I think that this photo might be a celebration of the 25th Wedding Anniversary of Pete & Jean Cojocar in 1973 while they were visiting in Windsor, Ontario. What do you think?
Who: There are seventeen people in this photo. The common thread of relationships between the people in the photo is children of Nick & Garafira Cojocar.
Where: Basement of a house in the are of Windsor, Ontario, Canada or Detroit, Michigan, USA. We might assume that it is the home of someone in the photo. Do you know whose house this photo was taken at?
When: 1973 is a good guess
Why: The guests of honour in the photo seem to be the people being honoured with gifts, Pete & Jean Cojocar.
In this photo we see that Jean (#2) and Pete (#4) are holding some artwork. Pete is holding a reproduction of The Blue Boy (1770) by Thomas Gainsborough. Jean is holding a reproduction of the painting Sarah Barrett Moulton AKA Pinkie (1794) by Thomas Lawrence. These pictures are commonly sold together although their subjects are not associated with each other. We can assume that they are gifts as there appears to be gift wrapping paper on the table.
Why are they receiving gifts? Not certain. One guess might be that they are commemorating the fact that Pete & Jean Cojocar travelled all the way from their home in Saskatchewan to visit. Another guess might be a celebration of Pete and Jean’s 25th Wedding Anniversary which would have been in 1973.
How many can you name?
If you click on the photo or here you can see a larger version.
Use these buttons to jump to information for each numbered person:
People in the photo
I have labelled people with a number on their chest or above their heads. The names are below. How many do you recognize?
1. Kenneth Cojocari was born in 1950, the son of Louie (not in photo) & Peggy Cojocar (#14). This would make his age abut twenty-three (23) in this photo.
2. Jean Cojocar nee Colcerin was born to Nick “Charlie” & Lily Colcerin in Regina and would have been about forty-four (44) years old at the time of this photo. Jean would raise three wonderful children and would marry a second time after parting with her husband Peter (#4). She lived her life in Regina Saskatchewan.
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Peter Cojocar husband of twenty-five (25) years at the time of this photo.
3. Alice Pecaric nee Cojocari was the 7th born of 18 children in 1917 on her parents, Nick & Garafira’s farm in Saskatchewan. She would have been about fifty-six (56) at the time of this photo. Alice left her parents home at about the age of sixteen (Read more in Cojocari Farewell) to find opportunities in Ontario during the Great Depression.
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Ontario is where she would meet her husband Joe (#9). Alice would raise two children with her husband over their forty-five (45) year marriage until his death in 1979. They would live their lives in Windsor, Ontario.
Joe Pecaric: Husband of thirty-nine (39) years at the time of this photo.
Mary Avram nee Cojocari: Older sister
Jeanie Stanciu nee Cojocari: Older sister
Anna Golka nee Cojocari: Younger sister
Elie Cojocari: Younger brother
Peter Cojocar: Younger brother
Dora Avram nee Cojocari: Younger sister
4. Peter Cojocar was the 17th child born in 1928 to Nick & Garafira on their farm near Kayville, Saskatchewan and would have been about forty-five (45) at the time of this photo. Peter married Jean Colcerin when he was about twenty (20) years old and they would raise three children together before divorcing. Pete would live his life in Regina, Saskatchewan.
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Jean Cojocar nee Colcerin: Wife of twenty-five years at the time of this photo in 1973.
Mary Avram nee Cojocari: Older sister
Jeanie Stanciu nee Cojocari: Older sister
Alice Pecaric nee Cojocari: Older sister
Anna Golka nee Cojocari: Older sister
Elie Cojocari: Older brother
Dora Avram nee Cojocari: Younger sister
6. Elie Cojocari was the 16th born in 1926 to Nick & Garafira on their farm near Kayville, Saskatchewan and would have been about forty-seven (47) at the time of this photo. Elie married Mary Bolohan (not in photo) in 1954 with whom he would raise four children. Elie and Mary would celebrate 48 years of marriage until his death in 2003 at the age of seventy-six (76).
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Mary Avram nee Cojocari: Older sister
Jeanie Stanciu nee Cojocari: Older sister
Alice Pecaric nee Cojocari: Older sister
Anna Golka nee Cojocari: Older sister
Peter Cojocar: Younger brother
Dora Avram nee Cojocari: Younger sister
7. Anna Golka nee Cojocari was the 8th born to Nick & Garafira in 1918 on their farm near Kayville, Saskatchewan and would have been about fifty-five (55) at the time of this photo.
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Ben Golka: Husband of 21 years at the time of this photo in 1973.
Mary Avram nee Cojocari: Older sister
Jeanie Stanciu nee Cojocari: Older sister
Alice Pecaric nee Cojocari: Older sister
Elie Cojocari: Younger brother
Peter Cojocar: Younger brother
Dora Avram nee Cojocari: Younger sister
8. Nick Avram was born in 1910 to Nicoale & Mary Avram likely on their family farm near Rouleau, Saskatchewan.
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Mary Avram nee Cojocari: Wife of about 41 years at the time of this photo in 1973
Paul Avram: First cousin
9. Joe Pecaric was born in Yugoslavia in about 1908 and would have been about sixty-five (65) years old in 1973.
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10. Dora Avram nee Cojocari was the youngest child (18 of 18) born in 1929 to Nick & Garafira on their farm near Kayville, Saskatchewan and would have been about forty-four (44) at the time of this photo.
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Paul Avram: Husband
Mary Avram nee Cojocari: Older sister
Jeanie Stanciu nee Cojocari: Older sister
Alice Pecaric nee Cojocari: Older sister
Anna Golka nee Cojocari: Older sister
Elie Cojocari: Older brother
Peter Cojocar: Older brother
11. Mary Avram nee Cojocari was the 5th born child to Nick & Garafira in 1915 on their farm near Kayville, Saskatchewan and would have been about fifty-eight (58) at the time of this photo.
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Nick Avram: Husband
Jeanie Stanciu nee Cojocari: Younger sister
Alice Pecaric nee Cojocari: Younger sister
Anna Golka nee Cojocari: Younger sister
Elie Cojocari: Younger brother
Peter Cojocar: Younger brother
Dora Avram nee Cojocari: Younger sister
12. Ben Golka was born in about 1920. I don’t know where yet. He would have been about fifty-three (53) when this photo was taken in 1973. At the age of thirty-two (32) Ben married a thirty-three (33) year old Anna Golka nee Cojocari.
13. Louise Cojocari
14. Peggy Cojocari nee Duffy was born in Ontario to parents of Irish descent Thomas and Lena Duffy in 1920. Peggy would have been about fifty-three (53) in 1973 when this photo was taken. Peggy was about twenty-six (26) years old when she married Louie Cojocar (not in photo) in Sturgeon Falls, Ontario.
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Louise Cojocari: Daughter
Kenneth Cojocari: Son
15. Paul Avram was born in about 1921 to Percy and Jennie Avram in Saskatchewan.
16. Jeanie Stanciu nee Cojocari
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George Stanciu: Husband
Mary Avram nee Cojocari: Older sister
Alice Pecaric nee Cojocari: Younger sister
Anna Golka nee Cojocari: Younger sister
Elie Cojocari: Younger brother
Peter Cojocar: Younger brother
Dora Avram nee Cojocari: Younger sister
Evidence
Evidence FOR 1973
I have a couple of reasons why I think that this photo might have been taken in 1973. Gifts for the visitors from Saskatchewan and the age of the child in the photo.
Click to see more of my thoughts
The attendees in Windsor were not only celebrating the visit of Jean (#2) and Pete (#4) from Saskatchewan but that the occasion was important enough to purchase gifts and commemorate that with a photo.
The cute little attendee (#5) would be about 10 years old in 1973 and that looks reasonable to me.
Evidence AGAINST 1973
One niggling fact is that the husband of Peggy Cojocar nee Duffy (#14), Louie Cojocar is not in the photo and he passed away in 1974. Does this mean that Louie was the photographer or was the photo actually taken after Louie’s passing? Mary Cojocari nee Bolohan, wife of Elie Cojocari (#6) is also not in the photo – maybe she was the photographer?
