Knights of Pythias

17 men in historical attire. Back of photo says "Knights Pythias 1903". This image is from the collection of Celia Crocker Thompson (1874-1965), a prolific photographer and prominent member of the Lodi community. Thompson was born and raised in Big Oak Flat near Yosemite National Park, where her parents ran Crocker's Sierra Resort, a stage stop used by early visitors to the park. As a teenager, she began photographing friends, family and visitors, documenting the early days of Yosemite tourism. As an adult, Thompson moved to Lodi to attend San Joaquin Valley College in Woodbridge. She married Wilson Henry Thompson in 1903 and had one son, Henry Allen Thompson, in 1905. Her husband managed the Pacific Fruit Exchange and served on the Lodi Public Library board of directors for 51 years. In 1952, Thompson donated the Thompson Room to the Lodi Public Library in memory of her husband, along with her personal diaries, scrapbooks, photo albums, and books on local and California history. Knights Pythias, W.H Thompson 1903