Wistful Wednesday : Old Newspaper Photos

“She who sees robins first” clipped a photo out of a local paper.  I figured it was a bit of family history so I scanned it.  It is still on my desk but it will make it’s way to Cousin Chuckie.

 

The original photo was most likely taken in 1949.   My cousins would know.  I have two first cousins ( Uncle Jalmer’s  and Aunt Jenny’s sons) on the left hand side of the photo…Chuckie (Melvin) in the back in the white jacket and Gerald in front of him in the plain coat holding his hat in his hand. See those two boys in the front row with the matching jackets they are my second cousins…brothers Richard and David sons of my Great Uncle Levi ( My paternal Grandfather’s brother) and Great Aunt Ida.

We go to woodcarving with Chuckie…in this photo he looks very much like his only grandson Aiden who just turned ten years old.

I imagine these nine little boys gentlemen were a handful for the teacher.

Wistful Wednesday : Cousins and Veterans

Since my Dad comes from such a large family(he was number 10 of 14)  I have lots of cousins. 

When I look through the old photos every week for one to feature you never can tell which one will strike my fancy. 

This week two of my cousins had birthdays and I just happened upon an old photo of them.

The littlest guy in front was 67 and his older sister was 75, they share the same birthday.

My Uncle Jalmer and Aunt Jenny had four children.  The baseball hat cousin on the left is Chuckie ( we wood carve with him every week), Gerald (last week he was married for 50 years), Arthur the littlest one in the front and Evelyn the oldest. This photo was most likely taken in the spring of 1948 maybe 1949.

Another reason for featuring this photo is that Veteran’s Day is approaching.  All three of these boys were in the Armed Forces.

 

 

 

Art stayed in the Armed Forces a lot longer than his brothers.

They all came back home, married and had families and are enjoying being grandparents.

So I have cousins that are veterans, it is who they are…honorable men that defended our country.  Thanks guys!  They are some of my bestest cousins:)

Wistful Wednesday : In Laws

I ran onto an old photo yesterday.  Taken 1976… There was a family gathering in the summer.  My Aunt who used to live in Washington was home for a visit and almost the entire family gathered for a picnic at my parents resort.

The In Laws in my Dad’s family.  My Grandfather with his son and daughter in laws.

Most are gone..but there are a few left.

Back Row: Aunt Violet, Aunt Lila, Uncle Stanley, Uncle Otto, Aunt Sharon, Aunt Grace

Front Row: Aunt Jenny, Aunt Senia, My Grandfather, My Mother Madeline, Aunt Mia

There were two Aunts missing from the photo: Aunt Joan and Aunt Eleanor.

Those still with us are Aunt Lila, Aunt Sharon, Aunt Grace and My Mother.

One by one this generation is leaving us behind.

When I look at this group..I remember mostly..bingo, hunting, apple strudel, black coffee, flat bread, chicken and dumplings, cookies of all shapes and sizes..and from my Grandfather the smell of moth balls on his wool clothing and the taste of the pink peppermint candies that he used to carry in his pocket…good memories all:)

Happy Birthday Jenny !!

Jennifer was born in 1975, so that makes my baby 33 years old today!

Does she know that I thought she would be a boy? Now this was way before having ultrasounds and finding out if you were having a boy or a girl. I was convinced she was a boy, Far Guy wanted another little girl (It was part of his dream.) She would have been a Travis nicknamed "Duke" by her big sister. I had Jennifer picked out for a little girls name. It was the most popular name from 1970 to 1984 according to the Social Security Administration who keeps track of some of these statistics.

There is a story behind her nickname of "Jenny."

I had a wonderful Aunt Jenny, she was a strong woman, widowed early in life and left with children to raise, she did it on her own. She worked at the Nursing Home on the night shift, hard, hard work. She was a very kind Christian woman, slight in stature but long on friendly and full of stories and smiles, I was always welcomed into her house, I loved to camp out on her couch on a Friday night for a school activity on a Saturday morning. It saved my parents a trip to town, and I could read all evening long, and drink coffee! The coffee pot was always on at Aunt Jenny's house. She loved to play Bingo and after I graduated from High School I would often meet her at the Legion for Friday night Bingo. She was passionate about bingo, it was her night out. She was a really good Aunt.

So perhaps I wanted my future Grand kids to have an "Aunt Jenny" that was just like my Aunt Jenny. Now the little girls call her "Auntie Jen," and they know that she will be there for them anytime, unconditionally. She likes Bingo too!

As for her middle name, Far Guy picked that...after me, we share the same middle name Joy. No one ever called her JJ thank goodness, but she is Jenny or Jen and sometimes even a nickname from her scrap booking friends, Dolly. There were too many Jen's that scrap booked together, so they just nicknamed her Dolly, and I became known as Dolly's Mom.

So today is her 33rd Birthday, funny it seems only yesterday that she was running around with her blanky, or sitting on a table enjoying her birthday. Now she is a lovely young woman with a family of her own, someone we are very proud of. If you would like to wish her a Happy Birthday go here: http://www.areavoices.com/dahlenje I made her a cake, and we are headed farther Up North to sing Happy Birthday in person:)