Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Old Family Photo Albums and Fading Memories

Inspired by fellow blogger Troutbirder  who posted his fond memories of growing up near Lake Phalen in Minnesota, I decided to post some of the old family photos here.  I've been recovering from my eye surgery so have had a couple of weeks off from my job. With the time on my hands, I have begun to scan old family photos to preserve them digitally.  I also started to organize my photos into new photo albums.  I've found it a challenge to remember the dates, places and faces associated with each photo.  Thankfully, some of the photos taken before I was born, had information on them regarding dates and places.

My father in 1940, a young Marine Corps recruit only 18 years old, visiting Tijuana, Mexico  

My father did his Marine Corps Basic Training at old Camp Elliot in San Diego County, California.

My father in 1941 at Mission Beach (San Diego)

My father in the Territory of Hawaii in 1943

At Camp Lejeune, North Carolina in 1944, only 21 years old and a veteran of the bloody WW II Battle of Tarawa

My father left the Marine Corps in 1945, only 22 years old and a survivor of WWII that took his oldest brother Richard at the Battle of Tarawa and totally disabled his other brother, Edwin.

My father n Wellington, New Zealand in 1943 (probably before the Battle of Tarawa that he fought in the islands of the South Pacific in November, 1943)

My father after the war, in Los Angeles, 1945


My father and mother just before they married in Yuma, Arizona in February, 1946.  This is in Los Angeles with his Uncle Tom and Uncle Bernard 


My mother and her girl friends in Los Angeles (1942) where she had moved from Kansas in 1939.  She worked as a printer at Moore Business Forms until she joined the Women Marines in 1943.

My father after his discharge from the Marine Corps in 1945 at his Uncle Tom's home in North Hollywood, California. He became an apprentice carpenter and worked for his Uncle Tom building homes in the Los Angles area from 1945-1948.


My mother (c. 1945)




My father (c. 1947) in costume for his photography studio classes

My father and mother's first Christmas card (December, 1946)

My mother as photographed by my father when they both went to photography school in 1947
My father with my sister, Jeanne, in 1949 in Los Angeles.

My mother and father purchased their first home in Baldwin Park, California in 1949 - Cost: $7150.

My sister, Jeanne, and I in 1951.

With two children to take care of,  my father had re-enlisted into the Marine Corps for economic security. His sign-up bonus enabled him to buy a home.  I'm in my mothers arms while my sister stands at my father's feet in this 1951 photo in Baldwin Park.

My mother and I on the beach in San Diego in 1951 .




My father was transferred to San Diego in 1951.  We sold  our home in Baldwin Park on a real estate contract and moved into Naval Housing in San Diego. 






My father was transferred to the Territory of Hawaii in 1952 .
Here we are on Waikiki Beach in Honolulu in August 1952. 


I'll stop here and try to post more family history in a future posting.

3 comments:

  1. Mom I love you! You have always been the missing link to our family's past. I look forward to seeing your next round of posts and working on genealogy projects with you.

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  2. Amazing how simple it can be to communicate with people and have them understand a certain topic, you made my day.

    Jay Weinstein Seattle

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  3. Hello nice story.. i only found one issue: you dont mention youre fathers name. can you tell us?

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