Staff at Kom Aushim (December 25, 1926)
Photographs – Near East Expeditions, Box 3, Francis W. Kelsey Papers, Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan
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This photograph shows the University staff at Kom Aushim on Christmas day, 1926. The Karanis crew spent a great deal of time away from home, often working at the site for many months without seeing their wives or children. However, Joy Fletcher-Allen, wife of Michigan staff member Edgar Fletcher-Allen, frequently accompanied her husband to the dig, where she took it upon herself to oversee the work of the camp's local Egyptian "house servants," including the laundry girls and cooks. The other members of the crew had to spend this particular Christmas away from their families. Names of the staff are, from left to right: George Swain (official dig photographer), Harris Dunscombe Colt, Valerie Fausto, Harold Falconer, Mrs. Allen, Francis W. Kelsey, Byron Khun de Prorok, Mr. Allen, and Enoch Ernest Peterson, Director of most of the day-to-day operations at Kom Aushim at the time.