Nine years ago and six years ago, I wrote about some of my Dad's memories of Christmas growing up in Chicago and Evanston, Illinois. One of those memories was at Christmas in 1951, when he was a navigator cadet at Ellington Air Force Base outside Houston, Texas, and was given some Christmas leave. The Chicago area received tremendous snowfall that December, and getting home was going to be a problem. He said Colonel William L. Lee, the commanding officer of the 3605th Navigator Training Wing, released some planes, and two were going to the Chicago area. Dad managed to get into O'Hare Reserve Station (this was back when it was being used by the Air Force and wasn't the commercial airport it is today) when all other Chicago area airports were closed.
Above are Marilyn (my aunt), Paul (my grandfather), Fred (my dad), and Rosemary (my aunt) Pape, along with the family dog Lucky, outside the Pape family home at 2093 W. Lunt Avenue, Chicago, Christmastime 1951. As you can see, there is quite a bit of snow on the ground. My grandmother, Elizabeth Florence Massmann Pape, is not in this picture (but was in others I posted earlier), so I think she took it.
Great family photo. Love their coats. How old was Miss Amanda then? She looks shy but cute.
ReplyDeleteHi Aleksandra - thanks for commenting! I'm not in this photo - it was taken before I was born, before my parents even met. :)
DeleteMy mistake. I meant Miss Rosemary :-)
DeleteRosemary (actually it's technically Rose Mary) was 20 in this picture - and definitely not shy later on! Marilyn (another nickname for her is Bebe) was 18, and Fred was 22.
ReplyDelete