Beginnings

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How I started this journey

This week I’m writing about a favorite photo, and how my journey got started. Tell the story of the people, place, and event in a favorite photo. Where did the photo come from? Who has the original now? How did you get a copy of it?” I couldn’t pick just one, so I picked the oldest photos.  

When my dad was growing up he knew barely anything about his father.  See, my grandfather died when my dad was 6.  My grandfather was working at the navy yard in Charlestown (MA) during WWII, and the ships used asbestos somewhere around where my grandfather worked. As a result he developed lung cancer.  My grandparents were married in 1943, he was 29 she was 28.  At that time they were both ‘old’ to get married.  My grandfather died in 1950.

My grandparents were married 7 years.  Only 7 years. 
I can’t even fathom that.

My grandmother was hit hard by my grandfather’s death.  My dad has memories of riding the subway with her, walking up the stairs to exit the station, and seeing my grandmother ‘spot’ my grandfather at a corner.  They would quickly walk (not run he says, but almost) to the corner only to find that the man was gone. There were almost no photos of my grandfather displayed when my dad was growing up.  He grew up thinking there were none at all.

My grandmother had grown up in a well to do family, not worrying about money, but not rich either. Her father was a true teamster, he trained teams of horses to pull carriages, and owned his own trucking company.  (Sometime I’ll tell you the story about the ‘green’ horse he trained.) She had stories about how she and her grandmother would go shopping at R.H. White’s department store in Boston.  They would be shown to a private room, brought tea and snacks, and the ladies at the store would model the dresses before they purchased one.

She was born in 1915, and attended a private school until the depression hit – when her father couldn’t afford to pay tuition anymore because his business crumbled around him.  My great-grandmother, Nora, went to work at the Schrafft’s chocolate factory, and was a valued employee.  Nora was ambidextrous and could dip chocolates with two hands simultaneously. Which meant she was faster than anyone else who could only use one hand to dip chocolates. ( When I heard this story I pictured the “I love Lucy” episode.) My grandmother was hired, on Nora ‘s recommendation, to carry two 5 gallon buckets of chocolate to the dippers.  The buckets were so heavy, she had a bar that was placed across her shoulders and a bucket was hung from each side of the bar. This bar was very similar to the yoke that was put on horsed and oxen to pull carts, or plow fields. She worked her tail off and when she got married, she had [I’m told] $50,000 in the bank.  Once she was married, she stayed at home to run the household and raise my dad.

My grandfather’s hospitalization changed that. He worked at the Charlestown Navy Yard during WWII and was involved with the asbestos that lined the ships and submarines. In 1949 he contracted lung cancer, was admitted to the hospital and died 11 Dec 1950. My father had just turned 6 a few days prior, and was not allowed to visit his dad in the hospital. The policy at that time was that kids were not conducive to patients recovery and were nuisances at a hospital. His memory of his dad in the hospital is he playing at a playground nearby, and his dad waving from the hospital window. He says that’s the last memory he has of his father. My son is now 7 – just a bit older than my dad was – and that’s a hard perspective to think about.

Health insurance wasn’t readily available to everyone at the time my grandfather got sick.  His hospital bills used up all of their savings, leaving my grandmother with very little. My grandmother was left on her own, having to find work with an 8th grade education – she never finished high school because of the depression. She was a single mom, no formal education, and looking for employment at a time when WWII soldiers were also looking for jobs. I imagine it was a hard life, but thankfully she had a pretty good support system. But she never remarried. And I never asked why. I always wonder what if?….

The photos appear as a phoenix from.. paper bags?

When my grandmother died in 2011, we found a gold mine of photos in envelopes in a paper bag stuck in the back of a closet in her home.  There were childhood photos of my dad, his dad, and my grandmother – their little family of three was well documented – along with photos of my grandmother’s childhood.  As far as I can tell, the oldest photo in the collection is from 1914.  Most are not labeled, but thankfully enough are so I can get an idea who the people in the photo are.  These are the photos that got me hooked on researching genealogy and my ancestor’s lives.  I’m so grateful to be the keeper of the history, and so sad I can’t ask questions.

In particular, of the photos in this group, I’m most curious about “The Blue Moon photos”.  These photos are of a sort of diner or restaurant, definitely somewhere to grab a meal. It is one of the few places I have not been able to find in real life. My g-grandfather, Otis Young, had taken his four sons here for some reason. This place must have been very special, as there are a lot of photos of this place and the people there.  I know none of the people besides Otis, Mary (his wife) and their sons. But the rest of these people! They were special, they meant something to Otis and his family – WHO ARE THEY? They are still unknown as of 2021. My best guess is that it existed somewhere in central/western MA, but not Templeton.  The Young family line first shows in Templeton/Gardner/Westminster in the late 1700’s.  They didn’t move east until the late 1800’s. I’d love to learn more about this place; I have yet to find any information about it.  For all I know, it may not even be in Massachusetts.

How did you get started? What prompted you to research or start asking questions? What is your favorite/oldest/best family photo that is special to you?