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.
