BOO!!!!!!!!!!!

 More square dancing pictures!  It really was a big part of our lives and an enjoyable one.  The Star Promenaders had a Halloween party in 1961 - here we are as a horse of some kind or other.  Ray is the front and I am the rear end!  Just a quick sew thing with a separate hood featuring red yarn down the back for a mane.  Really a dopey costume but one that got lots of mileage over the years since the kids wore it at times. 

In this picture, you can see Kenny, our caller, at the far right.  He was such a good caller and such a great guy.

Some of the other dancers with really cute costumes.  Wonder what was supposed to be in this girls jug and who the dickens was she?  I can't remember.  Too long ago.

Getting the hall ready for the party.  On the left is my Ray and the other two kooks (I can call them that since they were very good friend and they really were kookie and lots of fun) are Bob and Harold.  I don't recognize the fellow reaching in for a baloon.  More lovely memories of days gone by.  Happy Halloween.  (Click to enlarge)

Happy PFF and Happy Halloween

Here's a great postcard I found on Flickr that belongs to riptheskull's photostream http://www.flickr.com/photos/vintagehalloweencollector/sets/.  I think it is just great for this last Friday in October and almost Halloween.   Such a beautiful couple and their pet cat.  Enjoy -- and I send my wish to you for Happy Halloween and Happy PFF!   And, as usual,  a big thanks to Beth, over at http://thebestheartsarecrunchy.blogspot.com/  for hosting.    (Click to enlarge)

Two Good Scouts

My husband and son, Ray and Bill, on our patio in Topeka, Kansas, back in the late 60's ready to go to a scout function.  Ray, who made Eagle Scout, was the neighborhood commissioner for Bill's troup at our church.  It was an active bunch with it's own campsite where they would head out hiking on the weekends sometimes.  Very good time in both of their lives.  The scouts really meant a lot to Ray since his father died when Ray was 12 so the men he was in contact with in the scouts were mentors and he valued their friendship and the interest they took in his life.  He even worked with a couple of them at the Santa Fe later on.   On a different note, I see there is a hat on the bench and I am wondering why and who it belongs to.  Surely Ray would not be wearing it with his uniform - both the guys have their scout caps in their belts.  One of life's unsolved mysteries!   Sorry about the flaw on the picture - I tried to remove it but was having no luck.  I would love to take some lessons in working on photos.  I can do some things but lots more that I would like to learn.   (Click to enlarge)

Choosing Jeans in 1961

I had the old Spiegel 1961 catalog out this morning and looked in the index for "jeans".  What amazes me about this old book is what it  does not have for sale that is out there for us now.  Here is the lone pair of jeans for misses.  Looks like more tailored, dressier pants were in order for leisure time and that jeans were for serious work.  I can remember wearing jeans but only around home. 



I would say these probably would be called "mom jeans" today, don't you think?  The price is right for sure.  (Click to enlarge)

Postcard Friendship Friday

An old postcard showing Multnomah Falls Near Portland,  Oregon, somewhere around 1920.  Our family was in Portland in August for the wedding of  Molly, my granddaughter, and Doug, my new grandson-in-law.  Some of the family took a little side trip for a hiking expedition to the falls  while we were there. 

The post card back describing the beautiful scene.


Isn't this gorgeous?   The back of the postcard shown next explains the rarity of this loveliness! 



 Thanks again, Beth, at http://thebestheartsarecrunchy.blogspot.com/ for hosting this fun exchange.  Happy PFF.   (Click to enlarge)

My Mom and Four of Her Five Grandchildren

Here is a sweet picture of my mom, Nan, with four of her grandchildren.  Later there was a fifth cute little fellow added to the bunch when my brother married Dorothy and became a father to Mike. .  Sitting on the arms of the chair are my good looking little kids, Billy and Sherry.  The other cuties are Craig, on his grandma's lap, and Danny, on the floor.  They belong to my sister, Joanne.   Mike is about the same age as Dan and they both are a year or more younger than Bill.  Sherry is the oldest.  Dan is a grandfather to two little ones now - how the time flies by.  This was taken in 1959 and we were back in Chillicothe for a visit from Ft. Madison.   (Click to enlarge)

From Fashion Friday on Funoldhag

I have posted almost all of my really old family pictures (i.e., my mother and father's families)  here in Pieces of the Past.  I still have lots of our family and some of my childhood, but miss posting the ones in the early part of last century.   On my blog "Funoldhag" I feature a fashion show each Friday and there are pictures there that I am sure have never been on POTP.  The Pearces, my mom's family, took many pictures and I love looking at the old clothing and wondering where they were going and what they were doing.  So I plan to post those pictures here once in a while  and hopefully you will enjoy them.   I start out with my mom and me---------

What the well dressed mother and baby were wearing in 1928. Sitting on the "coping" of the frontyard of a pair of doting grandparents in Peoria, Illinois, were Nan and Carol. Nan is wearing a lovely banded cloche (I think that is what you call that hat) and pointed shoes with a strap. Her dress appears to be a silk or maybe rayon since it has a nice sheen. Carol, born when Nan was 34 and the first of three babies, is dressed in a frilly bonnet and dress with cute little booties. She also appears to be a very healthy, chubby little thing. (Click to enlarge)

PFF

In looking through and scanning some of the old pictures, I found this postcard showing a Santa Fe train after having crossed into Iowa over the Santa Swing Bridge heading for the depot at Ft. Madison.

The back of the card. 

This picture shows a train crossing on the underside of the bridge.  And above is where the autos crossed, passing by the toll booth which a few years ago cost $1.00 for autos entering Illinois and no charge for those heading into Iowa.  The swing section of the bridge is 525 feet long, one of the longest in the world.   If you go to http://www.johnweeks.com/river_mississippi/pagesB/umissB11.html  you can read more about the bridge and also see more pictures.  Happy PFF, everyone, and thanks to Beth of http://thebestheartsarecrunchy.blogspot.com/ for hosting.  (Click to enlarge)

Square Dancing (cont'd)

I scanned several pictures the other day and for this post will add another picture from square dancing days in Ft. Madison, Iowa.  Here I am with my best fellow at a dance - someone must have said something very funny as I appear to be having a good laugh.   Probably Ray since it looks like he is still talking.  He's a good looking fellow, that's for sure, and looks great in his western shirt, tie and big belt buckle.  That is another of the dresses I made with yards and yards of rick rack aroud the tiers.  Wish I had that waistline now!   For PFF I have a Ft. Madison related post card that I found when going through pictures.so one more Ft. M post coming up.  (Click to enlarge)

Square Dancing

On our float in the Ft. Madison Rodeo Parade - I am alemanding with Dick Ault and headed toward Ray right behind him.

If you have followed my blog, you know that Ray and I had a lot of  fun square dancing over the years.  Don't know how popular it is now, but back in the 50's - 80's there were many clubs and lots of people  allemanding left  all over the country.   Good people, good fun and good exercise were to be found on the dance floor.  Square dancing and card playing were our main sources of entertainment.  Ft. Madison, Iowa, was where we really started dancing in earnest.  When the Santa Fe consolidated the Illinois and Missouri Divisions and moved all of us to Iowa, eventually a square dance club was organized and Kenny Anderson, a caller from Burlington, Iowa, was brought in to teach us "western style" as opposed to "barn dancing".  The Burlington club had national callers come in and we went to a few of those dances.  I remember one caller, Bob Fisk, who was so personable and handsome he belonged in the movies.   What good friends we had dancing--lots of fun and lots and lots of laughing.  When we moved to the  Kansas City area, there was dancing on all levels - it started at club level and went to "challenge" which was like learning a drill.  We didn't get into that but did get to a more advanced level that was still fun and kept you on your toes.  If you messed up, you could mess everything up but usually someone steered you in the right direction.  In Kansas City, if you had the desire, you could have danced almost every night of the week - there were that many clubs.  Some of the great callers were there, also.  We also did round dancing, which I loved, and that was couple dancing in a circle to a routine danced to a certain song.   At Christmas time, there was a cute dance to Jingle Bell Rock and in that one you advanced to another partner each time a certain part of the dance came up.  Lots of line dancing, too, in between sets.  Gosh, I think I'm ready to get out my dancing shoes!!  Such nice memories.

Postcard Friendship Friday

Another postcard found in pictures that my mother-in-law had.  Sent from the Grand Canyon in Arizona in June of 1929.  My husband's Uncle Leon and Aunt Lillian sent the card to Leon's mother in Chillicothe.  I have been so surprised to find quite a few old postcards in the memorabilia that I have.   I also enjoy looking at those posted by the people out there who really are collectors and so knowledgeable on the subject.  Glad I found you.

Thanks to Beth at http://thebestheartsarecrunchy.blogspot.com/ for hosting.  Happy PFF to all.

The Dionne Quintuplets

Here are pictures from the October 30, 1934, Peoria Star showing the Dionne quints who were born in Canada.  I was six years old and can remember hearing about their birth when I was staying overnight with my cousin, Barbara Jo, at her house in Peoria Heights. 




Just from the captions on these pictures and from bits and pieces I can remember over the years, those little girls were really exploited and I think their lives were affected so negatively from all the attention and being put on display as a tourist attraction, really.   They were the world's first surviving quints and were identical.  I have found a link that you might like to follow to read more about their births and lives.  http://www.suite101.com/content/the-dionne-quintuplets-a26819

 

 From these pictures, there was a private hospital built for them to live in. 

Doctor Dafoe who delivered the famous little girls (Yvonne, Cecile, Marie, Annette, and Emily) holds Yvonne.  Some of the items marketed for sale at the time were sets of five little baby dolls and later five little girl dolls.  I am sure there were paper dolls and many other things that little girls would want in the image of the quints.

 .

Here they are probably around five years old.    I found the copy of the old paper when I was going through the bin with all of the old pictures.  I also have copies of the landing on the moon, JFK's assasnation, and several other huge events.  Along with the historic stories, it is interesting to read the ads and other items in the old newspapers.  Thought you might enjoy this piece of the past from around 76 years ago.  (Click to enlarge)

Postcard Friendship Friday

 This is not a picture postcard, but it is a card that came from Camp Jayhawk near Topeka, Kansas in 1965 from our then 11 year old son,  Bill.   His fun personality was shining through even back then.  I love the way he addressed the card in the block letters.  Bill was always drawing and was and still is very talented along those lines.  I think in some of the older posts I have featured some of his early art featuring fellows with warts on their noses, big ears and cigarettes hanging from their mouths.  Spelling was not one of Bill's best subjects back then but that is  has improved vastly.   Bill was in the scouts for a long time and his dad was a neighborhood commissioner and was very active with the troup.  A great experience for both of them.  I think I have blogged about it earler so will say no more.  Fun card, though - hope you like it!(click to enlarge)

Thanks, Beth, at http://thebestheartsarecrunchy.blogspot.com/  for hosting and Happy PFF.