Daniel Ray Dreffs, circa 1970

This is a picture of my wonderful Uncle Danny (Daniel Ray Dreffs) while he was serving in the US Army in 1970 at the age of 18.  The picture was taken inside his mother’s house in the living room by the front door.

What drives me crazy about this picture – and don’t get me wrong, it’s wonderful – are the two portraits inside the portrait.

Did you notice the portrait of the graduate on the wall to the left?  Who IS that??  My grandmother had 12 children who lived to see 18 years old, and many of them did not graduate from high school so this portrait intrigues me.  It may have been one of my cousins.

Check out the portrait on the television.  Clearly it is a military portrait with a flag in the background.  It might have been Uncle Danny or it might have been Randall Dreffs, another family member who was in the Army.  I’ve never seen that portrait outside of this photo.

Did you see the portrait of the woman on the table?  I believe that is Uncle Danny’s mother, my grandmother Mary Rose Stroik.  I have never seen that portrait in person and cannot be sure.  It is a mystery, and it’s driving me mad!