Photo Friday: A Girl Named Maurine Edition

Good morning!

Another week down! And the first week of the new year, nonetheless. I have to mention to you that I am typing with actually frozen fingers-- it is glacial in our back workroom at the library. Yesterday, after the head of maintenance came in and checked the thermostat, he apparently moved the hidden somewhere in the library regulatory dial from "the tropics" (it was almost too warm before) to "ice planet Hoth" (no! no! no!), but that's ok. A few more hours and I am out of this place for...at least one day! But before I go, I thought you might enjoy looking at the family photos I found on flickr this week.

Folks, meet Maurine, from the great state of Texas. 

Born in March of '32, Maurine's face, from birth all the way through the photos as a grandmother, has such an at-turns-sullen, at-turns-sultry, but always interesting gaze that it's hard to take a bad photograph of her. Originally reeled in by these oh-my-God-are-you-kidding-me cute pictures from her backyard, as always in these memorial photo sets, it's so fascinating to watch her grow from a tiny little girl in white patent t-strap Mary Janes to a plainly gorgeous teenager to a glamorous newlywed.

One thing that struck me in going through the photostream was her choice of a husband. Though there are a handful of photos of Maurine and very eligible (and tall, and blond) Texan youths, the man she married was a  dark haired serviceman from Florida stationed at a nearby air force base. Similarly, my grandmother had been going steady with a local boy in Cape Cod when my craggily handsome, black haired grandaddy from sunny Tennessee arrived at an army training base in Falmouth. Isn't it funny to think about a whole generation of folks, the pre-baby boomers, having been essentially genetically stationary for generations, with locals marrying locals, until WWII and Korea and other subsequent military engagements agitate the population enough to bring together people who, in a peacetime situation, might have never met!

This poor towheaded, barefoot teen seems to have been Maurine's steady beau at whatever time this was, but again, their relationship was not long for this world. Check out M's gorgeous print dress and its puffed sleeves at left. Looking hard into the background of photos is half the fun of rifling through stranger's collections-- see the '49 Buick in the  driveway across the street on the left? Or the patio chair and bicycle near the house on the right?

I love thinking that this is probably the same back yard from the photos when she was just a tiny in the first two pictures. Again, how striking she looks!

Maurine married her husband in 1952, and standing in a group is the first time I realized she is a truly petite woman! Two thoughts: one, the mother of the groom is dressed to meet Hedda Hopper for lunch! WOW! The satin dress, the flower headpiece, the huge corsage, the white elbow length gloves...I wish I could ask more about this fashion plate and how her outfit was received on what was her future daughter-in-law's big day. Two, doesn't that guy on the left in the second photo, the really tall fella, look just like Dan Ackroyd?

Newlyweds acting silly in what I think is their first apartment. Doesn't Maurine look like an actual movie star in her black velvet dress with tiny bolero jacket? I don't know why her husband is putting a colander on her head, I truly don't.

You can see the whole stream on Flickr here-- and as always, if this is your mom, thanks for sharing these photos and I hope you don't mind my using them! She was a real beauty.

Do you have any relatives or grandparents that were brought together by wartime circumstances? Was there one member of your family who would show up dressed like a bird of paradise regardless of the situation? Seen any neat, vintage pictures-of-other-people's-families lately? Lemme know!

Have a great weekend and I'll see you Monday!