Category Archives: Classic Photos

Audrey Riis Gustafsson and daughter Bonnie, Floral Park, New York, 1952.

Ida M. Adams, Sag Harbor, New York, c1914.

Hans Christian Riis’ brother, Andrew (nee Andreas) Jensen Riis (1869-1936), owned a home construction company at 117th Street and Railroad Avenue (now Babbage Street) in Richmond Hill, New York. Here, some of Andrew’s employees take a break to pose for a photograph in 1907.

From top: Helene Andersen Riis, Thor Riis, Hans C. Riis, Alfred Riis.

The circumstances of this photo are unknown, but it appears to be summer (clothing, baseball bats) and, except for Hans C. Riis and his wife and children, I can identify no other relatives. My guess is that it’s a gathering of Queens neighbors for some special occasion (Fourth of July, perhaps?) in about 1908, judging by the ages of Thor (born 1904) and Alfred (born 1902).

Although the occasion is lost to time, the Riises and Andersens were gathered together in Queens Village in 1929 when this fantastic photograph was taken.

Pictured (left to right): Hans C. Riis, Helene Andersen Riis, Alva Lundquist Riis, Clifford A. Riis, Hans J. Andersen, Helene E. Riis (holding cat), Robert T. Riis, Warren A. Riis (infant), Ida Adams Riis, [Ane] Marie Andersen Gudmundsson, Ingvar Gudmundsson, Thor C. Riis. Not pictured: Alfred Riis, taking the photograph.

August 6, 2012: Two days after Megan’s and Mark’s wedding, the extended Cherry and Gmelin clans and a contingent of close friends gathered in Port Allen, Hawaii, for a boat tour of Kauai’s rugged and beautiful Nā Pali coast. Festive company and some of the world’s most spectacular scenery made a day to be remembered always.