Friday, March 19, 2010

" Retro Weekend "

Wow it's time for yet again, another "Retro Weekend "
I can feel your excitement.
I apologize if this seems to be getting a little "old",
no pun intended. Well really there was a pun intended.
Just remember, no one forced you to come here and it's my blog. So, I can do whatever I want!

Yes I am sure that one day there will be a new amendment added to the constitution that will include
"The freedom for all to blog as they wish".

Today I am going way back in the "Way back machine". 

When my mother passed away this past December, I was fortunate enough to inherit most of the old family photos.

Upon going through these photos, I discovered that there were many that I had never seen. Now I know mom wasn't trying to keep them a secret, but I just can't figure out why I hadn't seen so many of these photos.

One of life's mysteries I suppose. Or maybe mom figured they would be a nice surprise someday.

Whatever the case may be lets get on with it shall we?

The first photo is of my Great-Grandmother, Earlie May.Yes that's right, Earlie May. 

She was born in.......

You guessed it, Early May. Now some folks in the family Say that the spelling of Grams name was questionable. My cousin, Roxanne is the genealogy expert in the family and says that she has seen it spelled both ways.

So being that this is my blog and I can do whatever I want with it, I will spell it the way I remember it being spelled.

And that was Earlie May.


You couldn't possibly tell where I might get some of my, how do I say it......
ATTITUDE, from can you?

This photo was taken in 1939. I don't know how old Great-Grandma Earlie was at the time. I can't ask mom anymore, but I am blessed to have a wonderfully beautiful cousin, who is into genealogy.

So Roxanne, I know you are reading this. I don't know when Great-Grandma Van was born. Make a note of that please for your old senile cousin!

I was fortunate when I was a very young girl to be able to stay with Great-Grandma every other summer or so for a while. She lived on a beautiful lake in Angola, Indiana. My beautiful cousin and I used to have so much fun there exploring the lake and the woods. Roxanne still lives on that lake. 

Lucky woman!

The next photo is of my Great-Grandma's daughter. My Grandmother Laverne. In this photo which was taken in May of 1943 she is with her brother Bill.

I had never met him. From what I remember he was a pilot in the war. I believe he was killed during battle. At least this is what I remember being told.

Roxanne will correct me if I am wrong!


Grandma Laverne was "THE BEST GRANDMA IN THE WORLD!!!" Oh I know you are saying that your grandma was but really mine was. Really. I'm not joking.

I was so close to my grandma Laverne that I could talk to her about anything up until the day she died. I could tell her things that I wouldn't dare tell my mother and grandma would always, always be understanding and helpful.

She was a lot of fun to be around. And one of her favorite things to do was go ballroom dancing.
She is where I got my love of ballroom dancing from.

I would often spend the night with her as a young girl.We would always go out to a movie and dinner or to the arboretum. 

Grandma Laverne always had many fancy clothes, shoes, stoles and jewelry. She went ballroom dancing quite often. She would always let me dress up in her fancy clothes and accessories with never a word of complaint.

I just know that she would have loved "Dancing With The Stars". When I was younger and we all still lived in Chicago, she would always call me on the phone to tell me when PBS would be showing the Ballroom Championships.

We would stay on the phone and comment to each other about the different couples. So now when I watch "Dancing With The Stars" I can't help but have a private imaginary conversation with gram about the different couples.

Oh how she would love that. And me too.

O.K. so on to the final photo. The date on it was 1955. Just a few years before I graced you all with my presence! It is my mom before the prom. 

Alright I thought it was her senior prom but again I am not too sure. But I do remember her telling me of the bad, bad sunburn she acquired when she fell asleep on the beach trying to get a tan for prom!

 

The white prom dress did stand out a bit against mom's skin. And I don't know about you but I love the sandals!

Notice if you will that she is sticking her tongue out.

And, again.......


ATTITUDE!
Alrighty then, now we all know where Di get's it from.
And I bet you all thought that I was the bad girl in the the family.
See you learn something new everyday!

If you have managed to make it thus far through the "Way Back Machine" with me, 
I would like to thank you.
So, Thank You and Gods blessings.

24 comments:

Dee said...

Hi, Love your retro week ends...keep them coming. Earlie May is a grand name...there must have been alot of teasing going on for her but it shows the humor and wit that is showing up in your blog along with the attitudes. :-) Isn't it wonderful that our relatives had camera's to record the past.

Wanda..... said...

That was a fun post Di, you come by your ATTITUDE honestly and I see where you get your good looks too. The house behind your grandma Laverne and her brother Bill looks just like my grandmother's house in Virginia. High porch and 3 windows on each side of the door. I love your gramma's coat!
Have a good weekend Di. How's the ankle? ♥...Wanda

Diana said...

Hi Dee,
I suppose Great-Grandma may have been teased by her name. All I ever remember was everyone just calling her Earlie! Oh and I have some much older photos. I just need my cuz to help me out with who's who!
Love Di ♥

Diana said...

Hi Wanda.
I don't even know where that house was. Our family moved a lot. Great-Grandmas home is still in Angola. The ankle is Sooo much better. Legs are still sore but I think I may start to ride soon. Don't worry, I am using my Better judgment!
Love Di ♥

Need A Latte Mom said...

Earlie May....love it! Much more elegant than Ethel and Gudrun (my grandparents)

Gail said...

HI DIANA
Great post -

I loved learning about your "tude" and how you acquired it:-) great heritage - great women - and such is true of you and your girls too.

Love Gail
peace....

Andrea said...

Love...Love..Love the pictures of your mom. She looks like she was full of spunk...I love spunk!
Hugs, andrea

Bernie said...

Oh Di the family resemblance is uncanny.....you do look like your grandmothers.......and I love the attitude. You should be doing Sepia Saturdays. I have been following Barry and really enjoying his family story....so glad your ankle is better, be careful though.
Really enjoyed this post my friend, ......:-) Hugs

Barb said...

Hi Di, Hope your ankle is on the mend. I really enjoyed your trip down memory lane - those photos are priceless. Remember those days when tanning was a national past time? Now it's a criminal offense...
You're lucky that you knew your Great Grandma and also your Grandma. Attitude - what attitude?

Jerelene said...

Hello Diana!!
They were all so very pretty!! I have to say I LOVED the picture of your Grandma & Grandpa though...I was VERY close with my Grandma and your story reminded me of mine :) I loved the way they dressed back then..Ladies looked like ladies :)
Hope you are doing well...I've been thinking of you with all this lovely weather and wondering if you're enjoying it as much as I am :)
Hugs to you my dear friend ;)
Jerelene

Andrea said...

Sitka means, "by the sea" in Tlingit (sp) Indian. It was also the Russian capital of Alaska before the United States purchased Alaska. It is still a coastal city.
Hugs, andrea

Terrie said...

Diana, I loved your trip back in time. Thanks for sharing and I absolutely love the prom dress. I think I will just have to try to make something similar to that for my Revlon doll (if I can find the time). Hugs to you.
Terrie

Maria said...

What incredible woman you have in your family ~ including you too Diana!
They are beautiful and yes... I do love their ATTITUDE!
I love how women dressed 'back then.'
and... your mom's prom picture... she is stunning ~ so many good genes in your family!
I DO love her dress and shoes! and that is my birth year too!
~blessings to you Diana~
Maria

Eileen said...

I love this post! I love all the old photos!
And as soon as I saw that first picture of your great-grandmother I thought "Diana!" Yes! You did inherit the 'attitude'! And she looked like she was full of fun and mischief!
I really enjoy looking through your old photos, thanks so much for sharing these.
And I love, love, LOVE your Mom's prom dress and shoes! The dress is very '50's' but the shoes look like those beautiful styles from the forties that I love!
Excellent post! I really enjoyed this!
Love to you,
Eileen

Rebecca said...

I'm smiling SO big at this post. Just LUVIN' the Earlie May bit!

I knew one of my grandmothers better than the other - and she was wonderful!

Have we had a conversation about the lake near Angola? That's not far from me at all. When you come to visit the lake (hint, hint) we MUST get together. It would be amazing!

And I have a sunburn story that still hurts when I remember it. The story of your mother's reminded me. What a beautiful prom dress AND sandals!

Bill ~ {The Old Fart} said...

Happy Memories are a blessing to have, I enjoyed reading this.

Jackie said...

Hi my friend!
Yes! It's your blog...and you did a tremendous job with it!
Going strong,....with attitude...and I'm loving every second of it.
The photos are great. I would love to see more...more...more.
The prom dress is gorgeous...and..so is the cute attitude with the tongue!
I'm so glad that you had the close relationship with your Grandmother. We all need someone that we can talk to and trust and know that he or she is there for us no matter what. It sounds like your Grandmother was exactly that kind of loving person.
Is your ankle feeling any better. I know that it must be a slow 'healing' process...but know that I'm thinking of you.
Once again, may I say that I love this blog! You are such a dear friend...
Love,
Jackie

Garnetrose said...

I love the pictures and the stories. I never knew my grandparents and have no pictures of any of the members of my family but one or two of my mom and aunt and one of my grandma who died when I was one. I was older when my dad's mom died but she wanted little to do with me or my bro...long story.
But I did enjoy your retro week.

Garnetrose said...

oh, by the way, my grandma's name was Edna Edith Exley Learn, try that handle. I think at one point it was fashionable to have three names,

Jenny said...

You are a rowdy one today! I love it! I love the photos and the history and the attitude in all the pictures. It is neat that you have these "non-posed" pictures to remember from....versus the staid old smile-when-I-say-cheese ones!

Great post!

Lena said...

Hi Di!!!

I just love your retro weekends!!! This post so made me smile!!!
Your grandma's coat??? Wwwoooooahhh!! I would love to own one just like that!!!!

Lots of love,

Silver said...

The pictures must be extremely precious to you. They are beautiful.I love the stories that go with them.

I am so sorry to hear about your loss. It is a difficult thing to deal with grief..when it visits. But it is like medicine, amidst the pain and tears it demands of us.

~Silver

Blessings each day said...

Very cute post...love the darling attitude, lots of fun people in your family.
Sigh, so many times I want to ask my sweet mother something and now I have no one, not even her siblings or cousins and that makes it so hard, doesn't it? Grief is a journey into a land with no street signs...just the Lamb of God to lead us.

blessings with love,

marcy

Tranquility Speaks said...

Liked looking at your family lineage. You do resemble your grandmoms a lot. I sense that you're missing your Mom. And that's ok. Better out than in dear Diana :-)

I personally loved the post, especially because I love the way you write :)

Loads of love. Hope you're better now and it doesn't hurt as much!