A photo of my grandmother circa 1919

[TahitiNut]

I posted this in another thread, but I thought y'all might be interested in a little more information regarding this snapshot. It shows my grandmother decked out in the 'sexy' bathing suit of the day. (The 'modest' suits had pantaloons.) She's sitting on my grandfather's Harley-Davidson motorcycle. We don't know whether the cycle is a 1917 or 1918 model, since the only distinguishing characteristic is covered by my grandmother's leg. (Yes, I had a thorough discussion of this photo with a Harley-Davidson historian who's an expert in such matters.) As far as we can tell, the photo was taken on Belle Isle, in the Detroit River. Both my grandparents were recent Norwegian immigrants at that time.

[RagingInMiami]

1. Classic shot

Do you know who took it?

[TahitiNut]

3. I'm guessing my grandfather or his brother (my granduncle) took it.

It's among the many photos we 'inherited' after the passing of my grandparents many years ago. My grandfather (a stoic) wasn't really known for taking much interest in photos and such, so it's probably my granduncle.

[Blue_In_AK]

2. What a wonderful photo.

Sounds like your grandma had an adventuresome spirit.

[TahitiNut]

4. She was a real pisser.

During most of her life she was 5x5 ... with an all-enveloping hug that her grandson (me) just loved. She had a beaver-tail coat that she wore in winter - and I especially recall being hugged up against it. Soft and warm!

During the entire Great Depression and some time afterward, she worked as an LPN. For many years thereafter, my uncles (her sons) ran into people who, recognizing their totally unique last name, recounted the care and kindness of my grandmother in caring for them or a relative.

For many years I could ritually memorialize my grandfather, a long-time employee of Ex-Cello Corporation, by merely opening a milk carton. They made the container machines for the folding milk-spout containers. You know, pull out on the flaps and then push to make a spout? That container and the machinery sold for filling such containers was invented by Ex-Cello Corporation. Until the exclusive patent expired, every such container was made and filled by a machine that, in all likelihood, was made by my grandfather. He was a skilled machinist at Ex-Cello, and the only person qualified to operate some machinery that created such equipment. They kept him on for 2 years beyond his retirement in order to train other operators. Sadly, he died not long afterward, in the 70s. (Just another Norwegian immigrant with a 4th grade education that made good.)

[intheflow]

5. Biker Gran! Cool!

What a wonderful picture to have. I'll bet she had fascinating stories. Immigrants are so brave. It's not easy to pack up and move now, back then it was a character shaping experience. I can see a lot of her spirit in your posts.

I'm always fascinated by pictures of my relatives from before I was born. Having pictures is like having a time machine physically linking my life (1964-Present) to another person's (Whenever-1964). This is my father and his sister, circa 1928. They were about 6 and 4, respectively. First generation Americans, their parents had come through Ellis Island in 1921. The family lived in the slums of New York's Little Italy when this picture was taken.

[TahitiNut]

6. It's a true GIFT to see parents and grandparents as real people!

Your grandparents came over about 2-4 years after mine ... also through Ellis Island. I'm always in awe at what it took to emigrate to the U.S. in a day when the world was ten times larger and the number of people in it were about 75% fewer. (Hell, we have conservatives in this country afraid to even visit nearby large cities, and who've never visited most other states!)

For a long time, I was the only grandchild. My grandmother was a real pisser ... but I was the only person she NEVER tried to manipulate. She was as candid with me as an adult as she'd be with a close friend.

My grandmother was the one who taught me about unconditional love. It took me almost fifty years to actually learn that lesson. To her I will be eternally grateful.

The snapshot was taken before she and my grandfather got married - about a year before my mother was born.
My mother was a 5-month baby. :evilgrin:

[RagingInMiami]

7. That's a nice photo of your grandfather and his sister

Like TH's grandmother picture, it really captures the era.

Although my mother is a Colombian immigrant, my father was a German-American born in the U.S.

He was, however, an expatriate for a number of years, living in Cuba and in Colombia during the late 50s and early 60s. This is a photo of him in 1959 Cuba, right after Castro took over the island. My dad is second from the right, sitting next to the bearded revolutionary in fatigues.

[intheflow]

8. Another cool picture!

This photo looks like a scene from a movie, or a slice of real life that should be a movie. Wait a minute! Now that I think of it, I saw that movie--didn't Frank Sinatra play your dad? Yeah, yeah... and Jerry Lewis was the bearded dude! :P

BTW, I'm old. The picture above is my father, not my grandfather.

[RagingInMiami]

10. I knew that

I don't know why I wrote granddad. I guess it was the part about your grandfather being an immigrant.

[TahitiNut]

9. Wow, it really does look like Cuba as shown in the Godfather saga.

Do you know who the revolutionary is? Any of the others?

[RagingInMiami]

11. My dad describes them only as drinking buddies

[Richard Steele]

12. That's a great photo, TahitiNut!

You are so lucky to have such a thing!
My family has NO photos that old, and most of the older ones we do have are standard 'studio portraits'!

[TahitiNut]

13. Thanks. Here's my prized family photo from 1908 ... (it's WIDE)

The younger boy is my grandfather and the couple to the left are my great-grandparents.
The handwriting is my grand-uncle's.

This is a photograph of proud people. To the modern eye, this might seem like bare subsistence living but, in those days, this was upper middle class. My great-grandparents felt wealthy - their own farmland, their own livestock, and their own (healthy) children.

I also have studio wedding photos of my grand-uncles and grand-aunts - the typical seated/standing poses, wearing their "Sunday best" circa 1917-1924.

Rather than scrunch this one down too much and ruin it, I made it 3/4ths size and obscured the family name, which is unique in the world (a name created in 1900 for the first time).

[Blue_In_AK]

14. I love all these old pictures.

I have some good ones of my family, too, but I don't have a scanner so can't post them here. I guess I really should take them somewhere and have them put on a disk. My dad was an accomplished amateur photographer. I remember when I was little (which was a l-o-n-g time ago) we had a darkroom and he would develop his own pictures. I can still remember that smell.

[Mr. McD]

15. A recently restored photo of my grandmother taken around1890

She was born in 1872, she looks to be about 18 in this photo. I don't know the actual date. It was digitally restored, the original was a real mess.

[RagingInMiami]

18. That's a classic

[F.Gordon]

16. I'm a sucker for Nostalgia

Still haven't dated this one. My grandmother is the cute young lady sitting on the right front fender.

[RagingInMiami]

17. Looks like that's in the 20s, judging from your grandmother's hairdo

Not that I'm a historical fashionista.
That reminds me of those old Bonnie and Clyde photos

[F.Gordon]

19. That's my 'guess' as well

All the family "historians" are gone and no information was passed down to my generation. So, it's largely a guessing game....

[RagingInMiami]

20. by the way, did you vote in the photo contest poll?

we have a tie and we need someone to break it.

[F.Gordon]

21. Yep. Already did. Sorry, can't break tie. n/t

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