Throwback Thursday: Two Women with Hats

Lady on the left--How many times do you think we can bounce on this before it breaks?

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Memory Monday: All the Family History Is Not Lost

Papaw, Mamaw, and my father, 1940s

ALL THE FAMILY HISTORY IS NOT LOST

Both of my parents and all of my grandparents have passed away. They all died before I developed an interest in family history (at least for the most part. I remember having a conversation with my Daddy about 35 years ago when he told me somethings that he remembered about his mother’s family—just general things—but I didn’t think to write any of them down).

My mother lived the last 25 years or so of her life in the same town as I lived. Her sisters visited and we had several family reunions with her side of the family. Both of which allowed me to learn about her side of the family, especially about the years she was growing up.

I had nothing like this for my Daddy (this is the name we always called my father)—just a few facts he had given us for our daughter’s baby book. But I have learned of a wonderful tool to peek into the life of my father—Ancestery.com. Below are a few of the things that I have learned just looking into the past censuses.

1920 census

Lived in house on Kirkwood

Papaw worked in a grocery store

Papaw, Daisy (my grandmother), Daddy

1930 census enumerated on April 12^th

Papaw-Widowed, Same house, owns house valued at $3500, owns radio, works as a salesman in retail grocery

Daddy—12 years old

Aunt—9 years old

Grandmother—77 years old, widowed

Great-uncle (deceased grandmother’s brother)-salesman in bakery

Great-aunt

Their three children—ages 2, 6, and 9

1940 census enumerated April 10^th

Papaw-same house, worked as a stock clerk in a grocery store for 52 weeks in 1939 and earned $1560, a week before census he worked 48 hours, he had completed 4 years of high school

Mamaw (step-grandmother), worked in home—housework, she completed 4 years of college

Daddy—attended college, worked as clerk for 52 weeks the year before and earned $1020, week before census he worked 36 hours

Aunt, attended high school (fourth year), worked as a waitress in 1939 for 15 weeks and earned $120, a week before the census she worked 48 hours

Mamaw’s mother—71 years old, lived in the same house for 5 years, attended high school for 2 years

Daddy’s military service

Enlistment Date: 2 Feb 1942

Release Date:  9 Jan 1946

Branch  Army Air Corps

Grade   Private

Term of Enlistment:  Enlistment for the duration of the War or other emergency, plus six months, subject to the discretion of the President or otherwise according to law Component Army of the United States - includes the following: Voluntary enlistments effective December 8, 1941 and thereafter; One year enlistments of National Guardsman whose State enlistment expires while in the Federal Service

Height   69 Weight 132

From the information above, I have learned several things about Daddy that I can put together with the things I already knew. I was very familiar with the house my grandfather (we called him Papaw) lived in because we visited him quite often as I was growing up. It was a small two bedroom/one bath house with a screened-in back porch. I didn’t know that he had lived there from at least 1910. He still owned it at his death in 1974. I knew that his mother (whom we always referred to as Daisy, probably because we grew up with a step-grandmother we called Mamaw) died from double pneumonia when Daddy was 9 years old. I didn’t know that in 1930, Papaw had taken in his widowed mother and his brother-in-law, along with his family—that was 9 people living in that two bedroom house (with screened –in porch). He also owned a radio—can’t you just see them all sitting around in the evening and listening to it—just like the Waltons. Ten years later, Papaw’s mother had passed away (I know this from other Ancestry records) and his brother-in-law’s family had moved out. Also, Papaw had married again and had taken in his new mother-in-law. As Papaw worked in a grocery store all those years to provide for his family, Daddy and his sister attended school and worked outside the home.

Also, Ancestry showed me that Daddy enlisted in the Army Air Corps less than two months after the attack on Pearl Harbor and was released January, 1946. I knew that he had left the army with the rank of staff sergeant because that was what he written in a few books he had acquired during the war and were in the bookcase mother had built him (see the post from 12-14-2015). Daddy met the lady who became my mother about the first of July, 1946 and they were married in the middle of July (Mother always said they married two weeks after meeting and their marriage lasted 38 years).

Have you every researched your family on Ancestry? What did you learn about your family?  

Throwback Thursday: Old Construction Workers

Man with pole—OK, men, which contest do you want to do first—throwing the javelin or seeing how far teams can roll the pipe?

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Memory Monday: How to Dress for Housework

My mother's paternal grandmother

HOW TO DRESS FOR HOUSEWORK—HAVE WE BEEN DOING IT WRONG ALL THESE YEARS?

After reading this article in the book Putnam's Household Handbook by Mae Savell Croy, published in 1916, I realize that I haven’t been wearing the right clothes for doing housework all these years. But that will all change now. Read the article and think of my great-grandmother above. Think she would want to exchange her long skirts and long-sleeved blouses for the gymnasium suit—she was married about 20 years when this book came out. See if you think you will change the way you do housework.

HOUSEWORK WITH THE AID OF A GYMNASIUM SUIT

A gymnasium suit worn during the morning hours when sweeping, dusting, cleaning, washing, or in fact, when doing any work where exercise of the body is practiced, will leave the wearer far less fatigued after her duties than when wearing a clumsy dress or heavy skirt, as is usually worn by housewives.

One is always nearly exhausted after a hard day's work on the day set aside for cleaning, but the adoption of this method of dress for doing housework enables the worker to do the work in less time and hardly feel the strain when the day is over. There is a certain amount of freedom felt in the gymnasium suit. If this is questioned let the reader visit a gymnasium class for adults and see the light-heartedness and care-free manner of the members while at their exercises. It makes one feel almost a child again. A heavy skirt is a handicap and is constantly in the way if one must climb up for dusting pictures or cleaning windows.

Too, it gathers much dust and grime and no skirt worn constantly for housework looks tidy very long. A light weight cotton union suit is all that is necessary for wearing under the suit. It is easy to get out of this costume into the tub when the work is finished and the wearer, instead of feeling tired and worn, is refreshed and brightened simply through having effected a change in dress.

The gymnasium suit gives free play to the muscles that are otherwise bound down by tight bodice and sleeves, and the weight removed from the body and lower limbs enables the wearer to move with rapidity and ease and to get the full benefit of the exercise taken in a very easy and comfortable way.

While it is really better to wear the suit without corsets, as is done in gymnasiums, if the wearer does not care to leave her corsets off, the suit is still far preferable to the old form of dress.

Aside from the freedom of the muscles and the light weight of the costume as compared to the dress and petticoats, it is a much more economical apparel than the dress. The suit can be made from five yards of fifty-cent serge, and two such suits will last with good hard wear a couple of years. They are easy to wash and iron and a great saving will be experienced in the laundry. The serge should be thoroughly sponged before being made up, in order to save the wearer the discomfort of the suit becoming too tight after being washed.

An outer skirt should be kept conveniently near to slip on over the gymnasium suit when the door bell rings or when tradespeople call, and a much neater appearance will be presented than to go to the door with a soiled cotton dress on, or a heavy shirt bearing spots from cooking.

As a last and very important argument in favor of the gymnasium suit, the disposition of the wearer will be immensely improved, for nothing will so quickly cause a woman who does her own work to become irritable and nervous as to be in a half exhausted condition while having to face the annoying little problems that come up daily in her home life.

Wait!!!! I just remember—I don’t do housework. My husband said he would do it so I could have time to write. Now, I wonder if he wants me to get him a gymnasium suit so he can feel refreshed after he finishes all the housework. Nope, I don’t think I’ll even ask him. I know he’ll prefer his jeans and tees. Which is fine with me as long as he keeps cleaning.

Throwback Thursday: Two Men in a Buggy

Man on right—I got the buggy, now I’ve gotta find a girl to go courting.

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Memory Monday: My Father-in-Law

My father-in-law acting silly

MY FATHER-IN-LAW

As Father’s Day approaches, I want to honor a very special man who was in my life too short a time—my father-in-law. He was a wonderful man who loved his wife and son. They only had one child because after she gave birth to their son, the doctor told them that any future births would have to be by C-section because my mother-in-law was too small to go through that again. When he heard that, he said they wouldn’t have any more because he didn’t want her to have that surgery (you have to remember this was in the 1940s). She told my father-in-law that she wanted to give him a daughter. He hugged her and said that when their son married, they would have their daughter. I became that daughter, even before my husband and I married.

After my mother-in-law passed away with cancer, he moved closer to us. Shortly after that, I changed from calling by his first name to “Dad.” (I had always called my father “Daddy” so it just seemed right.) Through the years, we shared a lot of great times together. I learned to sit on his left side when we played the game of 42, or he would outbid me just for the sake of outbidding me which he knew would cause me to give him one of “those” looks. We also had a number of contests concerning losing weight—and he won all of those. I think his secret to winning was what my mother-in-law prepared his meals while I had to do all the cooking at my house (and we all know that the cook has to “taste” everything before sitting down to dinner). One of my sweetest memories was when they would come to visit and he would get out my guitar (which I never learned to play, but he did), tune it up, and play while I sang with my mother-in-law.

But, I think the most wonderful thing about my father-in-law was how he took on the role of grandfather to our two children. His love for them was so deep and sure and constant. I just wished that he had lived long enough to see them reach adulthood, to see how they are living and loving, working and having fun. He was always so proud of them.

And with my granddaughter here now, I know that I will be better grandparent because of the example he was. Thank you, DAD.

Throwback Thursday: Seven Men and Two Cars

Man on left—We’re going to see how many of us can stand on the back bumper before it falls off or the car tips over. You need to understand this is all for science. Right?

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Memory Monday: My Grandparents' Marriage

My grandparents' 50th Anniversary

MY GRANDPARENTS’ MARRIAGE

My husband and I have recently celebrated 44^th wedding anniversary. This is longer than either of our parents’ marriages. Both of those marriages last about 38 years, and they only ended because my mother-in-law died of cancer and my father was killed in a vehicular accident.

My maternal grandparents’ marriage lasted over 56 years. I remember their 50^th anniversary. Before then, my grandfather was well-known for hating to have his picture taken, even a casual snapshot. After all the hoop-la and picture-taking at the party, he changed and loved to have his picture taken. Also (and something I didn’t realize before, being a kid and all), my grandmother never had a wedding ring all those years. But that anniversary, she got one and (as far as I know) wore it the rest of her life. Oh, and one more interesting tidbit, although it was not about their anniversary, but rather about their marriage—my grandmother said one of the reasons she married my grandfather was that she thought he would give her beautiful children. And he did—all seven of them.

By the way, for our 50^th anniversary, we are thinking of going on an Alaskan cruise.

How many years have you been married? What interesting tidbits have you heard about your parents’ or grandparents’ weddings/marriages/anniversaries?

Throwback Thursday: Three People and Two Dogs

Think they are ready for the dog show?

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