Author: Gail Grunst Genealogy

Our Pets at Christmas

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Everyday until Christmas, I am going to try to post a picture from a past family Christmas. 

On the left is Skipper the dog I was promised when my parents had to get rid of our dog Taby mentioned in a previous post.  I got Skipper when we moved into our first house in 1953.  This is 1966 and Skipper is 13 years old.  He was part Cocker Spaniel and part Poodle.  Today he would be called a Cockapoo, but back in 1953 he was just a mutt.  Skipper lived until September of 1968 and died at age 15.  We left him shaggy with long hair, and he was all black except for some white on his chin and chest.  He some hairs that hung over his eyes.  Skipper had a rough start to life.  We had  him a short time when he became sick and was diagnosed with distemper.  The vet wanted to put him down, but my mother said, “no.”  He stayed at the vet’s for awhile and then came home but was still sick.  My mom coddled eggs for him and spoon fed him.  The vet was amazed at the progress Skipper made.  He had never had a dog live through distemper before.  At two years old Skipper was hit by car, and he had internal injuries, bruised ribs and a sore leg.  He walked with a limp for a long time.  A family friend gave Skipper lots of sympathy and she would massage Skipper’s leg.  Long after Skipper healed when ever they came over Skipper would limp to get sympathy and a massage.

On the right is a picture of Pierre our Poodle.  This is also 1966 and Pierre is one year old.  Pierre lived to ripe old age of 16.  The last few years we wondered if he was senile.  He would try to go behind the stove and get stuck.  Pierre stayed with my folks after I married.  He led a pretty quiet normal life compared to Skipper.

In the picture with Skipper the aluminum tree appears again, and those are my mother’s legs in the picture.  I don’t know what she is giving him, but he seems excited about it.

Pierre is posing on the chair like a typical Poodle.  He is in front of that fire place that was  mentioned in a previous post.

Susie and Santa

Meet Susie (left) and Brittney (right) two Golden Retrievers.  Susie and Brittney were sisters born in 1992.  Brittney was actually my brother’s dog, but lived here with us for many years so I feel as though she was mine too.  My husband and I would take them to the state park near us for walks.  I would take Susie because she was smaller and didn’t pull as hard. Brittney was bigger and heavier built.  Her coat was darker golden than Susie’s.  The first couple of years they played and played until we were worn out watching them.  Susie being smaller would get underneath Brittney and take a little nip.  Over all Brittney was the more aggressive of the two.  This picture was taken in about 1997.  Brittney died first at age 13 and Susie died a couple of years later at age 15.

We have had other dogs as well, but I don’t have pictures of them at Christmas, so I will tell their stories another time.

Christmas 1966

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Everyday until Christmas, I am going to try to post a picture from a past family Christmas. img002 (2)

I decided on this picture because of the story that goes with it.  My parents bought this house in 1963 and it was the first fire place we had.  We had trouble with smoke coming in the house instead of up the chimney.  Someone told us that it was because the furnace and the fireplace shared the same chimney, and when the furnace turned on it created a down draft and the fireplace smoked.  However, my mother decided one Christmas Eve day that she wanted to burn some pine to get that pine smell in the house.  We had an aluminum tree so no longer got the nice pine smell from the tree.  I went with her to a Christmas tree lot and she asked for the scrawniest tree they had.  We got one that was bare.  I remember feeling embarrassed as we carried it to the car and hoping I didn’t see anyone I knew.  We brought it home and sawed it up.  That evening she threw some of the pine branches on the fire and it smoked so bad that we had to leave the house.  We left the house with windows and doors open as our company and us walked around the block a couple of times until the house cleared.  

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My mother asked my father to saw a branch off one of our trees in December.  He obliged her and she spray painted it white, put lights on it and few little ornaments.  She diplayed it on our front porch.  At the time she took a lot of teasing from everyone because it was just a bare branch painted white.  At the time we had never seen anyone else do this, but since then I have seen them all over and in store window displays.  I guess she was a little a head of time on this one.

Copyright © 2019 Gail Grunst

Christmas 1960 and 1962

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Everyday until Christmas, I am going to try to post a picture from a past family Christmas. 

Mom's Christmas Table

Mom’s Christmas Table

My mother’s Christmas Table in 1960.  Behind my mother is a built-in china cabinet.  On the top left she has some dishes and on the top right is my doll collection.  You can see part of an old-fashioned telephone on the right.  My grandmother is sitting on the chair against the wall and above her is the Knick-Knack shelf that went from house to house with us.  On the table is a terrarium.  The camera flash can be seen reflecting off the glass doors behind my mother.

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Pictured here is my brother with our second cousin, Diana in 1962   Look at all the presents behind them.  This was the first year that we did not have a real tree and my parents went with an aluminum tree.  In the background is our Grand Aunt Helen. 

Copyright © 2019 Gail Grunst

Christmas 1960

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Everyday until Christmas, I am going to try to post a picture from a past family Christmas. 

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Christmas 1960

Family photo from Christmas 1960.  Back left:  Ralph Bowers (grand Uncle), George Manfroid (father), Fred Kaiser (grandfather). Next row: Martha Treppa, Elizabeth Farrell (great aunt), Dorothy Manfroid (mother), Helen Kaiser (Grandmother), Helen Bowers (grand aunt).  Front:  Ronald Manfroid (brother) and me (Gail).  Notice the Texaco Truck in front of my brother. My grandfather worked for Texaco for 45 years, and was still working for them when this picture was taken.  He retired in 1963. It was unusual to have Ralph and Helen Bowers, Martha Treppa, and Elizabeth Farrell in our family pictures.  They were with us on some holidays, but not all.  I think this picture was taken at the last minute before they left because of the shopping bags and boots on Aunt Helen.  Missing from the picture is my Uncle Russ, but he appears in the next one and I am missing from that one.

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Uncle Russ is sitting on the arm of the sofa.

 

A visit to see Santa 1956

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Everyday until Christmas, I am going to try to post a picture from a past family Christmas. 

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Santa, Ron and Gail

The picture is unmarked but by the looks of my brother’s age, I think this is 1956.  My brother is on Santa’s lap and doesn’t look to happy.  He appears to be grabbing for me.  Oh that scarf!  Hard to believe that those were popular at the time.  But you were not suppose to tie it like it did.   I tied it because it would not stay up otherwise.  How about those saddle shoes, and what a fashion statement for the fifties!

Copyright © 2019 Gail Grunst

Christmas 1956

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Everyday until Christmas, I am going to try to post a picture from a past family Christmas. 

This was our Christmas in 1956.  Picture on left is my brother, Ronnie, with Santa.  He is about a year and half old.  I love his face, he looks so happy seeing Santa.  Some kids at that age are afraid of  him.  You can see some of his toys.  This is one of the first pictures I have of Christmas in our first house.  We moved there in 1953, yet I could find no photos of Christmas 1953, 54, or 55.  The tree is behind my brother, and I can see cards taped up around the door.  On the right is me playing the accordion for Santa.  I was nine years old at that time.  The accordion was my Christmas present the year before.  I took lessons for three years and gave it up when my teacher kept me on a song that I hated until I played it perfectly.  I seemed to be stuck there and bulked at taking anymore lessons.  My father was upset with me.  No one ever suggested changing teachers.  I remember the accordion cost $500 at that time, and it must have been a lot of money for my parents.  That’s is probably why my father was upset with me.  I quit lessons and  he sold the accordion.  I didn’t want him to sell it because I would have played for my own enjoyment, or maybe a few years later I would be ready to try again with another teacher.   A few years later my father bought an organ, and I was able to transfer my knowledge of music and the accordion over to the organ.  I  never took lessons on the organ but can play it because of those accordion lessons.  Behind me is a built in shadow box .  My mother used that spray snow and stencils all over the house, and it looks like she put some on the mirror of the shadow box.  

Copyright © 2019 Gail Grunst

Christmas 1952: Dad and me

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Everyday until Christmas, I am going to try to post a picture from a past family Christmas. 

Christmas 1952 Dad and me

Christmas 1952

Here is the father who went without lunch and saved his lunch money to buy the Rita Doll in my last post.  He did many other things for me throughout his life.  He built me a doll house, a model train layout, and ran to every store in the area with me to find red wax lips that were popular at that time.  He was always there for me, gave me advice, tutored me in history, walked me down the aisle, and was a wonderful grandfather too.  I know he liked my husband because he told some friends of ours that he hoped when their girls grew up they would find someone like my husband. I loved my dad, and I have no doubt he loved me.  So many times I wish I could talk to him and get his advice now.  But that will have to wait until another time.   I still have the manger scene under the tree.  You can’t see the dress I am wearing very well, but it was made by Aunt Fran, my grandmother’s sister.

Copyright © 2019 Gail Grunst

Christmas 1951: Rita Doll

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Everyday until Christmas, I am going to try to post a picture from a past family Christmas. 

Christmasa 1951

Christmas 1951

In 1951 Santa brought me a Rita Doll.  You can see by the picture that she was half my size and she walked.  Oh, how I wanted that doll, and when I was older my mother told me that my father went without lunch and saved his lunch money to buy me that doll.  It meant even more to me after hearing that story.  Once her arm came off and we took her to a doll hospital to be fixed.  This picture was taken in my bedroom and that little dresser was painted pink and blue.  Every year we would go the A&P food store and buy one of those little trees for my bedroom.  There were lights on it and you can kind of see the cord going up the wall and around the door to be plugged in.  I like the paper chain on it, and I remember there were some glow-in-the-dark stars and icicles on it.

Below is information about the Rita Doll from dollreference.com

The Paris Doll Company ad for the Rita doll states: Rita’s a must – See her during Toy Fair at the Hotel McAlpin Rooms 1046-48, doll is unmarked.  Hard plastic head with glued on saran wig, hard plastic jointed body, sleep eyes, real upper eyelashes, painted lower lashes, open mouth with teeth. Came as a black or white doll.  May have been dressed in several different outfits one of which was a Majorette, as well as shown in the ad wearing a cotton plaid dress with white sheer pinafore trimmed with red satin ribbon, white socks and mary jane shoes.  Doll is unmarked, 24 or 28″ tall.

Copyright © 2019 Gail Grunst

 

Christmas Family Portrait 1948

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Everyday until Christmas, I am going to try to post a picture from a past family Christmas. 

Christmas 1948 Family

Christmas 1948 Family picture

The picture was taken on Christmas Eve 1948 in my parents apartment.  On the left is my grandmother holding a doll, Fran my grandmother’s sister is next to her, my mother is in the kitchen doorway, I am next to my mother, Pat (Fran’s daughter) is front left, my Uncle Russ, and Grandpa.  I assume my father is taking the picture since he is missing.  I always like looking at the background in these old pictures.  In this one you can see a little into the kitchen.  There is an old stove with a kettle sitting on a burner.  The stove has a shelf and on the self is a clock and two coffee carafes.  I remember that kitchen was very small, and there was a small table that fit the three of us. Notice the knick-knack shelf on the wall.  I think my mother had that one and others in all of her houses until the day she died.  I know my grandmother did.  I don’t see them anymore, but they were kind of nice for displaying items.  I know I am always looking for shelf space to display things.  A few of those around would help.  The knick-Knack shelves now are plain square boxes. I love to see how styles of furniture, kitchen appliances, clothes, and hair styles change over the years.  The trees were always real with the bigger lights and tinsel.

 

Two Beauties Christmas 1949

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Everyday until Christmas, I am going to try to post a picture from a past family Christmas. 

Pat, Mom and Tommy Doll

Christmas Eve 1949

You can’t tell this picture is from Christmas, but it is from Christmas Eve 1949.  I have to laugh at my mother’s face.  She made this face when when she didn’t like something.  So was use to seeing it.  In 1969 when I saw Lily Tomlin on Laughin playing Ernestine the telephone operator, I told my mother she reminded me of her.  My mother was insulted, but I meant it as compliment.  Click link to take a look at Lilly Tomlin as Ernestine and compare the faces.  This picture was taken in our apartment and was probably the first time my mother hosted Christmas Eve.  Our family tradition was we had Christmas Eve at our house, and opened our gifts after a visit from Santa. On Christmas Day we went to Grandma and Grandpa’s house for dinner.  Sitting next to my mom on the sofa is her cousin Pat.  She is holding a doll, that I probably received for Christmas that night.  I called it my Tommy doll.  I don’t know if that was the name from the manufacturer or something we came up with.  It is interesting that it is a boy doll.  At that time most dolls were girls.  I remember the doll, but don’t remember playing with it very often. My mother wrote on the back of the picture, “Two beauties — Xmas 1949”.