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Tuesday, January 08, 2013

Reflections of Family ---

This is a picture of my Dad’s mother when she was just a baby.  SO CUTE!

My sister-in-law, Sharolyn is really great at organizing and home decorating, and when Dad bought his little place here in Sun Lakes, she was on hand to help him FINALLY get some precious family photos out of boxes, framed, and hung in groupings on the wall.

Family photos have always been a thing of awe and wonder for me.  The passing of time.  Did we really look like that?  It seems like only yesterday.

And then there are the photos that came from BEFORE I was born – before my Dad was born, or when he was a small child.  It’s hard to imagine what a parent’s life was like when they were tiny, or to see your grandmother in her youth and beauty holding small children on her lap, the moment captured forever in a black and white photograph.

These photos-of-photos are not the greatest, but they will do for me for now!

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This is my Grandmother, Mary Margaret Malcolmson on her wedding day to my Grandfather, William Alfred Wilkinson, Sr. in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

I believe this was about 1939.  Grannie would have been a mere 21 years old, a rare beauty, and this photo of my Grandfather always makes me think he looked much like a movie star from the silver screen.  Grandpa passed away in the mid 1960s from complications of hepatitis contracted on a visit to Mexico—It was quite unexpected, and being the oldest grandchild-- I am the only grandchild that really has any memories of him as I was very small when he passed.


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Dad & Grannie, 1942?

My dad, a toe-headed blue eyed blonde was born in 1940.  I love this picture!  This is the only photo I have seen of my Grannie with longish hair.  I used to wonder what life was like for her as the mother of small boys with her husband off to war in the navy.  I imagine her wearing the fashions of the day and looking quite smart as a young wife and mother. What was playing on the radio?  What movies were the "latest" at the theater?  What were the magazine and newspaper headlines of the day?


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Uncle Fred, Grannie & Dad

Doesn’t Dad look so cute in his WWII era sailor suit?  I imagine Grannie yet again combing their hair into place and getting them to sit still so this photograph could be taken.  Moments captured in time.  I try to imagine my dad's voice, and what he would have sounded like as a 4 year old.

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Grannie and Dad in her later years.

And I can see  my own reflection taking this photo on my phone ---but that’s okay.  This is the Grannie that I remember.  She passed away when she was 82.  A long full life, 3 sons and 6 grandchildren who loved her dearly.

Grannie would have been completely blown away by the technology we have today -- I think she would have gotten a real kick out of it!

The hike didn’t happen yesterday – just a bit too much on the chilly side for going up the mountain.  I ended up doing something I hadn’t done in a long time ---took a nap smack dab in the middle of the afternoon!

The evening was topped off by dinner out with my brother Mark and his wife ---so good to see them and sit and relax and talk over a leisurely meal.

Today is the big transition.  Dad is driving me up to Cottonwood where I’ll be teaching the next couple of days, so I’m sure we will get more quilting related posts going here!

But this time I’m grateful for – it’s about family.  Quilting can wait!

32 comments:

  1. Get comfy in the car. It takes almost as long to get into Phoenix from Sun Lakes as it will to get on up to Cottonwood from Phoenix. Beautiful country you're heading into. Enjoy your stay.

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  2. I just love your 'blast to the past' with those photo's! They are just wonderful! Thanks for sharing.

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  3. Awww, how precious your trip down memory lane was! You're so sweet and sentimental over thses pictures. Thanks for sharing with us. So glad you had leisure time and meals with your family. Safe travels to Cottonwood. They're waitin' for ya!!!

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  4. WOW! You're in Sun Lakes!!! You're about -1- mile from me! WOW!

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  5. Wow...a great looking bunch of people!! Wonderful pictures...

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  6. I love old family pictures as well, I started to scan them, since some of them are really really old by now, imagine my greatgrandmother as a young wife !

    Your grandma was a beauty, she has something of Myrna Loy :-) in the Thin Man movies, which I love.

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  7. Thank you for a look at your family pictures. I have some of those. It is wonderful to look back and see what your family looked like. See who you look like. Seeing the picture of your dad I can see who you look like. Enjoy the time while you can. I do not have my dad or my mom. Safe travels today.

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  8. Bonnie, Thank you for sharing your wonderful family memories! You look quite a bit like your Grandmother. I'm sure she would be very proud of you!
    Jennifer -

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  9. i was a picture framer for 30+ years, and one thing i "demanded" of people framing family photos is that they then write on the back of the frame who is in the photo and when it was taken...other information can be written on the back, as well...'cause nobody is going to remember in 50 years!!! the same way we put labels on our quilts, and look for labels on others quilts...

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  10. You are so fortunate to not only have these beautiful family photos but to actually know who is in them. Glad they are appreciated and being documented for future generations. Thanks for sharing!

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  11. Gorgeous family photos! Your Grandmother was a beautiful woman! I love old photos!

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  12. Great pictures. Everyone looks so elegant in sepia. Thanks for sharing!!!

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  13. I love looking at old photos, too! Thanks for sharing! So glad you have been able to spend time with family. Enjoy!!!

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  14. Bonnie you look alot like your Grandma.

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  15. Bonnie, I feel honored that you'd share this private part of your life with us. Lovely photos. So glad you had this time to reconnect and rest. Safe drive!

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  16. A truly beautiful post!
    Have a great day.
    Always, Queenie

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  17. Gorgeous photos Bonnie- My mother has a nice collection of family photos because her passion is genealogy. I often spend time looking at them when I visit home- You have a lovely set of treasured memories in those photos.
    It sounds like this particularly travel time has been special with a visit with your family.
    Regards,
    Anna

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  18. I love the pic of your grandparents on their wedding day. Your reflection is in the just the right spot so it looks like they're looking right back at you! Your grandmother was beautiful.

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  19. Anonymous3:32 PM EST

    Your photos are beautiful and yes I think they do look like movie stars it was a more glamorous time I think. Looking through family photos are fun I have been doing that and tracing my family tree. I have discovered that my great great grandfather was one of the first people to step foot in South Australia a free settled colony back in 1836.

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  20. I love the old B & W photoe. I hope these pics have been scannef and saved on a CD for the next genrration. Have a grrat trip with your dad.

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  21. Bonnie, thanks for sharing the photos. I love to hear family stories!

    Did you know that calling someone a "tow-head" is to use a textile term? "Tow" are short linen fibers, 2-4". The are the leftovers from 2-3' line flax. I'm not a spinner/weaver but I do love textiles, and I learned a lot from the book "Irish People, Irish Linen," which was one of my favorite reads of 2012.

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    1. Wow! That's facinating, thanks for sharing. 3 out of my son's 4 children are tow-heads... I love that the term has fiber roots.

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  22. Wonderful photos! I love looking at the old one, too! And your dad and granny are SO recognizable in the last two pics! Same smiles, same bright eyes, same happiness! I love that!

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  23. Whole lot of great genes in your family, wow... GREAT looking family... silver screen indeed!
    ~Christina in Cleveland

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  24. your grandmother was absolutely beautiful!!! and your grandfather was a very handsome man! they make a wonderful couple
    sara

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  25. So glad you have had this time with family -- both those living and those in the pictures. I have been lucky to be able to collect and display pictures going back 5 generations in both mine and my husbands family. I have had them hanging on the stairway to the second floor. My children and grandchildren have enjoyed seeing them and learning of the connections to themselves. They are now down and safely packed ready to our new home in Alabama. Nancy: rangerer@sbcglobal.net

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  26. 1942 Grannie! She's a stunning beauty! Good genes Bonnie. Hope they hold up in age. Put as much info on the pictures as you can. Just like we doc. the quilts.

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  27. Let me tell you how to make photos look brand new again. Take to either Walgreens or Sams. Use their machine and ask it to restore the photo. Somehow the machine can make them look almost exactly like the day they were made. I've fixed black and whites and very old color ones too. They always come out beautiful.It isn't more expensive to do this than to do regular enlargements or regular photos on the machine. The one thing that is good it scans and you can make a CD of these and redone. It is amazing what the machines can do. Just thought I would let you know.
    Wanda from Texas

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  28. Have a good time Bonnie. Love to see these pictures

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  29. Both of your Grandparents look like movie stars. So beautiful and hansome. I love seeing old pictures and hearing bits of stories about the people. Thanks for sharing your family.

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  30. Bonnie, one of the things that I love most about your blog is your fascination with the little things in life. So many days, we just go thru life on "auto-pilot" without noticing the good things. You are not only good quilting inspiration, you are a great reminder to stop and notice the little things in life that are so important. Thanks!

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  31. Love the blast from the past. Your family is just beautiful. The picture of your Dad and Grannie is my fav but then I like the wedding picture too.

    Memories are nice to keep. I have lots of pictures like that but they weren't so good about journaling who, what, when and where's of the pictures.

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