Grandma was Quite a Girl

As we’re preparing to go to my childhood home to reunite my mom and dad in the niche overlooking the Santa Clara valley we picked out nearly 8 years ago, it is the perfect time to do a little reflecting on my mother’s life.  Last month we spent some time sorting through the “stuff” in my mother’s home and I ran across this book that I remember giving her more than 30 years ago when my children were young.  I’d seen it in her book case, along with at least a gazillion other books, but never thought to open it up to see if she’d completed any of it.  Imagine my surprise when I did just that and found that she had, indeed, written some thoughts in the book. 



So here’s some thoughts from my mother, Geraldine Martin Levy.



My mother was never close to her dad but she always told me his father’s name was Guy Martin.  Actually, his father’s name was Robert Lewis Martin and his brother was Guy Martin.  And his mother’s name was Frances Maria Brooks.  I’m glad I was able to clear that up for her before she passed away.

And one other picture from the book.



I like that she actually put a floor plan of the house!

And some of the information she completed.

My first day in school:  John Muir Grammar School, Fresno, California [interesting, I went to John Muir Junior High School]
The games we played:  Tag, ball, hopscotch – just about what children still play
My first “paddling” – and why!  The first I remember was when playing with the hose in front and squirting anyone who tried to pass
My first injury:  Can never remember any injuries other than scrapes & bruises
My nicest neighbor:  Bernice – the teenage girl next door

On the “favorites in my memory page” she says her favorite color is blue, favorite flower is roses and springflowers, favorite perfume Cinnabar, favorite day of the year Christmas, favorite time of day 8:00 p.m. and favorite musical instrument organ.  I think she was biased because my dad played the organ.

Mom’s favorite Aunt was “my grandfather’s sister Ann who raised me for five years (from 10-15) and treated me with love & kindness”.  That would have been Anna Teresa Fitzgerald Sronce and the reason for my middle name of Ann.

She had no favorite Uncle but did talk about her favorite cousins.  “Loraine & Doris Feurstein.  Loraine 18 mos. older & Doris 18 mos. younger then I was.  Their mother Viola was my mother’s sister”. 

Ahh, and then she met my dad and wrote about it on the page Happiness is a Man Called “Grandpa”.

I met him at a high school dance Jan. 1944.  I was in love at first sight!  Our first date basketball & dance, his favorite nickname for me Bunny, we were engaged Dec. 1949.  We married on Sept 3, 1950 in Fresno at 8:30 at home of Alan & Hazel Dick (he was my mother’s cousin) and I wore white lace over white satin, the Best Man was Robert Levy.  Our honeymoon: Highlands Inn, Carmel, Calif. for one week.  The first place we lived 555 Forest Ave., Palo Alto.  Our first fight can’t remember.

Then she randomly completed other sections of the book saying she was an only child, she had her tonsils out when she was about 5, she thought she was old enough to wear a bra when she was 12, and she got her first traffic ticket when she was in her mid twenties.  And she first tried lipstick at 12, smoked a cigarette at 16, had her first drink at 18, and her first date at 14.

The first paycheck job she ever held was at Bruckner’s, a women’s clothing store in Fresno, in the stock room.  And the first time she drove and the first car I can remember my stepfather’s (Sheldon Hunter) green Hudson sedan.

And here’s the funniest thing that happened on her honeymoon.  Woke up the first morning to find Dad’s cousins in the next room. 

And she remembered the first train ride from Berkeley to Fresno to visit my grandparents, first airplane trip from San Francisco to Fresno for a wedding shower – I was terrified, and her favorite city when she was young San Francisco when I was young and now.  Her favorite singer was John Denver, her favorite newspaper San Jose News, and her favorite TV star was Richard Dawson.

There’s not much else to learn more about Mom’s childhood except for her notations on the page “It was a great century to live in”.  She wrote about the depression years Can’t remember too much – but we were lucky as my father was never unemployed.  Can remember what a big deal it was when he got a $5 per month raise!  Maybe the notation that tells the most about my mother is her response to “The worst year, I guess, was when I:” was 9 and my parents were divorced.  I think that event may have had the biggest influence in her 84 years of life.

I’m glad I gave this book to my mother all those years ago but am so very thankful that she took the time to fill out even some of it.  What a gift she has left for her descendants!

Invitations

One thing I’ve learned about my grandmother, Loraine Gunzendorfer, is that she was very social and liked to party.  The next page of the scrapbook is titled Invitations – the title speaks for itself!



Uh-oh, this envelope is empty.  I love how it is addressed to just Monterey, Calif. and then c/o “The White House”.  I guess in 1914 Monterey was pretty small and everyone knew everyone so the postman didn’t have to think too hard about where to deliver the mail.

Could this invitation have been inside?  The size fits and it’s on the same page of the scrapbook but the handwriting is different.  Funny how they had to add the word “each” after the admission so it was clear that it would be $1.00 for a couple.



Here’s another one.  The invitation has been inside the envelope for nearly 100 years – check out the discoloration.





I guess once the invitation was presented it was returned so that it could be kept as a memento.  I’ll bet no one expected it to be kept for 100 years!

Grandma’s cousin, Irene Gunzendorfer, announced her engagement on December 6, 1914.

 

And then came another invitation!



Jake Gunzendorfer was the youngest son on Ferdinand and Fannie (Goldstein) Gunzendorfer and brother to my great grandfather, Abraham Gunzendorfer.
Grandma was a bridesmaid in the wedding.



And another newspaper article with a picture of Irene.  I need to go through the box of unidentified photos I have and see if I can find anyone who might be Irene.



Last but not least is an invitation to the wedding of Grandma’s high school classmate, Mary Salterbach, to Mr. Howard Hatton.  This wedding was held 5-6 years after the other events, which probably explains why the invitation was just loose on the page.



I would sure love to run across some photos of Grandma all dressed up for these events!

Fish and Baths

What do fish and baths have in common?  I have no idea, but there were photos of both on the next page of the scrapbook.  And the best part is that the photos were loose AND labeled so I know what she was trying to show.

The rock in this picture is the only prominent thing and it is not supposed to be.  The photographer wanted to show more of the fishing boats than are seen.



There are a lot of boats.  I wonder if Loraine was the photographer and was just talking in the third person or if there was someone else snapping the photo.

This picture shows the fish drying on the trays, also the fish being washed before set out to dry.



Now I see the connection – the fish are taking a bath!

Just another picture of the fish drying in the trays.



Wow, look at all those fish!

This picture gives more of an idea of the quantity of fish that is dried at a time.  X is the shute [sic] where the buckets of fish as they are landed are sent into the cleaning shed.



Do you see the X?  I wonder how long it took to catch and clean all these fish?

And now we’re on to the baths!

Taken Saturday, Feb 17, 15 at Del Monte bathhouse just before a “dip” in the “shiny” sea.  I’m not 100% sure the word is shiny but it looks like it.



How many people have a photo of their grandmother in a bathing suit?  Boy I wish this photo was in better shape.  Grandma is the second from the left.

Taken Saturday, Feb 27, 1915 at Del Month Bathhouse



Now they’ve added a couple of friends.  Grandma is still second from the left.  I could make a guess on who these other women are based on the yearbook photos but since it would only be a guess, I won’t.

Last but not least is this random photo which says Taken at the High School, Wednesday – Mar.”  What year, Grandma?  In hopes that a descendent of one of these women sees this, I’ll guess the person on the top left is Helen Cole Thompson and to her left is Wilhelmina L. Clark.  Grandma is on the left in the bottom row.



I’m not only glad that Grandma took photos and saved them, I’m especially glad that she labeled them!

Class Photos

When I turned the page in the scrapbook and saw this photo, I immediately thought it was my grandmother, Loraine Gunzendorfer.  I’ve seen other photos of her from about this age and she had lovely, curly hair. 



But when I looked at the next photo, I’m thinking this might have been her brother, Wilton Gunzendorfer.  Wilton was 3 years younger than Loraine so when you look at this photo of the same child with an older girl, I’m guessing it is Wilton and Loraine, probably in about 1901-1902.  Girls wouldn’t have worn overalls in that time period, would they?  It seems likely that Loraine is in the dress and Wilton is in the coveralls.



The next pages show some class pictures.  While I don’t know for sure that these are Loraine’s classes, I can only assume that they are. 

There are sure a lot of kids here!  After searching and searching, I don’t see a child that might be Loraine.

 

Seems like there are a few possibilities in these photos.  One possibility in the photo below is the girl fourth from the right on the bottom row.



I’ve enlarged it here – it looks like her.



And in this photo the only girl who might be her is sitting on the chair on the far right.



And enlarged…… Maybe?



Thankfully, Grandma wrote on the back of the next photos to help me out!  Here is her 7th grade class from Monterey Grammar School.  Now Loraine is a little easier to pick out – she’s the one in the very center of the photo, second row from the bottom, third from the left.



And the 8th grade, Monterey Grammar School.  Again, she’s right in the middle, standing 5th from the right or left.



And here’s the sophomore class from Monterey County High School, class of 1915.  Loraine is in the second row, second from the right.



Grandma, thank you for being a packrat so you could share these with me!

A bittersweet day

Today is Father’s Day – a day to focus on the dads in our lives.  But at some point, it becomes a tough reminder of the years that have passed without our dad.  And in my case, this is the 8th year that I have had to rely on just memories of my dad.  Fortunately, I also have a lot of photos to help me remember him in a wonderful way. 

Here’s a nice family photo from 1931-1932.  Left to right, Wilton Gunzendorfer, Robert Levy, Loraine Gunzendorfer Levy, Sig Levy, Abraham Gunzendorfer, Bertha Schwartz Gunzendorfer.  And that little guy in the front is my dad, Gordon Levy.



Dad was such a cutie!  Here he is in 1933 when he was 6 years old. 



And again in 1933 with his mother, Loraine Gunzendorfer Levy, and brother, Robert Levy. 



Dad must have gotten a football and/or uniform for Christmas in 1937 - he’s all decked out and ready to play!  It looks like this was taken in the backyard of their home in Fresno.



Dad and his brother, Robert Levy, posing in the backyard in September, 1947.  Even though they lived quite a distance from each other as they raised their families, they always remained close.  At the end of their lives they talked on the phone every day!



After graduating from Fresno High School in 1944, Dad went off to Stanford University in Palo Alto.  Here he is leaving for Palo Alto on May 15, 1949 – I hope he took more luggage with him!



Graduation from Stanford University – June 19, 1949.  Lots of photos with different family members.  Here’s dad and his grandmother, Bertha Schwartz Gunzendorfer.



And with his Uncle Wilt Gunzendorfer.



Look at this group – Bertha Gunzendorfer, Dad, Mom (Gerry Martin), Robert Levy.



Dad was always a star to us – here he is hanging out with his good bud, Bob Hope.  I’m just teasing, he didn’t know Bob although it looks like at some point in his life he shared some golf tips with him.



Dad liked to have fun but I sure can’t figure out what they’re doing here. 



And some nice photos of Dad later in life.



This may have been one of the last photos taken of Dad before he passed in 2005.



I miss my Dad every day and am so thankful to have such wonderful memories (and photos!) of him.  Happy Father’s Day, Dad!

The post I never wanted to write

Today is my mother’s 85th birthday – I wish she were here to celebrate it with us.



Geraldine Martin was born in Fresno, California on June 8, 1928 and was the only child of Clara Maxine Fitzgerald and Earle Laurence Martin.  By the look of this photo, my grandmother looks a little perplexed about what to do with this baby!



6 months later, little Gerry was sitting up on her own and looked quite proud of herself.



And look how cute she was with her little ringlets.



After some disruption in mom’s life due to her parents divorcing and spending some time in Oakland, by high school she was back in Fresno where she met my dad, Gordon Levy.  I don’t know for sure but I would guess it was love at first sight.



I think this was either her graduation picture or her engagement picture.  Either way, she looks very happy.



I’m sure one of the happiest days of her life was her wedding day, September 3, 1950.  This photo hangs in the hallway of the home my parents bought in 1957 - she was a beautiful bride!



One of my favorite photos of Mom and Dad together from January, 1985.  They both look so happy!



Mom and Dad celebrated their 50th anniversary in 2000 – what a great family celebration we had!  We took photos of the entire family but this one really captures the spirit of the day.



Sadly, just 5 years later Dad was gone.  And since then Mom had done a great job of living as an independent woman.  Until this year when things started getting really, really hard for her and her body just started to give out. But she rarely asked for help and only after we insisted did she give in.  And just like she’d done for nearly 85 years, she did exactly what she wanted and finally let go.  Just 17 days before her 85th birthday, Mom was gone.



And that’s why I’ve dreaded writing this post ever since I started my blog two years ago.  I knew at some point there would be “firsts” – birthday, Mother’s Day, Christmas, anniversary – without Mom.  I just didn’t think it would be this soon.

Happy birthday, Mom.  We love you and miss you!