Wistful Wednesday: “The Kiss”

I have a few things to say today about my Father In Law, Marvin..Far Guys Dad.  He was a wonderful man with a great sense of humor, I learned many things from him over the years.  He died in 1994 at the age of 80.

It is hard to think of him as a young man..but we have the photos to prove it.

This is one of those old photomat photos..he was quite dashing with the collar on his jacket all turned up…and he had hair!

He first met Far Guys Mom on the high school bus.  ( He would marry her when he was 26 years old)  However he did have other girlfriends. There was this photo that Marvin’s Mother included in his photo album, she must have saved a few things from his high school days..

This was one of them..Margaret a cousin of Far Guys Mom’s..he had another girlfriend named Jessie..Far Guys Mom used to tease him about her…invariably the story of “the Kiss” would come up sometime during the conversation about his old girlfriends.

Marvin went to High School with a young lady by the name of Jeanette B.  She would go on to become a Social Studies teacher and teach many children in Junior High including Far Guy and I.  She was a spinster, she never married.  She must have grayed early in life, her gray hair was always curled “just so” in tiny individual ringlets pulled away from her face..she was always dressed perfectly..I remember her in wool suits with a skirt that was properly cut to mid calf, with a ruffled long sleeved blouse that matched..with a brooch at the neck. Her hands and face were uncovered, and a small section of her lower leg..before they disappeared into proper black old lady shoes.

Back to the early 1930’s..teenage boys will be boys..when an entire class is involved in practicing for a class play and the lights just “happen” to go out plunging the whole stage area in darkness and someone just “happens” to kiss Jeanette whilst the lights are out and she faints..now that is a story that shouldn’t be lost.  I never found out who did the dreadful kissing in the dark..but I have a really good idea.

If I have told this story before I apologize..my daughter Jennifer will tell me..she remembers everything.  I guess I should work on a Wistful Wednesday Table of Contents or something:)

Wistful Tuesday: 1930

“To collect photographs is to collect the world”

Susan Sontag ..1997

This week we have a Wistful Tuesday, Daylight Saving Time has me all out of whack anyway..and tomorrow is a special day.

I collect old photographs I am sure most of you know that by now.  I am not sure what you call an old photograph nut..but what ever it is..that would be me. It is all about the “hunt.”  What will I find that knocks my old lady socks off?

Some of this “shopping” is not at all glamorous.  One place I frequent is in an old garage..and I mean old..dirt floor..cobwebs..oh it is terrible..I feel like I need a bath every time I emerge from that building. Far Guy often waits in the car.  I think I might have to go by there next week…just to see what the old guy has.  I would like to buy him out of old photos..but he would rather I just stop by every once in awhile and haggle with him.

I found these old snapshots there.

 

These snow drifts are over a mile long and in places as high as ten feet.

this is the bus, between Ada and Crookston making two trips a day  ( I wrote…Model A Bus)

Who, What, Where, When and Why. I thank the lady who wrote on the back of the photos, she gave me the Where. My Dad gave me the What..he identified the Model A Bus..which was probably from 1930 or 1931 for the When and for your info there were not very many of them made.  Who we will never know..the Why..I suppose Shopping or Doctors were better in Crookston..or maybe enough people in Ada worked in Crookston to warrant a bus twice a day.

For those of you not familiar with the area Ada and Crookston are small towns in North Central Westernish Minnesota..they are 35 miles apart. I wonder whatever happened to that bus?  I wonder if the passengers ever had to get out and push?:)

Wistful Wednesday : 1930

In 1930 my Mother was one year old.  Photography was sometimes challenging.  The light isn’t right. The camera operator is shaky..

My Mother has marked this photograph “Me.”  Now, I know who it is..but will my children or their children?  Probably not.

This is a photo of my Mother in 1930.  I cropped this out of another larger photo..it needs some restoration.  I will put it on my list of things to do.  I believe my Mom was not yet one year old in this photo.   There are only three photographs of her in 1930.  These are two of them.

Today is my Mothers birthday, we will meet for lunch in town at the place that serves the sour cream and raisin pie, then she is off on one of her many volunteer activities.  I suppose I could tell you that she was a few days short of being twenty one when she married my Father..sixty years ago:)

Wistful Wednesday : 1930

My Mother was born in October of 1929, this photograph must have been taken in the spring of 1930.   She could barely sit up by herself so I believe she was about six months old.   My Mom is in this photograph with her older brother Alfred, he would have been two years old in June of 1930.  He died when he was nineteen years old in 1947.   Since then my Mom has taken over as the oldest in the family.  My Mom had eleven brothers and sisters, only four of them are still living.

Mom was eighty yesterday, she said " Years ago, If someone had told me that I would live to be eighty, I would never have believed them."

What I like about this photo..well first of all, I like to think that someone was holding onto the back of this baby that looks like she is about to topple over.  ( I have done  this on occasion with the grands when they were little)  I like Alfred's knickers and tights, and the big ribbons in his shoes.  I imagine his knickers and vest were blue, and my Mom's dress a pale pink.  At least that is what I see beyond the black and white:)

***I repaired this photo, It had a very large crease in it..of course I can tell where it was..can you?