Mae Burdge Miller, my great grandmother, was another influential woman in my life. She overcame great adversity, suffering the break up of her family and the death of her own mother, to be taken in, along with her sister, by “Borax King” Frank Smith and his wife. One of the “Solid Six,” she spent her teen and young adult years at the Smith’s Grand Avenue home in Oakland, California, known as Arbor Villa.
Mae Burdge as a young teen. Great grandmother of the photographer. Original photograph was scanned and Photoshop was used to remove dust scratches and other blemishes due to age of the photo.