Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Wistful Wednesday: 1950

This photo was taken in December of 1950. 

Marvin Janice Eugene Evelyn Grand Forks ND (2)

Uncle Jim or Auntie Esther took this photo, it was taken at their house in Grand Forks North Dakota sometime in December of 1950.  Far Guy was not yet a year old and his sister was five.

Far Guy has the old tape on his shoes, the tape made your shoes less slippery on wood floors.  He was about 10 months old and most likely had started running.

He was a handful and I know I have told you before that his Mother had a harness that she made him wear when he was outside by himself.  She clipped the harness to a rope attached to the clothes line.  He would hide in the Lilac bushes to unhook himself, go to the neighbors and play..and then come back and hook himself up again.  When his Mother was still alive, she was aghast at the escapades he told her about.

Last week in the grocery store Far Guy saw a little girl that was attached to her mother by one of those leashes that goes from one arm to another. The little girl was not very happy.  Her sisters were not leashed.  I asked him if he talked to the Mom..he said no..but he would have liked to share with her that he wore a harness for many years.

Far Guys Mom looks tired in this photo..or maybe she had a cold..or maybe she had a drink..whenever she had a drink her nose would turn red.

This is one of the photos that Cousin Bonnie gave us last summer.  It was one that we didn’t have.  Luckily I knew some of the W’s..who, where, and when.  I will have to guess at the why.  Most likely they just went to visit for the weekend:)

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

Love the photo and I remember tape on my new Sunday shoes, too!

rkbsnana said...

I too remember the tape. Look at the drapes. I love them. We have one grandchild that needed a harness or she would run right out in traffic. The others wouldn't leave your side.

Rita said...

So funny! Whenever she had a drink her nose would turn red! ;)
I don't remember tape. We just had to fall down. My mother wasn't exactly nurturing. We ran barefooted most of the time, anyways.
I love those drapes! :)

DJan said...

Good thing my nose doesn't turn red when I have my wine. :-)

I would be tired, too, following two little ones around, especially one of them being a rambunctious baby!

LadyFi said...

You go Far Guy! Love the fact that he unhitched himself from the harness and then hitched himself back up again.

Dreaming said...

Oh, that Far Guy... what a rascal!
Yes, I think you are right; maybe it's a combination of all three: she's tired, had a drink and has a cold on top of it!

Marti said...

Old photos are wonderful. I have been scanning mine into the computer, and then putting them on CD's. That way I can share them with my family, but not lose any of them. I used to harness my oldest daughter. She would disappear in a second, and was so friendly that I needed to be attached to her for her own safety. Have a good day.

Country Gal said...

A wonderful old photo ! Far Guy sounded like a cheeky monkey back then but a smart little fellow to do that lol . In my day some mums would have harnesses but with us kids all my mum and dad had to do was give us the look and we knew better! Have a wonderful day !

Karen said...

Harnessing a child to the clothesline....when they are old enough to unhitch themselves....wow! I did use a harness a little bit for one of my kids, but only when we were out. Yep, I'd rather use one than have a child dash into the street.

Nezzy (Cow Patty Surprise) said...

I actually used tape on Social Butterflies patent leather shoes. What a sweet photo!

Sounds like Mama had troubles keepin' up with that Far Guy!!! Heehehehe!

Have a fantastic day sweetie!!!

God bless :o)

Leenie said...

we need to remember to write those W's down on our photos. We won't always be around to explain.

Just Stuff From a Boomer said...

I never knew about the tape on the bottom of shoes. Before I had children I thought those harnesses were awful. After children I can see using them. I didn't, but I can say my daughter's life would have been easier with one for her boys.

I hope you MIL had a drink. If I had had boys instead of girls, I would have been drinking every day. They are way more busier than girls.

Karmyn R said...

That is hilarious that he would unhook himself. But kind of scary that she left him unattended hooked up to the clothes line. My dad was telling us stories of things he and his friends did as a kid.... I just don't trust society to allow my kids to run around without supervision anymore. It's sad that we've come to this.

Nancy/BLissed-Out Grandma said...

My sister was harnessed to the clothesline too, after she jumped the fence and showed up at my school when she was 2. Ah, memories.

Sam I Am...... said...

Oh, he's SO cute! Is he still that cute? LOL! Tell him not to worry...I was cute once too. Far guy and I must be about the same age? I was born January 4, 1949.
Yes...I'm pretty sure she'd been drinking....even in black and white you can tell that nose looks different than the rest of her face. Did he suffer any psychological trauma from "the leash"? Email me if he reads this blog..Ha! Ha!
I love family photos...ahhh....the memories! Thanks for sharing!

Red said...

Now I'm sure you could have a whole new blog on escapades.
With my Dad it was funny how things we did asvkids and got into trouble for were laughed about after he was eighty.

Rae said...

I was a harnessed child too. My mother kept me tethered on a leash. How humiliating:) They probably call it child abuse nowadays.

Coloring Outside the Lines said...

I remember those harnesses- more trouble than they were worth. Far Guy was pretty clever to figure out how to unhook, go play and return to hook back up. How funny!