorhead” (both families had started using color film the previous year).
A photograph of the family inside a lake cottage.
Birthday cakes on the table at the lake cottage, William was 34 in June and Svetlana turned 32 on the sixteenth in August. There’s also toys on the table, so where is the younger son? The older son would be 5 in September.
A montage of two photographs of a tall man alone.
With his wife and two children away for months on another continent, William (35) travels—with no hint of what camera was used or the photographer’s identity. The original building of the Albright–Knox Art Gallery (as it was known in 1966) dated back to 1905. The other location is identified only as “Milwaukee” but could be overlooking one of the parks in that city.
A photograph of a tall man and his two sons all in winter outerwear, in a woods.
November 24th: “With Constantine and Stephen in Forest Park, Thanksgiving Day, 1966” (the wooded area created by displacing homeowners seventy years earlier was south of their neighborhood).
A photograph of two men and two boys in life preservers all in a boat, the men are brothers, too.
William (37) writes “T.P.’s boat, Lake Melissa, August, 1968” and that is his brother is at the wheel, proud to show off his unsinkable fiberglass boat to visiting relatives (although it looks like his youngest is also aboard).
A photograph of a man surprised by the photographer as he was about to sit at the table.
William (40) didn’t include this frame in any album, it was taken sometime in August of 1971 while the family was in Minnesota. Ban-Lon was a synthetic material created in 1954 which was losing its fashion cachet.
A photograph of a men and his mother and his aunt, sitting on a sofa with gold-colored cushions.
William (41) writes “At home, October, 1972” after posing with his aunt and his mother.
A photograph of four Hannahers around the statue of Robert Emmet in D.C.
William (42) writes “June, 1973, Daniel’s photo” as the Hannahers have gathered at one of four examples of a bronze statue of an Irish man by an Irish sculptor. William’s nephews were in D.C. to hear John Dean testify before Sam Ervin’s Senate Committee, which started on the 25th. The print also has “a Classic Print® by Kota-Kraft” on the back with a logo appropriating an abstract indigenous profile. Kota-Kraft was the photofinishing division of Artz Studio and Camera Supply in Fargo, North Dakota, and Aberdeen, South Dakota, at the time, the business succumbed to digital imaging in 2012 .
A photograph of a family on a river shore by a tree, the father does not look at the camera.
William writes “Above Potomac with David Hills, summer, 1973” even though no such person is included in the frame. These may have been some of the Iowa Hills, possibly David W. Hill (1938-1996) and his mother Mildred R. Hill (1916-2004).
A photograph of a three people smiling as one tugs the other while the third looks at the camera.
William (47) is caught by his sister-in-law while in the dining room at 609 Fourth Avenue, his youngest nephew shares the merriment. No print of this frame made it into the family album.
A photograph of a middle-aged white man wearing a tie and three-piece suit.
William Hannaher poses for a photograph which does not match any extant passport or identity card.
A photograph of an old white man wearing a suit and tie.
Liam Hannaher (75) poses for a photograph which he will use for the passport issued to him on July 13, 2007.