POTW: Trio at the Beach

In the spirit of enjoying the warmer weather, this Photo of the Week celebrates a summer trip to the beach. A trio poses after a dip at an unidentified beach, presumably in Brooklyn, around 1915. Left to right are William Winston, Molly Ellerstein, and an unnamed friend. Sitting on a sandy pier in wet tights and a mid-length dress (bathing costume) sounds miserable, which could potentially explain why Molly looks the least pleased of the three, but the boys appear to be having an excellent outing. Roughly six years after this photograph was taken, with the First World War in between, William and Molly married and lived at 993 Carroll Street in Crown Heights. William became an insurance salesman while Molly became a teacher at Midwood High School. Together, they had two children, Carol and Stuart. 

This photograph remains in the family's personal collection and was digitized in 2021 as part of the Jewish History Project of the Brooklyn Public Library. Funded by the David Berg Foundation, this community scanning and oral history repository documents the history, lives, and experiences of Jewish Brooklynites. The collection, largely spanning the twentieth century to 2022, is comprised of digitized oral histories, photographs, personal items, and documents donated by Brooklyn residents reflecting their life and Jewish identity, as well as related web content. The collected materials can be accessed via the digital collections portal under the keyword "BJHP."

Interested in seeing more photos from CBH’s collections? Visit our online image gallery, which includes a selection of our images, or the digital collections portal at Brooklyn Public Library. We welcome appointments to research our entire collection of images, archives, maps, and special collections. Our reference staff is available to help with your research! You can reach us at cbhreference@bklynlibrary.org.