From Whence We Came #1
I’ve been thinking about my grandparents more than usual lately. It might have something to do with coming up on a year since losing my last one or it might have something to do with getting older; I don’t really know. Whatever the reason, I thought it a good idea to gather and scan some images of their lives before my parents were born. Our grandparents lived through some fantastic history and chances are they have amazing stories to tell. I tried to learn as much as I could before losing them, but there are some things that are best told in pictures. Here are some images representing my Dad’s side of the family. I find them… fulfilling.
- Grandmother preparing to walk down the aisle with her dad. Note the cigarette in his hand. Ha! I’m told he rolled all his own cigarettes.
- Grandparents’ wedding. I think they look like quite the dashing couple.
- Grandmother in her Air Force uniform. Like many women during the time, she volunteered to help with the war effort here at home.
- Grandmother (left) working on an aircraft engine at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona. Could this picture be any more Rosie the Riveter? My family had much more of a mechanical inclination than I realized.
- Grandfather in his Coast Guard uniform. He signed up instead of getting drafted into something he had no choice about. He served in the ship’s kitchen (as you may know, he was an awesome cook) and later worked as an MP. I’ve always had a significant interest in the Coast Guard, before I knew he was in it, and this might explain why. I’m also told this looks like me.
- Grandmother’s (3rd from right) full family. Her parents were immigrants from Poland and Austria-Hungary (I don’t remember which was from where) and they had quite the large family. Even more impressive, I believe my Grandfather was one of 17 children.
- Grandfather (top left) as an assistant football coach. He looks way too cool to be coaching a bunch of rag tag bruts.
The images are in the original scan sizes, so I enabled a gallery. Clicking a thumbnail will get you a larger image and the ability to click again for the original size. If you use a browser that re-sizes images automatically (like Firefox), the originals offer the best viewing.
July 12th, 2010 at 9:17 pm
Nice work Chris.
I remeber all these photos well. I have the photos of my dad doing my moms hair for The Mrecury hanging in the salon. Everyone stop to admire them and need to know the story behind them. We know there is history that go with them and I’m proud to tell.
We have a little of our parents and grandparent in us. The coast gaurd picture of your grandfather with his hat cocked was the rebel in him and maybe in you.
Aunt Dina
July 12th, 2010 at 9:25 pm
P.S. Grampop couldn’t spell worth a darn. I got that from him! Aunt Dina