A few of you thought my mom in an earlier blog looked like Donna Reed. Donna was actually a movie star from Iowa that eventually had a television show. The above picture does make me think some of you are right, but I knew the woman and she was no Donna Reed.
In the photo, my mom Zella Brown is probably 19 years old. All of the ones around her are her first cousins. She is holding a baby that is a child of her Uncle Elga Wheeler. Standing around her are the children of her Uncle Lee Wheeler. Lee Junior is on the left, who today lives in area of the Madison County Bridges, Lorimor and Winterset, Iowa, as a retired farmer. The girl on the left is Eva Wheeler White, who lives in Torington, Wyoming. The tall girl was Leila Wheeler Witt who passed away from cancer 15 years ago.
The year is probably 1938 and I wanted you to note the fashions of the day in Iowa. I want you to take special note of my mom's socks and shoes. She had a thing about not matching patterns most of her life.
I cropped this photo from a larger group photo. That will be a blog for the future, once I do a little more research. Again note the stripped dress is matched to the socks. The guy behind her is one of mom's brothers, Marvin Brown. I have lots of pictures the other brother, Kenneth wearing different hats, and here mom is wearing a sporty thing for a family reunioun.
This last picture is posted for the fashion statements of the day. I believe that the tall girl in back is Leila again and her sister in front of her, Eva. It seems a year later than top photo. If I am correct on the woman on the right, it is their mother, mom's Aunt Esther Wheeler. Mom is wearing a rather large fur collar coat while the others are more conservatively cut.
The girl in the front is wearing the stockings, the kind that my mom said she always hated to wear. The woman's hat on the right is quite fancy and the thing sticking up is a pole or tree trunk that is broken off and it is not a feather on the hat. Mom was always into fancy shoes.
This whole process of getting things together for these sepia Saturday posts has me busy digging and finding photos. I have a lot of piles that need to be organized. Some people will never be identified while some will be discovered. The top picture had the names put on them at a much later time than when it was taken but that has helped me to identify them in other pictures. It has helped me to set goals to gather the few of each grandparent or great grandparent that I have and get them ready for you.
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10 comments:
Wonderful photos and I can see the Donna Reed resemblance.
My grand daughter (9) has a thing about always wearing unmatched socks.
I love that she was in to fancy shoes! LOL! I do see the Donna Reed resemblance, too. Nice group of photos, as always!
Good Afternoon Larry, I enjoyed these photos very much. I love your mom's socks. The hat and coats are fun too. Thank you for sharing today.
Your Sepia Saturday posts are always so full of detail Larry. I think your mum looks great in the big fur collar, by the way.
Looking forward to future posts.
So, your mother was no Donna Reed, eh? Well, she does look a lot like her in that first photo. Nice pics, Larry.
Hi Larry,
I particularly like that first photograph. Even though it's in black and white, this picture evokes so many things. I know the dresses and socks are crisp and colorful. I can almost feel the warm breeze and smell freshly mowed grass.
It is fun looking at old photos and the clothes they wore and cars they drove!
Yeppers, I see Donna Reed also! What precious pictures...for the people and for the times. Wow...so glad I don't have to wear those 'ugly' stockings. And even those stockings that had a seam up the back, and had to be straight or looked sloppy. I do remember them though! Don't tell anyone!
It appears to me that your Mother wore what ever she felt like and what ever she was comfortable in! I do like the coat with the huge furry collar..I love all your old Photos Larry..thanks for sharing them:)
Larry this is a wonderful collection of photographs and memories. I am so glad you have even more photographs to share with us, I find the whole business of becoming familiar with each others families so fascinating.
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