52 Ancestors - LINES: George

Mary Eleanor Davis (1929-2005)
College graduation photo

My mother was beautiful. Always. As a baby. As a little girl. As a teenager. As a grown woman and mother. And right on up to the day she died.

Needless to say, she had lots of beaus before Daddy came along.

When the new owner of my grandparents’ house uncovered a 50-year old treasure trove of my family’s STUFF in the attic, my mother’s years of “sewing her wild oats” came to light. Stacks of letters from college friends showed that her high school honey Dickie wasn’t the only one to steal her heart.

Bob. Pete. George. Graham.

Momma saved lots of letters. I’m guessing some did not get saved at all. Judging by just the number of saves, you would think Graham was the #1 contender. However, Momma’s friends always asked about George. How are things with George? Are you still seeing George? When will you see George? What’s up with George?

Surprisingly, there are only 3 letters from George, all written in the summer of 1948. Momma had finished her time at Shenandoah College and was home for the summer prior to entering Madison College. Meanwhile, George was taking classes at Shenandoah. I am not sure whether he was trying to catch up or get ahead.

Given this week’s theme “Lines,” this letter fits the bill.

I won’t print the entire letter. George gets rather mushy.

 

Tuesday

Darling

For some reason or other I was very much in doubt that I would hear from you. I knew you for such a short time that I figured that you throught [sic] I was giving you a big line. I did rather rush things quite a bit but it was because I knew you were going to leave so soon.

 

Hmm – I wonder what his pick-up line was.

Amy Johnson Crow continues to challenge genealogy bloggers and non-bloggers alike to think about our ancestors and share a story or photo about them. The challenge is “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks.”

Wendy

© 2021, Wendy Mathias. All rights reserved.

Sentimental Sunday

 

My mother Mary Eleanor Davis Slade died on 3 October 2005.

Momma
6 Jan 1929 - 3 Oct 2005

Jack Coleman, husband of my great-grandmother’s sister Emma Jollett, died 4 October 1947.

1929 - Mary Frances Jollett Davis,
Jack Coleman, Emma Coleman

Lucretia Jollett, sister of my 2X great-grandfather James Franklin Jollett, married Thomas Shiflett 8 October 1871.

 

My grandmother Lucille Rucker (Davis) was born 9 October 1904.

Lucille in the stroller
Big sister Rosalind

Wendy

© 2021, Wendy Mathias. All rights reserved.

52 Ancestors - GROUPS: Cheerleaders and Bridesmaids

1946 Cradock High School Cheerleaders

Long before human pyramids and high-flying basket tosses changed the face of cheerleading, peppy high school girls in lettered sweaters and saddle oxfords were chanting “Push ‘em back, push ‘em back, WAAAAY back!” When my mother was a cheerleader at Cradock High School in the mid-1940s, the most amazing stunt the squad performed was a jump in which the girls threw their arms over their head and their feet behind them, then arched their backs to make the letter “C” for Cradock. It required a lot of practice.

Christine Westbrook, Betsy Ward,
Cookie Spencer, Marree Hogan,
Unknown girl in front

It was probably all that practice as well as all the dances and parties following the games that fostered a lifetime of friendship. After graduation, the girls went in different directions, but the box of letters found in my grandparents’ attic shows that their friendship endured despite the miles. On fancy pink or blue stationery, yellowed onion skin, and even notebook paper they shared the gossip of who was dating whom, who was on the outs, who wrecked a car, who found a job, who drank too much, and even who had a 7-month baby! GASP

Christine Westbrook, Betsy Ward,
and my mother Mary E "Duny" Davis

The most interesting letters, to me at least, are about the weddings. Not surprisingly, several of the cheerleaders served as each other’s bridesmaids.

CHRISTINE LOUISE WESTBROOK

While Lucille “Cookie” Spencer was among the first in the gang to marry, Christine Westbrook had the first BIG wedding in which Momma was a bridesmaid. Momma was still away at Shenandoah College, so letters from Cookie, Betsy, and Christine were filled with news of the plans.

In those days, the parents of the bride usually paid for the bridesmaids’ gowns. Christine had a large number of attendants including family members and BFFs from both high school and college. To save money, Mrs. Westbrook purchased fabric so the girls could have dresses made.

A humorous letter from Christine (aka “Teeny-wabbit”) described the gown Momma would be wearing:

from a letter from Christine
27 Feb 1948

The Westbrooks were cutting it close with that fabric order (no pun intended). The wedding was scheduled for March 28, but just 10 days before, Christine wrote THIS letter to Momma:

from a letter from Christine
18 Mar, 1948

Duny Baby, [Momma’s nickname was Duny]

We were holding our breath – but at last the material he ordered has arrived. I was afraid it wasn’t going to get here. I just love the color. Really think it’s the prettiest of all . . . altho’ the green, pink & blue are pretty, too.

About the pattern - several changes: Allow extra fullness in waist in front. (This was done for Cook. Also makes gowns fit cuter.) Two darts at the shoulder blade make neck fit better. Notice change in Neck - . We’re sending a finished gown, too. Bring the scraps of material home. Mother will make gloves after you get here.

 

Cookie Muter needed that extra fullness as she was expecting her first child. A letter from Betsy described the brocade taffeta gowns with drop shoulder as “darling,” but she also had this to say about Cookie:

from a letter from Betsy
5 Mar 1948

Cook is so large that I think she’s going to look terrible in Chris’s wedding. She has just jumped out in the last couple weeks & she still has 3 more weeks to grow before the wedding. Maybe the nosegay will hide it. That’s what she says anyway.

 Now, Betsy - was that nice to say??

The Westbrook-Wisehart wedding was written up in the newspaper presenting all the big and small details that are missing in today’s wedding announcements.

ELIZABETH ANN “BETSY” WARD

While Christine’s wedding plans were winding down, Betsy’s were just gearing up. In one letter she described shopping for her engagement ring in Richmond with her fiancé John Lumsden, a dental student. The ring was a full carat and cost $450. She agonized over how to pay for his wedding band costing $100.

Betsy’s vision for her bridesmaids was something different from what Christine had her attendants wear. Betsy wrote to Momma:

from a letter from Betsy
14 Jan 1948

I’m thinking about that real pretty organdy that is rather stiff. You’ll have to let me know what color you want. I’m going to the Famous and get some pointers first.

 

The Famous for many years was THE place to shop in Portsmouth, the only place, really, for higher quality women’s finery.

Betsy and her mother had planned an extravagant wedding until Betsy’s father lost his job unexpectedly. In one letter, she swore Momma to secrecy about the untimely job loss. As Betsy said, at her father’s age, he was not likely to find another job paying $500 a month. Wedding plans had to be scaled back:

from a letter from Betsy
22 Apr 1948

The wedding is June 12^th at 4:00. The bridesmaids are: Jo, MJV [Mary Jane Via], Chris & Joanne. Mother and I are going to look at wedding dresses & attendants gowns so I don’t have any idea how yours will be made or the color. We’ll have to get some tips & then order the material for your dresses. Mother will have to make mine since we can’t afford to buy it now. The ushers are: Billy, Tommy, George, Milton, Grease & Pete is to be master of ceremonies. There might be a change in this so also keep this to yourself.

It was probably a bitter pill to swallow when the Wards asked the girls to pay $20 for their own material. To offset that expense, Mrs. Ward offered to make the girls’ hats.

Betsy also had to cut back on shopping for her honeymoon:

from a letter from Betsy
22 Apr 1948

I got a real pretty blue nightgown last Wed. It’s drop shoulder with 2 rows of white lace & lace around the bottom. It’s real cute & looks sexy as hell on. Poor Johnny! Now that Daddy has lost his job I won’t be able to get the clothes I had planned to buy so I’m not going to show my trousseau.

 

Apparently, that was THE THING to do – show off your trousseau, maybe at a shower or bridal tea. Does anyone even SAY “trousseau” these days?

Betsy was not lacking in bridal showers though. Her cousin hosted one in Cape Charles across the bay on the Eastern Shore.

from a letter from Betsy
22 Apr 1948

Edie is giving me a shower in Cape Charles. We haven’t decided on the date but I want you to go over with me to help me back on the ferry with my presents. We wouldn’t spend the night – okay? It will probably be better for you to have your dress made here as I know I won’t be able to find a pattern just right & we’ll have to make some changes.

Other shower invitations were sent from Mary Jane Via and Christine Westbrook Wisehart.

Betsy’s wedding appeared in the social column.

from Richmond Times Dispatch
19 Jun 1948

I have seen the requisite Ward-Lumsden bridal party photo. Unfortunately, neither my sister nor I can find it. And OF COURSE, it is one photo in which we could probably identify every person, unlike the myriad nameless faces in other photos we inherited. Oh the irony!

Amy Johnson Crow continues to challenge genealogy bloggers and non-bloggers alike to think about our ancestors and share a story or photo about them. The challenge is “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks.” 

Wendy

© 2021, Wendy Mathias. All rights reserved.

52 Ancestors - MOTHERS DAY: The Many Loves of Mary Eleanor

Growing up, I was well aware that my mother had been one of the beautiful and popular girls at school, both high school and college. Not until I started going through letters saved between 1946 and 1950 did I realize just HOW popular!

Letters my mother saved

The stacks of letters reveal there had been more boyfriends than I had ever heard about. Bruce. Pete. George. Bob. Graham. Of course, I want to know more although, quite frankly, I have been reluctant to open the letters for fear of learning something I don’t want to know!

Nevertheless, with one eye closed, I began opening envelopes. Since Graham always included his last name in the return address, I decided to start with him. The letters begin in the summer of 1947 following Momma’s first year at Shenandoah College where Graham must have been a student as well. Graham’s letters are “hot and heavy” professions of love blah blah blah. He called her “Pretty Face,” “Dream Girl,” “Sweet,” and “Booby” (Booby?? What the heck?). He signed off, “Loving you every minute” and – my favorite – “Loving you like a fiend.”

Then in 1949 the letters are just friendly. He addressed her by her nickname “Duny” and signed off, “As B/4 Graham.” The “break up” must have occurred in 1948. I’m guessing Momma did not save all the letters because there are none from him that year.

Here is what I learned:

My mother must have been a poor pen pal because Graham always seemed surprised when she wrote back quickly and relieved when she finally responded. One time he even praised her for getting better at letter-writing.

During the summer of 1947 Graham was desperately looking for work. Unable to find anything, he described himself as being “like a lost ball in high weeds.” Eventually he took a job for a company in Ontario.

Graham liked to party. Sometimes he didn’t get home until the wee hours. There were days he drank beer all afternoon.

My favorite insight into Graham’s personality is this: he called his car “the sex machine.”

Back of a postcard Graham sent from Gettysburg
on his way to Canada

Letter from Graham while in Canada

In another incident involving “the sex machine,” Graham’s personality shines through as he described the night he hit a dog: 

from one of the letters summer 1947

Graham was not returning to Shenandoah but had applied to North Carolina State and to the University of North Carolina. He was quite anxious to hear whether he would be accepted at either. While he joked that he might flunk out the first semester, he must have been smarter than he thought because he was accepted at BOTH schools.

Apparently, he chose to go to NC State with his best friend but later regretted that decision and enrolled at UNC. In the last letter that Momma saved, Graham described himself as being “a square peg in a round hole” at NC State and wished he had been at UNC Chapel Hill all along.

Wondering what became of Graham after that, I headed to Ancestry and searched “Graham Wilson.” Up popped the UNC yearbook with this picture:

Graham Wilson
UNC Chapel Hill 1950
A.B. degree in Economics

Back in January, I posted photos of my mother with a man yet to be identified.

Graham Wilson and "Pretty Face"

MYSTERY SOLVED!

The man was Graham Wilson. I wonder if that’s the “sex machine” in the background.

Here is Graham again in a photo previously unidentified: 

"Duny" and Graham

Elizabeth Hardison
Meredith College 1948

Graham found another pretty face to woo and marry: Elizabeth Hardison, a graduate of Meredith College with a degree in biology. They had two daughters. Graham and Elizabeth had been married 53 years when he died in 2004.

Amy Johnson Crow continues to challenge genealogy bloggers and non-bloggers alike to think about our ancestors and share a story or photo about them. The challenge is “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks.” 

Wendy

© 2021, Wendy Mathias. All rights reserved.

Sepia Saturday: C is for Cards

Sepia Saturday challenges bloggers to share family history through old photographs.

In the Sepia Saturday march through the alphabet, we are at the letter “C.” I have been going through the STUFF found in my grandparents’attic. Among the many bundles of letters that my mother saved from her high school and college years are these itty bitty cards.

Cards sent to my mother from 1945-1950

The largest cards were 4.5”x3.5” and 4” square.

The largest cards

The smallest were 3.5”x2.25”.

3 1/2" x 2 1/4"

Most of these tiny cards are invitations

To a birthday party

To join the Spanish Club in high school 

 

To the Junior-Senior prom

4" x 3 1/8"

To attend a party her first year at Madison College (now James Madison University – GO DUKES!) 

Rumpus Room - now there's a word
you don't hear much anymore!

But the PRETTY ones are the shower invitations.   

3 1/4" square

Momma's best friend Betsy Ward was getting married. Momma was the maid of honor. This party was hosted by Christine in whose wedding Momma and Betsy had been bridesmaids.                                     

Betsy was popular. She was showered twice!

3 3/4" x 2 3/4"

 

 

Just a week later, Momma was invited to Mary Jane Via's wedding shower which was designated a Kitchen Shower.

4 1/2" x 3 1/2"

 

The invitation to Margaret Aitken's "fine china" wedding shower was equal to the theme with that fancy 3D cut around the veil.

4 1/4" x 3"

Baby shower invitations were just adorable too.

3 3/4" x 2 5/8"
Shower for Cookie Mutter - must have been
for her first son Steve

This next one was actually an announcement of the arrival of a baby girl. It is a Hallmark card - nothing but the best! 

3 1/2" square

My favorite one is actually this envelope that my mother used to blot her lipstick. Now there's a keepsake!

In November 1945, all it took to mail such a small invitation was a 1 ½ cent stamp. But in 1948, that same size card required a 3-cent stamp. I wonder if such small envelopes are even allowed to go through the mail these days.

“C” what else there is to “C” at Sepia Saturday.

 Wendy

© 2021, Wendy Mathias. All rights reserved.