Everyday Women of the Golden Era

[Gingerella72]

I've enjoyed looking through every page of this thread so much, I thought it was time to bring this thread back to life. If any of you new ladies have photos to share, please do!

I'll start with some photos of my mom and her mom in the early 50's...

My mom when she worked in a bank:

On Bayshore Blvd in Tampa FL (where she's from originally):

Mom in the Tampa Gasparilla Parade (she's the bunny on the far left sitting on the mushroom):

At a sorority function, mom is in the second row seated on the far left:

Mom shortly after graduating from high school in the late 40's:

And two of my favorite pics of her mom, my grandmother....she was a tiny petite woman who was always dressed to the nines no matter what the situation, always very stylish and polished. She was NOT the typical housewife of the era, she was a professional working woman who was respected in the business world and continued to work when married (and between husbands, heh):

I'd die for her shoes in this one:

My mom was a well-bred city girl through and through....she was raised having a housekeeper, cook, and nanny (it was the south, afterall) and never learned how to cook and clean and do other typical housewife stuff until after she got married. After dating rich boys who would take her yachting (and even a few gangsters, I kid you not) she fell in love with the most unlikely person.....a poor farm boy from Nebraska who never had a new pair of shoes until he joined the Air Force in 1950.

To be continued....

 

[Gracie Lee]

:::sniff::: What a wonderful story! I hope your parents are still having their happily ever after! And tell your mom that the area along Bayshore has been recently restored and rejuvenated... it's a lovely family park and river walk once more! I keep nagging the SO to take a picnic there, but it hasn't happened yet.

 

[Gingerella72]

From well-to-do stylish Tampa, to the other side of the spectrum....my dad is the youngest of 13 children who grew up in poverty in Dust Bowl and Depression-ridden eastern Colorado and central Nebraska.

A few family photos from his side:

My dad and his dog outside their house in Colorado, mid 30's:

His mom, my grandmother, and two of his sisters (twins), and one of his brothers hiding behind the post, late 20's:

The same twins all grown up in high school, 1945:

Dad and his brothers (he's the smallest, holding the banjo), early 30's:

Dad, probably around 1949 in his late teens (his shirt was hand painted by one of his sister in laws):

He entered the Air Force in 1950, before he could be drafted into the Army (trouble in Korea was a-brewin):

To be continued.....

 

[Gingerella72]

While stationed at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, FL, dad attended a party with some fellow jazz musicians (he's a guitarist and was in the Air Force Band). My mom, through mutual friends, happened to be at the same party. She accidentally tripped over his guitar that was haphazardly laying on the floor....afterwards my dad asked someone "Who was that crazy girl who tripped over my guitar?" They were promptly set up by friends on a blind date. After a whirlwind courtship, they were married just 3 months later....1952.

My mom's mother was against the marriage from the beginning and she pleaded with mom to not marry this strange boy from nowhere. Ultimately she refused to attend the wedding, but gave in the night before and agreed to come. The man on the left is my mom's stepfather:

Shortly after they were married, dad took mom back to Nebraska to meet his family (none of them could attend the wedding in FL). Talk about culture shock....my mom had never been on a farm before in her life, let alone seen cows and horses close-up.....or used an outhouse....

With my dad's mom:

This November 24th they'll celebrate 58 years of marriage.

I hope you enjoyed this little photo-journey, I have so many photos of both sides of my family from back in the day it's hard to choose from. I'll share more random photos of various family members in the future, for hair and clothing references.

 

[Gingerella72]

:::sniff::: What a wonderful story! I hope your parents are still having their happily ever after! And tell your mom that the area along Bayshore has been recently restored and rejuvenated... it's a lovely family park and river walk once more! I keep nagging the SO to take a picnic there, but it hasn't happened yet.

They are, this November will be their 58th anniversary.

After moving back and forth between Tampa, Baltimore MD and Nebraska, they settled permanently in Nebraska in 1968 and that's where I was born, 20 years and 4 days after they were married in November 1972, lol! They've been back to Florida several times to visit over the years but I don't know how often they went to the Bayshore area while there; I don't know if she knew it was needing rejuvenation. But I'll let her know just the same, thank you.

 

[December]

Oh, Gingerella, you've brought tears to my eyes! What an absolutely wonderful story- it almost sounds like a film!

How lovely that they have been together so long and what beautiful photos too.

 

[Mrs Cleaver]

What gorgeous & brilliant photos!And what a wonderful story,thankyou for sharing it
I was inspired by this thread to ask my nan on her 80th birthday a few weeks ago if i could see photos of her when she was young,it was great looking through them all & i was surprised to see pics of her with quite a number of different young men,apparently she had lots of boyfriends before my poplol Nan said he swept her off her feet,Pop said she was a cougar that got herself a younger man he's 18 months younger than herlol Now i just have to get some copies made so i can post them here

 

[GrrlFriday]

I just took the time to go through this whole thread for the first time. I love it! I think it might just be my favorite on the Lounge. Thank you everyone for sharing these, especially those of you who shared your family photos.

 

[Gingerella72]

December and Mrs. Cleaver, thank you, glad you enjoyed!

My mom was gorgeous back in the day, I just wish the beauty gene hadn't skipped me, lol!

 

[kamikat]

Thanks for sharing your family with us, Gingerella!

 

[Puzzicato]

Wonderful photos, and such a lovely story, Gingerella! Thanks!

 

[Blondie]

Thank you for Gingerella !
Your family story has MOVIE written all over it,
you should write a book

 

[crazydaisy]

great story and fantastic photos, thank you!

 

[Fleur De Guerre]

My glamorous granny in the early 40s. She was a hairdresser and won 'Miss Salisbury 1943'!

I wish I had an inkling of how to do my hair like that!

 

[Amie]

Fleur, she resembles Ingrid Bergman there.

 

[Chasseur]

My grandmother some of her sisters and my dad, about 1943-44.

My grandparents (dad's side)

 

[MissHannah]

My maternal grandmother and friends/family/offspring

 

[Yeps]

Excuse me for intruding into the Powder Room, but I have two photos that might interest you.
My grandparents at their wedding, I am pretty sure this was 1947.

It doesn't really show in the photo, but as far as looks go, they were about as opposite as you can get. My grandfather was second generation German Irish, with blond hair and blue eyes, and my grandmother is first generation Italian, and has the looks to accompany it. To this day she still has almost all black hair.

My grandmother (Carmela) with her sister and mother. Also must have been mid-40s

 

[atomik_momma]

i love looking through all these pictures. (am i the only one who smiles every time she sees a photo of a lady in "sensible shoes"?)

 

[La Julia]

I love these as well...