This amusing image shows Bertha Edwards Finch of Springs sitting atop a horned bovine with one foot on a stepstool. The photograph is a part of the Springs Historical Society Collection.
Born in Springs in 1872 to George B. and Martha T. Edwards, she grew up on a farm there until age 25, when she married Charles Howard Finch, an Englishman living in Freeport. The pair were married in the Springs Chapel in 1897 by Charles’s father, and they celebrated afterward with a gathering at Bertha’s family home. By 1902, they were living in Springs with three sons.
Bertha and Charles (who was most often referred to as C. Howard) were active in the Presbyterian Church, teaching Sunday school and leading Christmas pageants. Charles even served as honorary librarian for the church in 1904.
Bertha taught in the Springs School for years, and she was principal for the 1919-20 school year. With the boys grown, the whole family moved to Nassau County, and there Bertha returned to teaching. Unfortunately, after a few years Bertha’s youngest son and her husband died within six months of each other. They were 22 and 51 years old. Bertha died in Wantagh in 1962 at the age of 89.
In the photograph, she is obviously an older woman and dressed in the popular styles of the late 1930s and early 1940s. She sits precariously, side-saddle with one foot gently resting on the mounting stool, clearly posing for the camera.
This image is part of a larger collection of Edwards family photographs, but no additional context is available. Given her pose and attire, it seems to be staged, or planned for a fair or festival. Whatever the reason, the photo brings a smile and captures a bit of Bertha’s personality.
—
Moriah Moore is a librarian and archivist in the East Hampton Library’s Long Island Collection.
