Iconic Goertzen Family Portrait Recreated 70 Years Later!

Celeste
Apr 12, 2020
2 min read

Updated: Apr 13, 2020

Maybe we've got too much time on our hands, maybe we've got cabin fever, maybe we just wanted an excuse to dress up on a Sunday, or maybe Avril had finally begged and weedled enough. We did it. And here it is.

The original, taken of the Isaac and Maria Goertzens in 1950.

The recreation, from Quarentine circa 2020.

My Mother (nee Goertzen) wrote a commentary on the process:

"We decided to fulfill Avril's longtime wish as our family historian to recreate the iconic Goertzen family picture from 1950.

It's fun to study a family photo so carefully that you notice not only Cornie's slightly crooked bowtie and Annie's hand so cutely held up in the air, but also Adina's ability to sit up straight while her elbows are resting on her lap and Abe's slightly forward posture looking like he was ready to GO somewhere! Unfortunately we have two too few children. So we were missing one of the older brothers in the back row. And Sonnet had to represent both Agnes and Peter, which she was quite suited for. (Although I can't quite imagine that Peter would have had a breakdown and asked for a blankie in the middle of the original photo shoot :)

In our picture, the older girls sewed the dresses that they are wearing. Sonnet is wearing the dress I wore as a flowergirl at Aunt Annie's wedding.

Amazingly, Oma and I are the same age in the photos, 44 (depending on what time of year it was). This was for their 25th wedding anniversary, I believe, and our 25th will be next year."

Age comparisons (based on the year, not on when the birthdays occur):

Annie 1 Bronte 1

Peter 3 Sonnet 3

Agnes 7

Cornie 9 Takis 11

Martha 13 Avril 16

Henry 15 Phoebe 13

Abe 17 Heath 18

Adina 19 Celeste 20

Dave 23

John 24 Mercer 22

Maria 44 Danea 44