Steps, Stairs and Stoops
For this week’s prompt I thought I’d share some favorite family photos that include steps. While writing this post I discovered the term “stairs” typically refers to a collection of steps in a stairwell. With that definition in mind, just one of my photos can be called stairs. I then discovered a “stoop” is a set of steps terminating at a landing in front of a door. So, most the pictured steps here are really stoops: front-, side- and back-door varieties. Who knew, there was so much to know about steps?
Old Photos
Here’s a sampling of various family members on steps. The oldest one here is un-dated, but I believe it was about 1902. My great grandfather lived with his sister Sarah Osborne Roseboom, and her husband BF Roseboom, after his discharge from the Civil War.
Cute Kids
I really like this old photo of my uncle and aunt sitting on my grandmother’s stoop with my sister Susan in 1950. Such cute kids! I’ve colorized it to help it really pop.
Bolton Avenue
Here’s a collection of images of the front door stoop of the house I grew up in on Bolton Avenue in Indianapolis. In 1969, my sister Susan had an old VW Bug (a 1961 I think) that she had painted a bold yellow at the Earl Sheib. Rather than park on the street, she backed up the driveway and parked on the porch. Our cat really liked sitting on top of the car, he could stare in the front window at us!
Pets
Here’s a photo of our cat, Tippy, sitting on the backdoor stoop. He was a mischievous cat, in and out of scrapes. The other photo here is my two cats, Emily and Charlotte, when they were kittens. I adopted them after I graduated from college and this photo was when they were learning to climb the stairs. They were sisters and were with me for 23 and 22 years, respectively, living in 3 states: IN, AZ and FL.
Conclusion
I hope you enjoyed this sampling of family photos featuring steps, stoops and stairs. One last item I’ll share is a memory my mother has involving steps, a stairway in this case.
When my mother was just 5 years old she received a new doll for Christmas. She was so proud of the doll she wanted to show it to everyone. She asked her grandmother if she could go upstairs to show the doll to the couple who boarded with them. After showing the boarders her new doll, my mother tripped on the stair and dropped the doll. The doll’s head, which was porcelain, was damaged, but only the back of the head. My mother recalls the boarder being very sympathetic and suggested leaving the dolls bonnet on and no one would know the head was broken. This photo is my mother at age 5 with her grandmother and the boarder in front of their home in South Bend, IN. The photo is undated, but given the snow on the ground it may have been taken about the same time as this memory.
SOURCES:
- Webpage, Steps vs. Stairs; https://www.hunker.com/13411146/what-is-the-difference-between-steps-stairs
- Webpage, Steps vs. Stoops; https://www.oldhouseonline.com/repairs-and-how-to/stoops-steps/
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What a clever “take” on the topic of Steps. I really enjoyed your photos.
Thanks for the kind comment, Cheryl!