Imagine

My mom and her sister with their father, in the 1940's. I barely knew this man, as he died when I was young. He lived about 100 miles from my parents, and we only visited there once or twice a year. He and my grandmother were divorced, long before it was an acceptable practice and something which my mom was ashamed of all her life. He lived on a large working farm and he was also the principal and only teacher in a one-room school. His six children all went to school there. I think I've mentioned before that he was responsible for mom having a bump on her nose. He could flick a piece of chalk with deadly aim, and every time mom or someone else misbehaved in school, he would flick the chalk to hit them on the nose. She said he never failed to hit his target. I'm sure nowadays he'd be called on the carpet for that, but in the 1910's and '20's, that was never thought about. Don't carp about the furs, please. This was way before anyone ever thought about it being a sin to shoot or trap animals solely for their pelts. I can remember stroking those furs lovingly when I was a youngster, and dreaming of the days when I would be allowed to borrow them. Of course, by the time I was old enough, they were out of style. I did have a "walking suit"  (remember those?) with a fox-dyed lynx collar. It was spectacular! I loved wearing it, even though its marigold yellow color elicited a snarky comment from a woman I knew...."Isn't that the color they make hunters wear so they can be seen in the woods?"

This is a cartoon for a calling card that my mom designed for herself in 1934. She and my dad didn't get married until 1935. 

 

 

 

*****

My brain is much this weekend. I worked over 15 hours in two days and that's a bit much for the old bones (and brain) as I'm finding out. I loved every minute of it, but I just don't bounce back as easily as I used to.