Friday, December 10, 2010

The Ghost of Christmas Past

Me, flanked by my cousin and sister,  c. Christmas 1953 

In keeping with the travel theme on Fridays, I decided to travel... back in time....waaaaaay back.

I know what you're thinking: I stole a few frames from an old movie, right?  Well, you're close. Our son-in-law John says this picture looks like it's right out of 'It's a Wonderful Life.' That's me in the center, with my cousin Bobby on the left and my sister Gini on the right.  It must have been about 1953 (when the world was young) and it was Christmas time. I think that Gini got the tea set and the Ginny Doll which she's holding. My new doll was Dodie, but I have no idea where the name came from, unless she was named that when I got her.


 My brothers and cousin, c. Christmas 1954

And in the kitchen, my two brothers (left) and cousin are playing with their new Monopoly game. I suspect that my mother made that cowboy shirt for my brother. That's probably a vinyl checked tablecloth, and note the grease shield on the wall next to the stove. These are like artifacts, kids, take note!! Those rooster plates may actually be worth something today.


Judy and Gini, c. Christmas 1954?
I think this was from Christmas 1954 - at our house. My mom made Gini and me the most amazing Roy Rogers and Dale Evans vests and skirt or chaps. I got to be Roy cuz he was much cooler, and I got the chaps. Gini was stuck with being Dale Evans cuz she was...younger. I think the vests and chaps were brown suede cloth or flannel with red fringe. AND, the hats and guns and holsters were made of way better stuff than they are now. They shot real bullets!! (kidding - just seeing if you were paying attention.) Note the tinsel on the tree, which I love! My kids do not like tinsel on the tree, and these days I don't put it on because of the cats (not because of the whiney kids.) 

I wanted to post this today so you all can see what life was like for those of us who experienced childhood in black and white.

Have a great weekend!

17 comments:

  1. Oh, Judy, those pictures are wonderful! I love to see pictures of people when they were younger. My grandma had a great vinyl checkered tablecloth that I will never forget :)
    Now I know it's not Roy and Dale, but my sister and I were Luke and Leia and I had to be Luke cause he was so much cooler...LOL

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  2. Lovely nostalgia - for those of us who experienced Christmas in black & white - yes, me too!

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  3. Ah, they just don't make Christmas like they used to, do they??? It's all about lights and batteries and chargers and noise and whatnot, not holding and hugging and dressing up and imagining. These are priceless -- thank you so much for inviting us!

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  4. What wonderful pictures, I'm sure they bring back fond memories. Thanks for sharing.

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  5. Love the pictures! And there's much more to the black and whites, I think! Oh, and the tinsel! I loved the tinsel on our trees at Christmas. I really love all my Christmas memories, but I find that I am enjoying others' memories also. Especially when they feature cowboy/girl outfits...now where IS that picture of me in mine? LOL

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  6. I love it! It took me back a long way. You know, I don't think we have one Christmas pic from when I was young. We have some of my dh. Our house burned when I was 14 and we lost lots of pictures.

    By the way, what a beautiful child you were!

    Have a blessed and warm (?) weekend. Is that possible?

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  7. The pictures are priceless. Thanks for sharing your incredible memories. Very heartwarming.

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  8. I think we had those same drapes!

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  9. Just a quick check in to my blog. We've been without power all day due to a fire in a church north of us that three fire departments are struggling to put out. I can't tell you how many tankers have gone past our place. Each time the sirens go off, Bridger goes off too, howling so loud and long you can hardly hear yourself think! So I will be late on responding to comments, Friends, but thanks to you all. And BTW I think those drapes were that icky fiberglass stuff. Ewwwwww! I'm at the nursing home where my dad lives, using their Wireless for a sec.

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  10. I just tried to comment and Google did something odd. I'm going to try it again.

    I thoroughly enjoyed reading your post today and seeing your wonderful photos. Thank you for sharing your memories with us! I am sad to hear about the church being on fire. Hopefully they will get that put out soon and that things are restored to normal at your house.

    Have a great weekend,
    Candace

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  11. I love the pictures!! Since you've been reading my blog for a while, you know I love the black and white stuff. :) Sometimes I wish we still lived in those "innocent" times. Although if we did we wouldn't have the internet and blogs and the ability to make friends with people all over the world!!

    I hope you can go home soon. Hopefully no one was hurt in that fire!!

    Happy weekend!!

    :)
    Rach

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  12. At 4:30 PM, just as we had lit the last oil lamp to have some light in here, the power came back on. (I knew that would happen.) The local TV news reported that the church is a total loss, and it's being investigated as a suspicious fire. Fortunately, no one was hurt.

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  13. I am so sorry to hear about the church fire and more so since it was "suspicious."

    Loved you post! One of the grands asked dh if we used to be black and white....if everything was once black and white? Dh told him, "yep, but now we are color enhanced." LOL

    Besides Roy and Dale, where you a Sky King fan, too?

    Blessings,
    Cheryl

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  14. I LOVE old pictures! When days were simpler... thanks so much for sharing on FTF!

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  15. You are the cutest Roy Rogers I have ever seen. :D I love the photos today (well every day too). In the top one you and Danika could have been twins at that age. You too look so much alike and so cute! Oh boy, lots of memories of my own childhood. My mother was a huge Christmas lover and it was always a wonderful big production in our house. She would have presents hidden every where. It brought us kids such joy. :)
    About the church...so very sad and you are right about the fire trucks going by the house the whole day. I watched the story on the news last night. :(

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  16. Thank you for sharing these very special pictures! It is so sweet to travel back in time. That is why I made my rewind button. I often find myself going back in my head to special moments. These pictures and memories are precious.

    Mama Hen

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  17. WOW, your pics are amazing. I have some gorgeous black and whites myself of my brothers, sister and I, the cousins and the neighbors, all when we were young. The memories seem to come to life when I look at them. I'm making an scrapbook of sorts for my granddaughter - pics of me as a youngster, then her Mom and then of her. I'll add little stories of what was going on in my era, her Moms and then of course, hers. Have a wonderful day and STAY WARM and DRY. A little snow expected here today but not that much.

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