72 years ago, and then some

I’m presenting Flash-back Friday two days early. I’m sandwiching it between the Fourth of July and the sixth of July for a reason.

Yesterday was Independence Day, the day we celebrate our freedom. As you may recall, my dad and his family came to the United States from Germany in 1924. During and following World War I, life in Germany was incredibly hard, everyone was living in poverty and oppression. When Dad’s family lived through the Great Depression here in the US, they felt that conditions here were still better than what they left behind.

His mother lived a hard, tiring life. This is the oldest picture I’ve found of her. It is dated the 1920s, but I don’t know where she was living at the time or who the child is with her.

 This is her passport picture from 1924. I guess no one takes a good passport picture. 

 This one is from 1955, when she was vacationing in St Augustine, Florida with my family (before I came along). I think Mom said it was the only vacation she ever took. She would have been 67 years old then. She looks much older, doesn’t she? A hard life will do that to you. 

 These next two photos rather confuse me. The first one is supposedly of my dad, is dated January 11, 1923, and says the dog’s name is Prince. Dad would have been eight years old at the time and still living in Germany. 

 This one is of Dad and his younger brother Frank. Dated May 29, 1929, when they would have been living in Chicago, I think. Doesn’t he look like he’s wearing the same sweater as in the previous picture though? Had he really not grown much in six years? Or was that just the popular style of sweater and he just kept getting them in a bigger size? Or is one of these pictures not of my dad? Any thoughts? 

 This one is of Dad with Frank again and their older sister Clara, also taken in 1929, so also in Chicago. Doesn’t Frank look like Farkus from “The Christmas Story”?

 There might be more pictures of Dad somewhere between then and 1945, but this is all I got so far. Here he is looking dashing as ever. 

 Here he is in front of his school bus. Which is significant. I probably have told you this before, but he was Mom’s school bus driver. I’ll save the story of their first date for another time. 

 Why I wanted to share this now though is because, shortly after she graduated from high school and shortly after she turned 18, they got married on July 6, 1945. 72 years ago tomorrow. 

And this is where they spent their honeymoon.