This is a photograph of the Needham family, from Guilford Vermont, taken in 1900. In the Photo Walter is shown as a little boy, about age four. Walter is dressed in a white dress shirt with a striped bowtie. Seated to his left is his mother, Ina, who is wearing a dark blouse with a white collar. Seated to Walter’s right is one of his sisters, either Mae or Lottie, dressed in a white, collared shirt with buttons on the left side of it. Standing behind Walter, to his left, is his other sister, Lottie or Mae, dressed in a white shirt with a bow at the collar, wearing glasses. Behind Walter, to his right, is his brother, Warren, wearing a white dress shirt, with a dark, checkered bowtie and jacket.
Walter Needham and his family lived on Route Five in Guilford, Vermont, in their quarry worker’s house. Behind their house was his grandfather’s shop. The house and shop are still standing. Walter’s book, A Book Of Country Things, is an important historical work regarding slate quarrying in Guilford.