From the viewpoint of the present, when you can take perfectly good videos with a cellphone, it is hard to remember – or imagine – a time when home movie cameras were a rarity, first appearing right after WWII and even then without the capacity to capture sound (which didn't happen till the Sixties). But the Crohn family knew they had something worth preserving and thanks to George Crohn, Sr., who bought an 8mm movie camera early on, we can look at the way we were, way back when, capturing the old tradition of elegant family parties where almost everyone lived nearby and all branches of the family– Baums, Crohns and Websters – were represented. In the next version of this web site, the people you see on screen will be identified (at least to the best of our ability). Any assistance matching faces with names always welcome and appreciated. |
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SWEETHEARTS ON PARADE In this clip we see excerpts from two family parties, one from 1945 (we think), the other from the early (?) 1950's. In each the family, elegantly dressed as always, is seen entering the party and parading past the camera. The song is "The Shadow of Your Smile," with lyrics by our estimable cousin, Paul Francis Webster, winner of three Oscars (nominated for sixteen). |
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| Paul Francis Webster (left) with George Gershwin, c. 1933 | 
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THE HUPSY KLUPSY Marcella Rubel's son, Arthur Rubel, Jr. (or Bobby, as he was often called) was a medical anthropologist who researched indigenous healing practices in Mexico. Maybe, at a young age, he got inspiration for his future career by witnessing this ceremony for initiating prospective (or actual) spouses into the Crohn clan. Sidney Webster, using table linen for his costume, could easily pass for a shaman as he leads this tribal ritual. The song, this time without his words, is "Love is a Many Splendored Thing," another Paul Francis Webster classic and Oscar winner. |
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