In this film full of delicious looking food, our contributor Ashima turns one year old. She tells us more:

My 1st year birthday party (1969) in Albany Village which is student housing in Berkeley, CA. My father was working on his PhD at UC-Berkeley (Industrial Engineering).

This was a typical Indian gathering, outside and with lots of food. Mama made a lot of the Indian food, but she got the cake and sandwiches catered. There were probably 30+ people in attendance.

There is a man holding me whose name is Russ. He was friends with my Leo Uncle. Leo and Ruth were two individuals who became like my Papa and Mama’s second parents in the US. We always had Easter and Thanksgiving with them when we lived in CA.

Anyway, Mama is wearing a sari that Papa gave her as a wedding gift. She still owns it! The two older girls are Raman (who lives in Detroit now) and Sunaina (not sure where she is now). Then, the other two babies I’m sitting with her friends I used to play with a lot. Mama couldn’t remember their names. The blue outfit I am wearing was sent to my Mama by her Mama. Ruth Auntie and my mama found the tights at a dime store called Kresge.

Interestingly, the Kresge dime store was the forerunner to the modern Kmart. Here are some fantastic recordings of the in-store background music to truly put you back in the 1960s Kresge experience. Read more about the history of the Kresge and Kmart stores here. And the Kresge Foundation website is here.

Click “MPEG-2″ above for a high resolution version of this film and more from Ashima at the Internet Archive.

This week, a charming tour of one of my favorite childhood haunts in the Bay Area, Children’s Fairyland. Located near Lake Merritt in Oakland, California, this theme park based on children’s literature is still very much alive, and not much changed from what we see in this film, submitted by Ashima here in Grand Rapids.

Ashima has a few words to add:

Must be 1968 and my Papa is holding me in the beginning. Papa was always wanting to use his camera to take pictures and video of me. Mama said that they had planned to send them to India, but never did.

Here’s another great set of photos from this unique place. A fun YouTube home movie that takes us down the rabbit hole in the Alice in Wonderland section. Here‘s a current bird’s eye view of the park, and an aerial view from Google maps.

Click the MPEG-2 link above for a high resolution version of this home movie on the Internet Archive.

This week, a beautiful and tender movie of a mother clearly in love with her new baby. Submitted by Ashima here in Grand Rapids, Michigan, the film features footage from California’s Bay Area in the late 1960s. A bit more detail from Ashima, who was the baby in the film:

Circa 1968 at Albany Village. Outside the apartment, the red car is what my parents used to drive. The red dress I am wearing my mama made. She used to make a lot of the clothes as long as the fabric cost less than $.25.

Next, outside on the lawn on the University campus. The pram was used for both Ashima and Shailesh [Ashima's brother, born later]. Sari was silk given by Mama’s mama when she got married. Building is near or around Berkeley campus. Hippie is some guy playing the guitar on Berkeley’s campus. My mama said that she didn’t think of him as a hippie, he was just a nice person playing pretty music. How sweet is that?! I love that shot! My mom in a sari and this dude playing guitar! Cultures come together peacefully!

Albany Village is now known as UC Village, a student housing complex just outside of the University of California at Berkeley campus. Ashima’s father was was then working on his Ph.D in Industrial Engineering.

Click the “MPEG-2″ link above for high-resolution footage of this lovely film from the Internet Archive.

I love this week’s film from the 1950s. A simple haircut produces tremendous drama. Our submitter, Susan S. of Louisiana, USA, sums it up best:

My Dad, Carter, is giving my brother, Stephen, his first haircut and I am sure that Mom is taking the pictures. Dad was always the one to give haircuts, bathe us, trim nails etc. I think he was way braver than mother would have been with those scissors! My brother never did like haircuts but Dad continued to be his barber until the ’60′s when he let his hair grow! I think it’s funny at the beginning of the film, that Dad thought Stephen was going to just sit in that chair with the towel around his neck and be cooperative!

Click the “MPEG-2″ link above for a high-resolution version of this film, available for download and re-use under a Creative Commons copyright license through the Internet Archive.

Things I love about Old Christmas’: Ashtrays, metal toys, stockings for Porky, miniature bowling alleys, blinding light, ice in tumblers, gravy boats, modeling for moms, Cookie Monster slippers, babies trapped in rolling apparatus, aunts, AM radios, weapons, little bakers, mesmerizing toy packaging, cat tails, typewriters, ez bake ovens, kids buried in wrapping paper, 6-packs, 60 lb. radio controllers, floral house coats, moms who like everything, and easy to please grandpas.

Music: “Blue Christmas” by Jack, Tanner, and Anja. More songs here. Check out Anja’s website which is chock full of her beautiful original artwork, vintage clothes, found photos, and fun blogs.

This week’s post is a beautiful, relaxing family get together from 1948, sent to us by Diane Dobronte in California. She offers some background:

This film is a real treasure for my family as it is the only record I’ve found of my Grandparents. It was shot in 1948 by my Dad, Frank Dobronte, on a visit to see his family in Trenton, NJ. My Grandparents: John and Rose Dobronte migrated to the United States from Hungary in 1906. They married in 1911 and went on to have 10 children, five sons and five daughters. They were all hardworking, tireless and had a lot of fun together.

This looks like a Saturday or Sunday at 940 Franklin St, Trenton – my grandparents house. Four of the five handsome sons are there: as they come out the door, Ernie, Bill, Zoil, Frank (my dad) and Grandpop (son John is missing). Three of the daughters, Maggie, Ethel and Bette are there as well as three of the wives: Zoil’s wife, Lorraine, and Ernie’s wife, Audrey with their baby son, Erniejr… always known to me as “little Ernie”; and Sylvia my Uncle Bill’s wife (daughters Helen and Rose are not in the film).

My Grandpop was known as a wonderful gardener and he shows some of his garden off in part of this clip. The little boy with the fireman’s hat on is James Schultz, son of Maggie… (we always called him Sarge-I’m not sure why)… he didn’t become a fireman. My Grandpop was a poet and wrote poems to the love of his life, Grandmom. Unfortunately I did not learn to speak Hungarian and missed a lot of what they said to me… but there were always smiles, laughter and lots of delicious Hungarian dishes whenever we visited – I remember a feeling of deep love.

In the clip they are all coming out of the side door that went into the kitchen… lots of good things were made in there!

Be sure to visit the Internet Archive for a full-resolution version of this excerpt and additional footage.

The full reel is available as a high quality download at the Internet Archive, and includes images of kids with horses, camping, climbing trees, a snowy winter, a young woman in a high school graduation robe, and other wonderful scenes of everyday life.

Music: “Colt” by Savage Kong

Our first post comes from a giant box of home movies belonging to Aaron’s aunt. This excerpt features one of the great staples of home movies, a white Christmas with a toddler delighting in new presents, some amazing tobogganing, and a captivating moment of self-discovery in a mirror that would make Jacques Lacan proud. Shot on the U.S. East Coast in 1966.

The full length version of this film will soon be available as a high-quality mpeg2 download at the Internet Archive; however, the uploading function there seems to be down at the moment. We’ll keep working on it and post an update when it’s ready.

And, this film is an example of the quality of transfers we’ll be offering as part of the Lost in Light project.

Here’s to the New Year!