Gail Dever wrote about a very cool idea on her blog. Her post is called Writing about your life — and your ancestors’ lives — in five photos Thanks to Lorine McGinnis Schulze of Olive Tree Genealogy : http://olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.com/2016/03/five-days-of-family-photo-stories-miss.html#ixzz43YDWiZaN for giving me the idea to try this!
My mother (middle left) with her family circa 1950
Above is a photo that I love. It was taken in Italy circa 1950. My mother who is crouched on the left of the photo is with her beloved family. Her father, my grandfather, Vittorio, is in the center sticking his tongue out. This photo represents just how fun loving and “in love” my mother’s family were with each other. My grandfather was always laughing and making jokes. He loved to go dancing and take my grandmother out for dinner. She is in the center at the top, looking down at HER father, my great grandfather. This is one of only a handful of photos of have of her smiling. She was the serious one of the family. My grandfather had to pull any fun out of her as she was the oldest of 12 children and had lived through 2 World Wars and a depression and seen many tragedies. I know he adored her. They met in a hospital during WWI where she was visiting an injured brother and my grandfather was in the bed next to him. It was instant love and he wrote amazing love letters to her that we still have!
My mothers 2 older sisters flank their mother. The eldest, Gianna, emigrated to Canada and had 1 son, but didn’t marry until she was 44. The 2nd eldest, Lina, still lives in Italy and is going on 84 years old. She is my favourite aunt and we visit her every year. My great grandfather lived to be 96 years old. His daughter, my grandmother lived to be 95. I hope I’ve inherited those genes! Lastly, the boy that my grandfather is hugging is my uncle. He emigrated with my mother when they were 21 and 20 years old.
This photo reminds me that even after much sadness, you can still be happy. Family is everything and having one like this is a blessing.
Ties That Bind 