Family History Coded in Shorthand

Several years ago I began correspondence with a distant cousin of my paternal grandmother. The cousin was a genealogist who had spent years gathering family stories and photos.

In our first email exchange she reassured me, "I have the answers to all of your questions. I also have pictures that I will copy immediately." That, of course, was music to my ears.

Sadly, she passed away a year later without having the opportunity to share much of her research or photos.

Fast-forward to this week when a package from her daughter arrived in the mail. Inside were dozens of black and white photos. Some were labeled, but many were not.

Among the collection was a curious group of nine pictures each measuring 1.75" W x 2.75" L. The photos depict a group of people dressed in coats outside a stone building in a downtown setting.

Although I don't recognize anyone or the setting, it appears to be a family gathering. Perhaps a birthday or courthouse wedding? In several of the photos I can discern signs in the background advertising loans, mortgages, ladies hair cutting, and a bank. There's even a scale that says, Your Weight, apparently offering passerby the opportunity to weigh themselves.

On the flip side, seven of the photos include a date. Six of them have 1928 inscribed on the back. One of them provides an exact date: October 2, 1928. Was someone getting married at a courthouse? I haven't found a matching wedding date in my tree.

Aside from the year, each of the photos has the same illegible inscription on the back. At first, I thought it was someone's name (Leona?). It then occurred to me that this may be shorthand describing the event. I've never learned shorthand, so I'm stumped as to what this may say.

How's your shorthand? Are you able to decipher my coded family history?