A Legacy Lives
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 COURTESY OF JODY LATIMER MAURER When Norval Latimer (in the driver's seat) married Margaret Moore (in the back seat) in 1890 he was the manager of the pioneer Dexter Horton bank. When they posed with three of their children for this 1907 view in front of the family home on Terry Street, Norval was still managing the bank, and would soon be made both president and director as well.
SUE CHAMPNESS Margaret Latimer Callahan stands in the street where her family posed nearly a century ago. |
At least two artifacts have survived the 99 years since the photo of the Latimer family — or part of it — was taken in front of their home on First Hill.
The scene was almost certainly recorded in 1907 because a slightly wider version of the same photograph shows construction scaffolding still attached to St. James Cathedral's south tower, far right. The cathedral is the most obvious artifact. By the time of the church's dedication on Dec. 22, 1907, the scaffolding was removed. The second artifact is the stone wall that once restrained the Latimer lawn and now separates the Blood Bank parking lot from the sidewalks at the southwest corner of Terry and Columbia.
In the contemporary photo, Margaret Latimer Callahan stands about 2 feet into Terry Street and near where her banker father, Norval, sat behind the wheel in the family Locomobile. Born on July 22, 1906, Margaret is the youngest of Norval and Margaret Latimer's children.
For a while, some of us thought Margaret might be a third visible link between the then and now. But doubts arose. Who is sitting on papa Norval's lap? Is it his only daughter or his youngest son, Vernon? After polling about 100 discerning friends, including Latimer descendents, I found a consensus that Vernon is the one under the white bonnet. Margaret agrees. "I was probably inside with a nurse while three of my brothers posed with my parents."
Margaret also notes that her father is truly a poser behind the wheel, for he was never a driver. Sitting next to him is Gus, the family chauffeur with whom he has traded seats for the moment.
The clever reader has already concluded that Margaret Latimer Callahan will be celebrating her centennial in a few weeks. Happy 100th, Margaret.
Paul Dorpat specializes in historical photography and has published several books on early Seattle.
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