Christmas Family Portrait 1948

December 13, 2019 / Gail Grunst Genealogy / 2 Comments

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

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

December 12, 2019December 13, 2019 / Gail Grunst Genealogy / Leave a comment

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

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”.

Christmas 1948: Taby

December 10, 2019 / Gail Grunst Genealogy / 1 Comment

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

Taby 1948

It looks like he is wearing a party hat. Maybe it was New Years Eve. The back of the picture just says, “Taby 1948”. I think he was a mutt, but don’t know what mixture of breeds he might have been. I was about three when we was taken away.

I have a vague recollection of Taby. He was my parent’s dog when I was born. I believe Taby was my father’s dog before he married. My parents lived with my grandmother when they were first married so Taby knew their house. When my parents moved to an apartment across town Taby would go back and forth between the two places. My mother said that he was very good with me. I was told that the neighbors complained about him. I don’t know what he did to upset the neighbors, but it became impossible for my parents to keep him in an apartment. I have often wondered why my grandparents didn’t take him. They had a dog and apparently when my parents lived there the dogs got along. But the sad story is that we had to get rid of Taby. My father took him to a shelter “Orphans of the Storm”. I was promised when my parents bought a house we would get a dog and we did. We never gave up another one. They are with us until they take their last breath. I am a big believer that when you get a dog you keep it. They are not a piece of furniture that you throw away. Every time I see a picture of Taby, it breaks my heart. Just writing about Taby brings tears to my eyes. I wonder what happened to him, and I hope he got a good forever home.