Saturday, February 20, 2010

Sepia Saturday Mom.....


Zella Marie Brown Burgus was born in 1919.  Her parents were Leroy Martin Brown and Mabel Zella Wheeler Brown.  They were poor. Zella was born in a farmhouse somewhere between Afton and Lorimor, Iowa in Madison County. Yes, the same county as the movie"Madison County Bridges." She had two older brothers Marvin and Kenneth Brown.
Her dad had many jobs but the ones that I remember most was the he dug graves.  He also owned a barber chair and cut hair, but usually no one paid him for the work.  Mom said that she never stayed in the same school longer than just one year during here elementary years.  They seemed to move every spring to whatever house that they could find available.  My own idea was there were times that they didn't have the rent, so they had to move. As my mom was going into high school, my grandmother got a job at the restaurant in Murray. It gave them money to start to own a house.

For some reason, my grandmother thought my mom should have the best education, so they put her in a rented room in Osceola, a county seat town, and she went four years of high school there, coming home on weekends. Her senior year she took Normal Training so that she could become a country school teacher.


Her senior picture above shows her in a fancy bobbed hair cut and I am assuming that this photo was her graduation dress. She was barely five foot tall so this dress makes her look like she has long arms.
Her dad died in 1937, of a lung condition, which was her senior year. 


As a country school teacher, she told how the families would bring food and they would have a large picnic near the end of the school year. Mom is older here standing with a couple of her students.  I like the background of this photo with the car and a set of parents behind her.
I have decided to tell only about the photos and not the whole story of her life.  She did become a wife and a mother of four boys.  She lived to be 89 years old and died in 2008.


While removing her senior photo from it's frame I discovered something that must have been put there back in 1937.  I will share the pressed flower bouquet in Sunday's Photo a Day. I have a couple of theories behind the flowers in the back of the picture.

Check out all of my friends who are sharing with Sepia Saturday.  Click here to view them all.

22 comments:

Kat Mortensen said...

Wow! What a find, to come across pressed flowers. That is such a treasure, Larry.

I like the picture with the bobbed hair and also the one with her students.

They used to speak of "Normal College" here in Canada. I didn't know it was in the U.S. too.

Kat

Kat Mortensen said...

I forgot to remark that your mother was beautiful—she reminds me of an actress from the 40s.

Sunny said...

Your Mom was a beautiful woman. Her picture reminds me of Donna Reed in "It's a Wonderful Life".
Have a nice weekend.
Sunny :)

Anonymous said...

Oh how I love this post Larry. Your Mother is so petite and beautiful. I love the old car and the parents in the one photo. I look forward to reading more about the pressed flowers. My dad was born in 1922 but had an older sister (Mildred) who was born in 1919 but died at age 20 due to pneumonia (before penicilli). The one and only adult photo I have of Mildred her hairstyle is much the same as your Mom's. Thanks for such a great post.

The Retired One said...

I love my old pictures of our relatives too...sounds like she had a hard life...but she has a sincere smile and was a pretty woman.

MuseSwings said...

Her marcelled hair looks so beautiful! Thank you for sharing these pretty pictures of your very pretty mom!

claude said...

What a nice portrait, Larry. In photo and written.
On the beginning of this week I watched the movie "the bridges of Madison Country" and I told to Abraham Lincoln I like very much this movie and the covered bridges.
Have a nice week-end.

Martin said...

Stories like this one, have such uplifting qualities. The sheer will to make things better. The striving and succeeding.

Your mother has the looks of a movie star, but she found her vocation in teaching. Wonderful.

Alan Burnett said...

That is a great post Larry. So much history there, so many stories. A strength of character seems to shout out from the images.

Les Barr said...

This was a nice Post. It's nice to go back in time and remember those day's that have gone by. I've done something similar. Came across some ole' pictures of me back in the early 50's. Your Mother, like mine, had a rough Life. Lost my Mother to Cancer back in 2004.

OiseauBird said...

Old picture very interesting, I like this great post.
Your mother is so pretty and beautiful, ..
Have a good WK.

Gigi Ann said...

I think you had a beautiful mother. I enjoyed reading the history behind the pictures, it was a different world back then.

Valerie said...

Wow, your Mom looks like a film star. She is so beautiful. Thanks for sharing these, Larry. I enjoyed reading about your family.

Betsy Brock said...

What a nice life she made for herself after such a hard childhood. She looks happy as a teacher with her students. Married and four boys, too...nice. The photos are wonderful! And I had to laugh at the students tights...I always hated that when my tights got wrinkly like that!

Looking forward to the post on the flowers...what a find!

The Clever Pup said...

I think she looks lovely. And the discovery of the flowers is just perfect.

Meri said...

Found them in the Iowa State Census in 1925. . .

Tess Kincaid said...

Are you sure she wasn't who Waller patterned his story after, in Bridges of Madison County? Gorgeous woman, Larry.

Barry said...

Wonderful photos and a mystery hidden behind one of them. Who could ask for anything more!

What an interesting story!

Unknown said...

The pressed flowers were a wonderful find indeed--an interesting story & very good photos.

PattyF said...

What a beautiful woman your mother was. We had normal schools here, as well, and I think it's wonderful that she had an opportunity to get an education and have a successful vocation. I can't wait to see the flowers and find out your thoughts.

Far Side of Fifty said...

Your Mother was just stunning! So very pretty, I enjoyed all your old photos! :)

GLOGIRLY said...

What priceless photos, Larry. We enjoyed reading about your mom. She was gorgeous, movie-star gorgeous! And what an unexpected treasure, buried behind one of the photos. ; )

Thank you soooo much for visiting my blog during the Cat-O-Lympics! It was a great week for sure. I've already started training for the next games... Power Napping!

mew!
Katie
(Glogirly's Olympian Cat)

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