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Wednesday, August 11, 2010

MY VINTAGE MOM AND HER PHAMILY



Welcome to Vintage Thursday Thingy. I have been wrapped up with my phamily lately and I love 'em, each and every one of them. So today I want to share my favorite photo of my precious momma (middle girl) with four of her siblings. My grandmother was widowed and left to raise six children alone after the untimely death of her husband and young son (Tony) on your right. He was 17 and my uncle Louie (left) was 18 when Tony and their dad were killed in a mining accident in February of 1927 in Cripple Creek/Victor, Colorado.
I have this photo hanging in my bedroom next to my bed and I often look at it and wonder what they were thinking when that photo was taken. My mother is the pretty middle girl and her older sister Mary in on your left and her younger sister Ann on your right.
I know my mother loved to dance with her daddy as did her other sisters. They hardly waited for Saturday evening to roll around so they could dance with their daddy to the radio music that played in their humble home.
My mother had two more sister Elsie and Jo that were quite small when their father and brother were killed. My mother also had two other sisters Frances and Rose that passed away when they were infants. I often think of the terrible hardships my grandmother endured and how they survived. They survived ultimately on hard work and love of each other and their precious phamily.
My uncle Louie was a very successful man but he survived something I can not even imagine. He had just come out of the mine to take a break when the cave in occurred. He said he remembers the cries for help and he was left so helpless. He carried a small box with him and inside that box was a simple small gold hoop earring. He said his father had a pierced ear and he kept that with him until the day he passed away as an old man. My uncle was kind and compassionate and he cared for many during his lifetime. Perhaps it was his way of trying to reconcile some of the sadness he felt during that tragic time in their lives.
My mother was just a young teen when here father and brother died. I often have wished I would have asked her more questions about that terrible time in her life. I find myself crying and feeling overwhelming sadness for my grandfather and uncle that I never knew.

I know this post is different then most but had to share it tonight. Please stop by Suzanne's and thank her for hosting this weekly post.
Have a wonderful weekend.

16 comments:

LV said...

Enjoyed seeing and learning about your family. How wonderful it would be if more families shared a closer bond and love. It just does not happen as much as it should. You are blessed.

Chatty Crone said...

I like hearing stories about the past too.

It will be a thing of past I'm afraid . . .

sandie

Intense Guy said...

I can see why you have such a love for curly haired dolls. Your mother was a beautiful little girl (she sort of reminds me of original Alice in Wonderland).

Life in the mines was (and still is) very hard - people hear that but have no real sense of it... until they hear stories such as yours.

It wasn't until pretty recently that infant mortality was reduced significantly - My great aunts all lost child at birth and/or shortly afterwards. The space of 50-60 years has seen this problem reduced in the USA but it still happens in many poor countries.

Anonymous said...

Great old photo. I love old family photos. I have my grandparents restored wedding photo hanging up in my computer room. It's a photo of 4 horse and buggies with them in the middle on a farm in West Texas about 1906.

Blue Ridge Altered Art said...

What a lovely post. I love old photo's of family. I keeps the memories alive. ~~Sherry~~

Postcardy said...

What a tragic story. Your Uncle Louie sure was lucky.

Coloradolady said...

What a great post.....I so enjoyed reading about your family!! Treasures from the past. Have a great VTT!

Angela said...

What a beautiful family you have Anne! And to have a picture of them all dressed up it just wonderful! My grand mother lost one of her brothers in a coal mining accident at the family mine when he was 18. Mom and Granny still talk about it and how sad it was for them. I'm sure your mom and grandmother grieved for a long time over such a tragic accident to happen.

There is a big difference in the way people handled things back then than what they do now. Back then they would somehow get through it even as hard as it was but today people can't seem to handle things at all. A kid makes a bad grade in school and you would think it is the end of the world to the parents and then the kid turns to drugs.

Hope it is cooler where you live than where I live!

Hugs,
Angela

shannon i olson said...

Oh my, the heartaches.
Thanks for sharing such a lovely story.
I am going to try to start up a link party in Sept. Could I reference this post or you blog on mine as an example of a story teller post?
My grandmother had 6 living children, 5 to adulthood but 14 pregnancies I always wonder how devastating that must have been

Linda @ A La Carte said...

You know how I love old family photos. These are great!!!!

Michelle said...

It really gives some perspective on how good more recent generations when you read about how hard life was not so long ago.

Sally Annie Magundy said...

What a lovely post and tribute to your family! I love to read posts about peoples families and their histories.

Happy VTT,
Sally

bj said...

I enjoyed your post very much...
nothing like family love.

Thanks for posting about my giveaway. There's another whole week so keep trying..:)) You know I don't care how many times you comment...just more fun that way.:)
xo bj

Dogmom Diva said...

I too have a grandmother who passed away long before I was born, when my mom was about 18 from Lung Cancer, I believe. I wish I had met her, just once, but I know she knows me and my cousins and sibs because she is waiting for us in Heaven, as is your grandfather and uncle.
Oh your Uncle Louie, I loved that nice man. He was so generous..your Auntie Ang was adorable too..I wish as a young adult I had gotten to know them a bit more but when you and I were 19 or 20 years old we were not interested in the relatives..we were after the BOYS...lol..you and I could tell some stories girl. :)
Thanks for sharing and stirring up a nice memory for me, too..

hugs
Barb

Cindy Adkins said...

Hi Anne,
What an amazing photo and very touching story...It is really something to remember....I often wonder how people made it through those hard times and I know they say the economy is bad now, but I wonder if it was much worse "back in the day." My mother came from a family of 12 and I know they were hard hit during the Depression...I always ask questions, but she seems to not want to re-live those days...I guess it leaves a deep impression...
Thank you for sharing this...You are such a special person...and your mom is so beautiful in that picture!!! wow! What a beautiful family.
Love & hugs,
Cindy

Auntie sezzzzzz... said...

What a lovely vintage photo! Wonderful that you have it, and treasure it.