Ruth Bell
But time hadn't been kind to the photo. The original sepia toned photo suffered from severe "silver mirroring", a heavy, blue-grey metallic chemical sheen that had degraded the silver gelatin print over the decades, clouding her hair and the texture of her coat.
Yet, scrawled on the back of the portrait casing in vintage blue ink were the clues needed to rescue her identity from obscurity: "Ruth Bell, c. 1927."
At the base of the portrait folder, a faint but distinct studio imprint reads: "Hixon's Studios, Manhattan, Kans."
This tiny stamp elevates the photograph from a simple keepsake to a work of regional artistry. The studio belonged to Orval Hixon, a highly celebrated photographer of the Midwest Arts & Crafts movement. Famous for his glamorous, romanticized portraits of vaudeville stars and high society in Kansas City, Hixon used his commercial success to open a few select branch studios in the 1920s, including one in Manhattan, Kansas.
Sitting for a portrait at Hixon's wasn't just a casual errand, it was a luxury milestone experience. Captured at the height of the Roaring Twenties, Ruth Bell’s perfectly styled finger wave hair and fur trimmed collar reflect the peak fashion of a vibrant, changing decade.
Who was the young woman behind the stunning gaze? A dive into historical archives and the 1925 Kansas State Census brings a clear candidate to light: a young woman named Ruth A. Bell, living right in the heart of Manhattan, Riley County, Kansas.
Born around 1906, Ruth was 19 years old in 1925, making her roughly 21 when she stepped into Orval Hixon’s studio in 1927. The census tracks her living on Bluemont Avenue, just steps from the campus of Kansas State Agricultural College (now Kansas State University), alongside her widowed mother, Alwilda, and her older sister, Mary, who worked as a local schoolteacher.
Ruth wasn't a quiet resident, she was a vibrant part of campus life. Mid-1920s university records show she was an active student leader, notably appointed to take charge of the campus Junior Y.W.C.A. in 1925. Her timeline points to her wrapping up her college years right around 1927. It is incredibly likely that thisportrait was commissioned as a formal graduation or young adult keepsake just as she prepared to step out into the world.
Through the power of restoration, the chemical damage of the last century has been stripped away, revealing Ruth exactly as Orval Hixon saw her through his lens in 1927. The restored photo removes the blue chemical mirroring, uncovering the rich brown waves of her hair, the crisp texture of her tweed coat, and the lifelike warmth of her hazel green eyes.
The archives tell us that a few years after this photo was taken, on June 11, 1930, Ruth married a man named William Fletcher. They eventually moved east to Topeka, where William worked as a state accountant, Ruth managed their home, and together they raised a son named Robert.
Though she lived a full, quiet life in Kansas, this single photograph freezes a moment of pure 1920s glamour. Holding a restored piece of history like this reminds us that behind every fading face in an antique bin is a name and a story worth remembering.
