This one is from 1956. I remember the day very well when Chuck came home from the hospital after his appendectomy. I was so jealous because he got all kinds of presents. But the most memorable of them was the sunflower he got from Uncle John Hall, Aunt Marian's husband who lived across the street from Gram on King Philip Road. This is a clip from the day he came home from the hospital. I bet Dad couldn't do this now!
And here's some from a Children's Sunday, about 1956, I think. Don't you just love that skirt? I loved to twirl it. And, I am sure the whole lawn mower thing was Dad's idea.
It wouldn't be Children's Sunday without geraniums from Bartlett's greenhouse.
But she's happier here in the next one. She's getting all the attention from Mom, Grandma and Grampy Waters and Great Grandma Paige.
And here is the rare shot of Cindy and Becky from those movies. I think the movie camera must have been retired shortly after these were taken. That's Gram behind them. I recognize her dress.
Here is another one with Cindy and Becky and Beth Toomey. (Becky is making Beth's little sister Caroline laugh. She's probably telling her a joke. Or doing her impersonation of Lilly Tomlin's Ernestine.) Beth is now the Chief of Police in West Tisbury on Martha's Vineyard.
This was Chuck's first day of school in first grade, 1956. I had a black eye in this one. I remember getting that black eye. We were playing Blindman's Bluff, which I called Blindman's 'Buff' because it was too much of a tongue twister for a 5 year old. Dad put a blindfold on me, turned me around a few times, and I walked right into the corner of the console table. Mom was furious. I was more worried about Dad getting into trouble with my mother so I pretended it didn't hurt that much.
I liked my hair this way. Mom called it a Pixie cut and I felt pixie-ish. It didn't start off to be that short, but she kept evenning the sides and that's where it ended up. I remember sitting in the back yard on that metal step stool, with a towel around my neck while she cut my hair.
Arriving at the South School with Chuck and friend Christine Giddings. She lived in the red house on King Philip Road that my Grandparents had lived in before moving to their new house next door. She moved away within a couple of years.
Our first dog was Vanilla. That's Pokonoket Ave in the background before it was paved. They gave him away because he "howled at the moon" and it disturbed the neighbors. Or at least that's what we were told.
Here is another of our dogs. A Pekinese named Ming. He got hit by a car right in front of our house. It was terrible. We didn't have him very long. But he was cute.
Our cousins from California. Valerie, Johnny, Larry, Chuck and I at Gram's one Christmas.Uncle John. and Aunt Edith.
This is Aunt Kath. Love the outfit. In the background you can see MacKinnon's house, further up Pokonoket. I think the trees that are down are being cleared to build the Ward's house which was next door to us.
Cousins-Chuck, Danny, Liz, Diane and me, playing in the sand with spoons and old pots and pans. No plastic pails and shovels back then. We use sterling silver and aluminum.
Here's one of Uncle Alan washing his car at Gram's. I think this was later, probably around 1961. He should be able to tell us from the year of his car.
Chuck and I used to dress up once in a while. Here, I think Dad must have made Chuck's Pilgrim Hat. I think he looks a little like the Mad Hatter. We were in character as we went to Gram and Grampy Hall's for Thanksgiving. Their dog Duchesse welcomes us.
We are lucky to have some film of Great Grandmother May Budd Hall. We called her Lady May.
I loved her because she was just about my size.
My Grandfather, her son, and my Grandmother escort Lady May into their home on King Philip Road. That house in the background is where we lived when we had the fire in 1952.
Another session of dressup, although the grownups didn't make these costumes. I was a Native American, possibly Pokahontas. Chuck was...well I am not sure, exactly. Maybe he was John Smith or something. Anyway, this was a pivotal moment in my life.
I remember it so well, this garden of Eden epiphany when, due to the laughter of all the grownups, I realized that perhaps going topless was not appropriate for a young lady. I was about 7, I think.
This is when life first became complicated as I argued with them about it not being fair since Chuck didn't have to wear a shirt. Innocence Lost.
That is the last topless picture of me that you will ever see on the Internet. I can guarantee it!!!
Thanks for wandering down memory lane with me. I wish these photos were of better quality. But, if you kind of squint they might come into focus a little better.
Have a great day!
Love,
Suz
Dear Suzanne,
ReplyDeleteGreat photos, and a side trip into a past that seems so far away I couldn't possibly have lived it!!
Thanks for sharing,
Lyvia
Suzanne - I love your story about your Garden of Eden epiphany. I have a similarly vivid memory of the first summer, probably about age 7 or 8, when I was told I could no longer go shirtless. I'm not sure I argued (amazingly!) but, like you, I remember distinctly thinking it was unfair! Perhaps that's what I was thinking when I went through a summer of stressing my individuality about 1979 (out here in hippy land, Oregon) and went hiking in the mountains topless. It took some guts but I was determined to feel the warm sun on me just like those guys on the trail! No, I wouldn't do it now, except in some private space!
ReplyDeleteyour forever (aging) hippy friend, Cher