Here’s another oldie from my archived files. And another eerie coincidence.
There was a note with the photo. “St. Timothy’s, 1956.”
St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church is located in Aiea, a former sugar plantation town near Pearl Harbor. A check of newspaper clippings shows the church had been temporarily holding services in the Aiea Community Association building while their own new church was being built.
My grandmother, Heleualani Eva Cathcart Yonge, is seated in front. She’s the one on the right as you look at the photo, holding a light-colored purse on her lap.
She lived in Waipahu, but had been active in several leeward Oahu organizations, and I believe she had been active in several churches.
I wondered what the occasion was. But when I was uploading the photo for use here, the full caption I had apparently copied when scanning the original appeared in the photo’s “metadata.” It read: “St. Timothy’s. Easter Even, March 31, 1956.”
I was unfamiliar with the term, and had to look up the meaning of Easter Even, which I learned refers to “the 24-hour period preceding Easter.”
By coincidence, today is Easter Even 2020.
Now I realize the congregation had gathered for a photo the day before Easter Sunday in 1956, just as I was preparing to share it today, the day before Easter Sunday in 2020.
I have to confess a moment of “chicken skin” when this realization hit me. Especially because it followed the “coincidence” of finding yesterday’s video of a birthday celebration the evening before my sister’s birthday in 2009, accidentally discovered among thousands of photos and videos I was reviewing on the same day in 2020.
Two days in a row. Two similar coincidences. Cue the “Twilight Zone” music!
Original handwritten caption: St Timothy’s, Easter Even, March 31, 1956. Lani Young seated, front row, right.
note: The original scan was enlarged and enhanced using Topaz A.I. Gigapixel software, which successfully brought out additional details.
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Aloha Ian,
I am the current Vicar of St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church. And your your posting was forwarded to me by a member of St. Andrew’s Cathedral. What a blessed find! I would kindly like to ask your permission to repost it or if I might have a digital copy for our own archives. I have recently come across a number of other old photos and clippings, some go back to that era as there was a large Episcopal Convention at the time. I’ve not had a chance to go through them all, but as I do, I hope your Grandmother can be found among them.
It is Easter Even, and a celebration of life in the resurrection. Easter blessings to you and your family and pray you good health. Mahalo.
What a wonderful note to receive! Thank you for contacting me. Of course you are free to repost, and I’ll be sending you a copy of the higher resolution digital file by separate email.
Kids were a lot cuter back then. Actually looked like kids and I’ll bet they played in the dirt and occasionally ate a bug or two.