This picture was taken in 1906 or 1907. Considering the angle, the photographer was standing on the southwest corner of St. Joseph and Beauregard (Hunt) Streets, which was the front of Papa Nick's billiards and pool business (151 Beauregard St.). The following are pictured from right to left: Edward Franelich, my great-uncle and brother to Amalie Franelich (my grandmother); my grandmother; Laura Odelia Franelich (baby), my great-aunt; their maid; Miss Vernice Aubey, my grandmother's life long friend (at left); boy is unknown. My grandmother told me the mule and wagon in the background belonged to Papa Nick, and was used for his deliveries.
A Short History and reason for this site
Ever since I was a small kid, I had an interest in the history of our family and loved listening to stories my older relatives told. I listened carefully about the hardships and difficulties, how life was lived through the generations, and the good times and the bad. Small and insignificant things were important to me because they were part of the whole story.
My great-aunt, Laura Odelia Franelich (Dee Dee), possessed most of the documents, pictures and everything else that was passed down from generation to generation. She was living with her mother, Mama Laura, at the time of Mama Laura's death, and then, everything there remained with Dee Dee in the same house until she died.
There were many times, when I was older, I would just drop by and drink a beer while studying the obits and documents Dee Dee would pull out for me. I always found that experience relaxing; it pulled me out of my daily routine and allowed my mind to enter a different time in history. It was especially enjoyable because I had my own personal narrator, Dee Dee, to answer all of my questions. I wasn't sure where her pictures and historical documents would end up, so in the early 1970s I reproduced her pictures by photographing them and started taking notes.
Dee Dee jokingly would ask what each of us kids wanted from her estate when she died. I would hear money, jewels, the house, and furniture from everybody else, but my answer was always the same—I just want the documents relating to our family. I'm not sure who got what from her estate, but I know I got the documents and pictures. This site exist because of the photographs, documents, and family legacy passed down through generations by old fashion story telling—and my dedication to family.
After years of studying and protecting the documents you will see on this site, I decided to give them a permanent home. A home where they will be protected and shared with the public for generations: I donated them to the History Museum of Mobile—It was the right thing to do.