Blanche Casey of Cleveland, Ohio stands on top of the Empire State Building while on her honeymoon. The Chrysler Building can be seen in the background.
Born in 1905, Blanche graduated from Notre Dame College in Cleveland and did secretarial work before marrying Leonard Buscher. Since the country was only just emerging from the Depression, they decided to elope – much to her mother’s dismay – rather than pay for a big wedding. She and her husband settled in Cleveland Heights and had four children. An avid photographer, she is famous in the family for her portraits, rendered both in photos and oil pastels. Once her children were grown and her husband died, she traveled the world, going to Russia, Hawaii, and Finland. After returning home from a trip to Ireland, she drew landscapes of the west coast – Connemara and the Cliffs of Moher – which still hang in my father’s home. ♦