1916 Ads: Of Flushies, Fans, Filters, Biscuits & Beverages

Norman & Joan Nelsen: 17 June 1950

Scenes from my Grandparents Wedding Day.  These six images seem to have been given to them by someone who attended the church event and later provided them with slides.  The slides themselves had "Nelsen" misspelled as "Nelson" on the cardboard frames, so I'm guessing they were shot and annotated by someone who was a friendly with them, but not related to them (or aware of my Grandfather's Norwegian nomenclature).  Regardless, I'm very grateful to the photographer for the six candid and beautifully-lit snaps they took on the church steps this day.

Mother Of The Bride:  Mae Costello in her Midcentury Matron Finest.

Picture Perfect: My twin cousins Lois and Dianne in their Flowergirl Frocks.

Bridesmaids and Flowergirls... Off to the reception!  (Behave, ladies... Behave.)

Working backwards from about 1976, we have arrived squarely at 1950.  Posting this series of images is a bit bittersweet, as these are the very last slides from the family archive.  Essentially, a very large chunk of my family has just seen a large portion of their lives displayed (albeit in reverse) on the internet.  These six pictures represent the endpoint of a rather broad arc of events, milestones, celebrations and journeys.  I'm very glad, though, that this final post of 35mm slide scans shows the beginning of what would become my Grandparents' life as a couple (and subsequently their life as parents and grandparents).  What they would go on to create in terms of family and who they would later touch in terms of friends and loved ones would end up being rather large.  Thanks for EVERYTHING, Nanny and Pop... You are loved and missed, but mostly remembered and celebrated.

Fabulous 50s Frocks & Pensive Party Priests

In the Fall of 1958, my Mom was a flower girl at her Aunt Gloria and Uncle Bill Lysenko's wedding.  As evidenced by the images below, the entire affair was a completely perfect exercise in festive midcentury elegance.  Everything was bright, warm and totally un-fussy.  Something tells me that Aunt Gloria (my grandfather's sister) wasn't a diva, brat or bridezilla.

Another really nice shot of my grandparents at the reception with my Uncle Kevin and Mom.  Kevin's side-eye is telling me one of two things: A.) He's either trying to figure out a stealth way to knock the bow off my Mom's head or B.)  He's trying to figure out how to make his way across the reception hall to swipe the plastic bride and groom from atop that ever so tempting multi-tiered cake.

My Mom is seen above with her slightly older cousin (also named Kathy) playing dress up as a bridesmaid.

Now THAT'S a party crowd.  Are we watching an Old Lady Lapdance here?

I'm loving this pensive, campy priest.  He was probably watching this go down...

"Oh, no you don't... Not too high, buddy.  There's a PRIEST here!"

It was such a lovely affair... Until that Ambrosia got stuck in Mildred's molars.