October 26th would have been my mom's 95th birthday. She passed away at age 81 and I still miss her everyday. Times were hard for her growing up. Her mother died when Mom was only 2 from the flu pandemic of 1918. This is the only picture I have of her with her mother. I treasure it. I often look at it closely to try to see if I can find a bit of myself in either of them.
This was Mom at age 7. Love the "do"! By this time she was being raised by her grandmother. Her dad had remarried and the new wife didn't want to be saddled with a child. It's amazing she still had that cute little smile...
Her high school senior picture, lookin' pretty stylish!
And a family classic, ta da! Mom with my older sister and me. This photo hung in every house we ever lived in!
I think she had a rough childhood. She rose above it and raised three daughters with love and care and concern. She never worked outside the home and never got a drivers license. She was the typical housewife of that era. A hot meal was on the table every night. Sunday morning breakfasts included homemade biscuits. (I still can't make them as well as she did!) Though she did not go to college, she had a thirst for knowledge. She especially loved astronomy and was so excited when we landed a man on the moon. She sewed her own "housedresses" as she called them. She was very shy and was happiest at home, though she did get out and walk to stores and movies. She loved soap operas--first on the radio, then on TV. I have vivid memories of her standing at the ironing board listening to Our Gal Sal and Hilltop House. I don't have a lot of photos of Mom. Oh, sure, a few candid snapshots here and there. But we weren't a family of photographers, unfortunately. I think it is so neat that nowadays kids have their photos taken frequently by professionals.
Happy Birthday, Mom...
4 comments:
Vera, those are such great photos. Love the one of her as a young girl with her wonderful grin and bead necklace; is that snow behind her? Who wrote "Lillian and Mother", an elder sibling perhaps? That seemed to happen so often back then, that the second wife would not let the children remain, very sad.
Our mothers were born in the same year. I think that haircut must have been quite popular *s* Just love looking at these old photos - they really do tell a story.
That was a beautiful tribute to your dear mother. Times were hard for so many early in their lives in those days. Glad you have so many sweet memories of her.
A lovely memory. Thank you for sharing.
Post a Comment