Remembering the stories: September 2023

Road Trips: California Adventures 1971

I'm almost to a good stopping point on the sorting and scanning of photos- at least "for now". But I feel I have one more story left before putting the AZ era to rest.

Back in 2012-2013, when I first started this project. I would scan a few photos and send them to Richard in hopes of getting a good story from the photo. This first photo was one such photo. Richard did indeed share very entertaining story-noting it was taken in Las Vegas..but in hindsight- I don't think the story matched the photo. For on the back of this classic it reads "this is the car that will or could be yours to use when you fly to see us this winter". Another duplicate notes that "this is our new car. The stuffed animals Laura and Martha are holding are their souvenirs from the zoo". So- one photo I think was sent to Grandma Irene in hopes of getting her to come see us in AZ and the other was probably sent to Grandma Hazel-

Anyways- it is highly unlikely that this was from a trip to Vegas as Richard suggested...instead I think it was related to California road trip we took in the early part of 1971.

Hello- this is indeed a California road-trip...

January 1971- when the park was 16 years young (having first opened in 1955). The captions are sparse but note that this is the entrance to Fantasy Land. Well, d'uh... Notice how uncrowded it is? Ah..if only that were the case today!

Another iconic sight at Disneyland.

And when in California- you simply must go see the ocean...

a tradition I would carry forth with my own Things when we visited CA in 2002.

Another iconic image from Knott's Berry Farm...

and of course- the family mischief maker is getting tips from an expert...

And then there is this one-clearly we are at the four corners with that same stylish car. and Laura's vibrant golden sweater. But in what universe would Four Corners have been part of a CA road trip starting in Tucson? Instead- I suspect it was snapped on the way to WI around that same time...because hello, that would have been one heck of a detour to include this landmark on the same trip. I wanted to include it- as this is a rather classic for kids whose parents have said- look, you can be in four states at once!

Anyways- as I sift through these handful of photos- I find myself reflecting that it really only takes one or two good photos to remind you- that your childhood was indeed pretty magical!

Again- Thanks Mom and Dad!

The Granum Girls- The AZ era.

As I sift through photos, one constant is a plethora of photos of my sister and I smiling for the camera. Oh who am I kidding- I am either hamming it up or scowling...but standing proud next to my sister- sporting some curious fashion choices and consistently no-fuss hairstyles.

I thought I would start a series where I feature photos of the Granum Girls

This post will feature photos of us from our time in AZ. And in many of these photos, Audrey has taken a pen to the back of the photo and captioned them....helping decode when and why the photo may have been taken.

Let's start with this classic- on the back Richard has written Laura and Martha in front of Apache Hall ?1969..but the date printed on the margin is 1970. Oh well...close enough, right? We sure were happy dorm rats!

This one has some handwriting by Audrey...smudged but reads "Off to school we must go, this was the 2nd day of school". I'm guessing it was in the Fall of 1969- as Martha doesn't have a lunch box or other school paraphernalia suggesting she was going to school all day.

This one reads "the sad face is put on. Really she is happy. Just doesn't like to have her picture taken lately". Editor's note- which one is sad? Probably Laura. But to that I say "Hey, Kettle, meet Pot" because Audrey would go on to become very camera shy through the years...

On the back of this one- Audrey has written "How would you like to meet these two in a dark alley? Those pumpkins were almost full when they finished". Hello- we were two cute kids living in a college dorm where our parents were the dorm parents. Of course, we would score big time when it was time to trick-or-treat!

A Holiday Classic- in front of the tree- where Audrey has written "Merry Christmas 1969- taken before their church program". Sing it loud, sisters! Sing it loud!

Christmas Morning- 1969- where Audrey has written "Martha is holding her little Kachina doll. The large one hadn't been opened yet. The doll in the purple dress is a Navajo doll. Also- see the gold fish?. The tree in the background is a Manzanita branch. It has a reddish bark and is very pretty".

I'm wondering who Audrey was writing this for- herself or was it one of the photos she would go on to send to her mom, Grandma Irene. I inherited those photos many years ago- so it's possible this photo was originally in the stash from Grandma Irene.

This one reads "My 2 little helpers- they get them done- not always the cleanest but we don't worry".

And back to school it is-nothing written on the back of this one

And last but not least- is this family classic where Audrey so perfectly notes

"I must say Martha is the biggest "ham" around...November 1971..

No worries, Mom...some things never change!

Hamming it up since 1965!

Road Trips: The South 1969

When Richard passed away last September, Laura and I discovered a box of old scrapbooks. I knew that my mom would make scrapbooks after some of our trips, but hadn't seen this collection of scrapbooks in many years- if not decades.

My heart did a little flip flop of joy- imagining the stories contained within these weathered pages.

That is until I started to look through them.

Confession time- Audrey was not an accomplished scrapbooker. For in these pages were postcards, glued to the pages, an occasional ticket stub but next to nothing was written next to the photos. Next to no photos of people and no reflections on the trip itself.

But rather than dwell on what wasn't included, I shall look at what was included.

In the Spring of 1969 our family would take a vacation- as noted on this very detailed title page

The South, eh? That's pretty broad description.

Upon further reading...it seemed to have been a pretty epic road trip..

for there are postcards from

And from a Stone Mountain in Georgia...

where the inscription on the back of this post card reads

"Confederate Flags waving gloriously above the beautiful reflecting pool".

Curiosity led me to see if they still fly given all the changes within our culture of celebrating the confederacy- and they were relocated to less controversial location within the park earlier this year (2023)

Charleston was also part of the adventure..

as was a trip to

Notice the cost of admission- these days they range from $85-105 for a one day ticket...even adjusting for inflation ($3 then is about $25 today)...that's a significant jump.

The album had few if any photos of us-

Except for these gems...

Sister and I at Rock City...

And this one of Audrey and her girls...where yep...I packed my scowl!

Maybe there were more photos in the boxes of slides we jointly agreed to discard without first sifting through. But, some 54 years later...would it really be worth the trouble to sift through even more memorabilia than we already decided to keep?

Yep- no regrets on passing on saving the slide boxes.

And instead- after just a few minutes with the scanner, some time on this keyboard- I am reminded of the gift held within the pages of these weary scrapbooks.

Our parents took us on trips- from a very early age (I wasn't even 4 years old on this trip). Clearly they were epic in scope- for a quick google map itinerary tells me this trip would have involved over 2k miles, all done over probably just a week.

And from this early exposure to travel- my sister and I were gifted with a curiosity and desire to travel. We were shown through example- don't wait until some-day, start with where you are and go from there.

And for that I say THANK YOU Mom and Dad...

Putting the grand in grandparents

I'm about a week late- but apparently, the 2nd Sunday after Labor Day is known as Grandparents Day. Signed into Presidential Proclamation by President Jimmy Carter in the 1970s, the origins of this holiday are a little unclear outside of a day set aside to honor one's grandparents. While our grandparents have long since passed, I figure this occasion would be a good opportunity to dust off the keyboard and chip away at the stack of inherited photos with some grandparent reflections.

My sister and I were fortunate enough to have grown up with 3 living grandparents. Our grandmothers would live long vibrant lives- and I know Laura and I both have a treasure chest of memories- some of which I have reflected upon in past blog entries.

But, what about the pairing of Grandma and Grandpa? Grandpa Norman would pass away in 1978 after a brief battle with stomach cancer.

In looking through the photos I've inherited, I can see that our grandparents were frequent visitors in our home, whether it was Arizona in the late 1960s/early 1970s or Georgia in the 1970s. Now, was this based on a desire to be physically present in our lives, or was it a desire to escape the Wisconsin winters...who knows..but without a doubt, there is a plethora of photos of Laura and I enjoying these visits with our grandparents.