Favorite Picture Rerun

All of the fellows in this photo are identified by someone right on the border of the picture. I love that about the Pearce family - this is something they did a lot. However, the pretty lady peeking out of the porch door is not named, but I think it may be my Aunt Nelle. Charlie, of course, is my father. Ken and Lambert are Nelle's little boy and her husband, and Harry is my uncle. What I think is so fun is the different hats they are wearing. Dad has his hat turned up at a jaunty angle, Ken appears to be in a bonnet, Lambert in the straw hat that was so popular way back when, and Uncle Ham in a kinda beat up old strawhat.  A fun picture!
(Click to enlarge)

Postcard Friendship Friday

I can't remember when Decoration Day started to be referred to as Memorial Day - but that was the term when I was young.   In Illinois, where I grew up, peonies were the most popular flower to be placed on the graves in memory of loved ones.  The peonies almost always were in sync with the holiday. 

Here is a part of an article on the start of  Decaration Day.........

"Memorial Day was officially proclaimed on 5 May 1868 by General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, in his General Order No. 11, and was first observed on 30 May 1868, when flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery. The first state to officially recognize the holiday was New York in 1873. By 1890 it was recognized by all of the northern states. The South refused to acknowledge the day, honoring their dead on separate days until after World War I (when the holiday changed from honoring just those who died fighting in the Civil War to honoring Americans who died fighting in any war). It is now celebrated in almost every State on the last Monday in May (passed by Congress with the National Holiday Act of 1971 (P.L. 90 - 363) to ensure a three day weekend for Federal holidays), though several southern states have an additional separate day for honoring the Confederate war dead: January 19 in Texas, April 26 in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and Mississippi; May 10 in South Carolina; and June 3 (Jefferson Davis' birthday) in Louisiana and Tennessee."

How the red poppy became a part of the day is explained here......

"In 1915, inspired by the poem "In Flanders Fields," Moina Michael replied with her own poem:




We cherish too, the Poppy red


That grows on fields where valor led,


It seems to signal to the skies


That blood of heroes never dies.




She then conceived of an idea to wear red poppies on Memorial day in honor of those who died serving the nation during war. She was the first to wear one, and sold poppies to her friends and co-workers with the money going to benefit servicemen in need. Later a Madam Guerin from France was visiting the United States and learned of this new custom started by Ms.Michael and when she returned to France, made artificial red poppies to raise money for war orphaned children and widowed women. This tradition spread to other countries. In 1921, the Franco-American Children's League sold poppies nationally to benefit war orphans of France and Belgium. The League disbanded a year later and Madam Guerin approached the VFW for help. Shortly before Memorial Day in 1922 the VFW became the first veterans' organization to nationally sell poppies. Two years later their "Buddy" Poppy program was selling artificial poppies made by disabled veterans. In 1948 the US Post Office honored Ms Michael for her role in founding the National Poppy movement by issuing a red 3 cent postage stamp with her likeness on it."

To Beth - http://thebestheartsarecrunchy.blogspot.com/ - thanks for being our hostess.  Happy PFF everyone. 

Cute Vintage Ad

Illustrations from the twenties and thirties are my favorites.  Here is a colorful,  cute ad that makes me want to go out and buy some pretty garters!  Probably could not find one anywhere.  An easy on the eyes ad.  (Click to enlarge)

Postcard Friendship Friday

Went to Kansas City last weekend for a shower on my granddaughter who is expecting a little baby boy on my 83rd birthday this summer!    The shower was held in a very luxurious condo overlooking the Plaza -- a wonderful, upscale shopping area in KC that is really old.  The new daddy's mom housesits for the folks that own the condo and can entertain there with their blessing. 

This was written in Augustof 1946 in Kansas and it can be soooooo hot there - we lived in the area for 13 years.

We have been there during the Christmas season and it is gorgeous to look out the windows and see all the beautiful lighting which is so traditional there.  Each Thanksgiving evening, the lights are turned on and it is quite the spectacle. 
http://www.kclibrary.org/?q=blog/week-kansas-city-history/let-there-be-lights
If you would like to know more about this lovely yearly event,  use the link above.  Happy PFF!  And check out http://thebestheartsarecrunchy.blogspot.com/ which is the blog of our hostess, Beth, and see the pretty postcards from those participating.  (Click to enlarge)

Wish I had a Piece of This

Don't know whatever happened to Spry - or to Aunt Jenny, for that matter. I have a very old Spry cookbook and that is where I found the recipe for pie crust that I used for years and years. Haven't made any from scratch in a long, long time. This cake looks just yummy - would love to have a piece of it.

Will be away for several days - my daughter and I leave for KC this afternoon to go to a baby shower for my oldest granddaughter who is expecting a little boy whose due date is my 83rd birthday in August. Isn't that nice to think about? I had my daughter on my grandmother's 80th birthday so maybe history will repeat itself. However, I will be happy whenever he arrives! No postcard this week, but will check on everyone when I return home. (Click to enlarge)

Favorite Picture Rerun - Pretty Girls

One of my very favorite pictures of my mother and her friends.  I posted this not long after I started this blog in the summer of 2009 and think it is worthy of a rerun.  Mom is the pretty girl on the far right in the big, floppy hat.  The lovely girl in the middle shows up in quite a few of the Pearce pictures so must have been a good friend.  The clothes and hats are just so pretty - and I wonder where they were going or had been.  Maybe an outing on a  Sunday to Glen Oak Park in Peoria where I think many people spent leisure time.  Gentler days.  Enjoy this sweet old photo.  (Click to enlarge)

Happy Mother's Day

This is also posted on my Funoldhag blog - but it certainly is vintage and a big piece of the past so I am also posting it here. 

This would have been printed on a hectograph by Miss Placher, who taught the one room school that I went to.  The poem was probably written on the board for us to copy and we colored the flowers.  It's so much fun to find something like this done when I was a little girl of  9 going on 10.  There is not much in the way of keepsakes from my childhood.  Happy Mother's Day to all of you moms out there!  (Click to enlarge)

Postcard Friendship Friday

I found this pretty little postcard with the strange poem on Card Cow when I was searching for something fun for Mother's Day.  The little girl and her dollies are adorable.  How intent she is on her mending.  Other than sewing on a button now and then and maybe sewing a seam that has opened, I don't remember when it was that I last mended anything.  I actually did darn some socks in my early years of marriage and even turned one collar!  One of those was enough! 

Here is the back of the card - it actually was not a mother's day card since it is dated in August of 1911.  I could search for when Mother's Day was started,  but I am going to go have some breakfast instead.  To all you moms, Happy Mother's Day.  And to all, Happy PFF.   To  Beth ,  thank you again for being our hostess.  Drop in to her blog and find lots of great postcards.  (Click to enlarge)

Little Girl All Grown Up Now

One of the old slides that I need to get scanning again - this is a sweet picture of my daughter and my middle granddaughter probably somewhere around 28 years ago.  Molly turns 30 tomorrow.  I think this was actually taken on Christmas day in Overland Park in the early 80's.  Lots of birthday love on its way to Portland to Molly!  (Click to enlarge)

A Couple of My Favorite Old Recipes

Here is an old recipe I got from my Jo, my sister, many years ago.  Jo, bless her heart, was such a good cook - much better than her older sister.  She could throw things together and they always turned out so yummy.  This recipe is such a good one but finding apricot pie filling is next to impossible.  Peach will do just fine.  As you can see, this makes a lot and would be great for a large crowd.  I am sure it could be halved nicely.  The ease with which it can be put together makes it really nice for a busy gal.  I know when I went back to Illinois for one of my high school reunions, this is what I put together for our picnic and it was so easy and eaten all up!!  Add the slice bananas just before serving. 

When we moved to the Kansas City area in 1972, our neighbors had zuccini in their garden.  I had never heard of it even though my dad had grown a good share of our food when we were growing up and grew many things in his garden that you don't normally see like Chinese cabbage, celery cabbage, peanuts, etc.  Wilsons had a surplus of the squash and gave it to all the neighbors.  The lady across the street made this wonderful bread - and I got the recipe.  Over the years, I have made this many times albeit not for a long time now.  It is a great recipe.  When we had our own zuccini, I used to grate and freeze it and then use it in bread.  Nice, yummy, moist loaf of goodness!  (Click to enlarge)