NOTE: This PPP was first sent out through my email chain on April 17, 2020. For my Journal inaugural, I am reissuing this PPP, with a few edits, additions, and current dates. I selected this PPP because we are coming up on another Easter, which is a time of rebirth and renewal. It is a time to remember the importance of our connections with family and friends we have in this life, and how much we Love them. Hope you enjoy this revisit!
Hello All,
I wish you all could see the incredible collection of cards and keepsakes that my parents, Louise and Gerry, left behind. It’s hard to choose which ones to share. But I selected a sampling of things that I hope conveys just how much Love they had for their family and friends.
The first two are scans of a birthday card that Gerald A McNamara (my grandfather, who was known as Mac) gave to his wife Hilda (my Nana). There is no date on the card, but Hilda’s birthday is May 28, and Mac died on December 06, 1950. So, this card is at least 73 years old this May (2022).
The graphics of the cards from the 40’s and 50’s are just amazing. There is a happiness and innocence in their style, and in the simple verses of love says something about the people of that time.
The next three scans are of a wedding anniversary card to Gerry and Louise from Art and aunt Mary Kerbrat.
Louise and Gerry were married on September 08, 1951. The card is dated 1954. I was born in June of that same year.
The scan below is of a photo that was printed onto a sheet of regular 8 1/2 x 11 paper. That’s Louise on the left, with her sister Aline (Kerbrat) Seydoux at the beach in August 1977. Louise’s birthday is August 5th, so it is very likely they had gone to the beach to celebrate. As simple as this photo is, Louise kept and treasured it. Louise would have been 48 in this photo, and Aline 55.
After I first issued this PPP in 2020, cousin Denise remarked, “…with our 2 lovely moms, we may be seeing a bit of cousin Yvonne Kerbrat in the right corner. When she and her sister Teresa would visit from Michigan. They loved the beach. She would take me out to deeper water to hop waves. For a while they came out every year, seems like. When they got home, they would send a thank you to us weeks later of a huge tin of candied pecans.”
Postscript (01 APR 2022): My sister Martina wrote me to say that she is the 16 year old girl seen between Louise and Aline. The photo was taken at “Toes Beach” (the original surf spot for me in the high school days at the end of Culver Boulevard).
What a lovely memory.
My parents kept every Christmas card they ever received. This 1991 card from Mark and Susan Petersen is one example.
Another example; a 2010 Christmas card from Paul and Rachel Kerbrat.
Here is a scan of a 2 x 3 inch thank you note from Cecile Bonnet. She was Louise’s sorority sister, friend, and maid of honor. Since Cecile used her maiden name, we can know that the card dates back to pre-1953 (the year Cecile was married).
Next up are two scans of a Father’s Day card that Gerry gave to his Dad (Mac). The whistle chain you see on the cover is an actual metal chain attached to the card. The theme of the card is “son in the service”. On the inside where there is a illustration of a picture frame, you can see that Gerry has glued-in a small photo of himself wearing his Army uniform along with his mom (Hilda) by his side.
The postman on the outside has significance too. Not only did “Bob” (Gerry) serve in the Army from March of 1946 to March of 1947, but he worked as a letter carrier from June 1945 to March 1946, and then again after he got out of the Army from March 1947 to September 1947. So, there is a double meaning for them in the “son in service” theme.
My Dad would often tell me how much he loved his parents. It was quite a blow to him when at age 23 he lost his dad (just 9 months before he married Louise).
The next item is a beautiful handwritten sympathy card from Lee Watkins. She sent it to Gerry after Louise passed away (17 DEC 2018).
Last up for today is a group photo that I would like your help with. I don’t see any men in the photo so it looks like some sort of affair for the ladies. From left to right I see cousin Connie (Petersen) Russo, Ruth Barnhardt (spelling?), unknown, Louise’s sisters Aline and Alice, unknown, Louise, and unknown (plus whoever it was who got up from their seat to take the photo). Any help on where this was, and what it was, and who the people are would be great.
Upon a second look, that woman next to Louise could be Marianne O’Neal. She was our neighbor in Culver City, and the wife of our family dentist.
After I first issued this PPP, Lee Watkins remarked that, “The group of ladies had to have been at one of the many yearly fashion shows from St. Augustine’s that your mom chaired. They were always on a Saturday afternoon at a hotel in Beverly Hills. I had been to a few of them…fun times!”
Thanks Lee! I’m pretty sure that is exactly what this is. St. Augustine’s was the Catholic church and grade school we attended back in the day. While Louise worked as a keypunch operator (recall PPP The San Antonio Letters), and for a while owned her own keypunch business, she found time to be active in the community, and a lot of that was related to support school activities.
That’s it for now. Have a great weekend everyone!
Love to everyone,
Mike
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