Family History

My grandmother was able to gather several pictures for me with the help of her sister Darlene. They went through boxes and albums and came up with great, old, pictures. I had never seen these pictures before so it was a treat.

The first picture (Figure 1) is of my grandmother’s family. The picture has her mother, father, brothers (Mick, Bud, and Dennis), her sister (Darlene), and herself. A few of them are standing by and a few are standing in their old car. Her mother is holding onto the door handle of the car to hold it open. Her mother is in a dress and her father looks as though he is wearing a coat and tie. All of the kids look as though they are dressed for church. They never missed a Sunday at church. It looks as though they are parked near a park or just by a beautiful tree. Her mother doesn’t seem to be smiling, but two of her brothers are. It looks as though they are fooling around and are worried about being caught and told to stop. The family’s clothes do not appear to be beaten up or raggedy like I had imagined that they might be. I think that they all look rather nice.

The next picture (Figure 2) is of my brothers Mick, Bud, and myself. We were standing in front of a fence at my aunt’s farm. As I told you before, most family outings were spent at a family member’s farm. I think that we were the only family in our extended family that did not live on a farm. I loved going to the farm. My brother, Bud, even got to hold a real gun. Our family never owned a gun, so this was a treat for him to hold a rifle for a picture. He thought that he looked like a soldier.

When I look at the same picture (Figure 2), I see a great big smile on the face of Mick, while he holds the gun. My grandmother is in the middle and I think that she looks like her brothers. She is not dressed very much like a girl. Her haircut looks like her brothers; there are not any distinguishing traits that make her look like a girl. Their clothes seem a little more ragged in this picture; probably because they are playing at a farm. Her brother, Bud, (on the left) has cute overalls on, which don’t seem to be very old and worn. My grandmother (in the middle) looks as though she is wearing tights, or thin, stretch pants under a dress. Her dress looks like it is a large t- shirt with a plaid edge put on it. Their clothes look rather old, like they are hand me downs. Her oldest brother, Mick (on the right), has a nice jacket and hat on. His pants look a little worn. They are all standing in front of a fence with all of their heads tilted. My grandmother and Mick have their heads tilted to the same degree to their left, and their little brother, Bud, has his head turned to his right. He looks like he is going to cry or has to go the restroom because he seems to be clutching himself.

The next picture (Figure 3) is with all of my grandmother’s brothers and sisters, and their cousin. They are all standing in their front yard in their school clothes. Mick (back row left) is wearing pants and suspenders with a goofy smile. My grandmother is in a very pretty dress in between Mick and her cousin. Bud is sitting in the middle of the front row with his arms around Darlene and Dennis. Darlene looks as though she is preoccupied because she isn’t even looking at the camera. Dennis looks like he is eating something and can’t keep a straight face. Bud has a nice smile on his face and is wearing a cute little vest.

The next picture (Figure 4) is of my grandmother and one of her cousins. They are standing out in front of her home, with my grandmother’s brother, Dennis behind them. Although, my grandmother and her cousin do not have the same parents and are not the same age; they look almost identical. They are both wearing flare dresses, tights that are bunched at the knees, and their arms crossed at their fronts. They also have the same haircut and the same general physical make-up. Bud is in the background playing with his little sister, Darlene. Darlene looks like she is bundled up for cold weather, while the girls seemed to be dressed for the spring. Bud seems to be smirking at the camera. He looks as though he is wearing a sport coat and a hat. The house looks like it is in good condition. It has a large window with curtains hanging inside. I can see a car across the street or in front of the house. I don’t know if it is their family’s car or if it belongs to a neighbor.

The last picture (Figure 5), is of the kids in their church clothes. They all look well dressed, in either a shirt and tie or a dress. Her brother, Bud is wearing overalls and a long sleeve shirt. Why isn’t he dressed up as well? Did they not have enough nice clothes for him, or was it that he did not want to wear nice “dress up” clothes? Little Dennis is wearing cute little shorts and possibly a tie. Little Darlene is wearing a puffy dress with tights, and looks as though she is going to cry. They are all standing in front of a nice house. The side of it looks as though it is well taken care of. The siding on the house looks very much in tact with bushes growing next to the wall of the house.

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