Summer Chore

Suburban Chicago, June 1969. Dad preferred to mow in Door County. I took this photo just before I got my "big" bike.

Garage Sale

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Door County, Wisconsin, August 1999. There's harmony among friends.

Who's leaving now?

Suburban Chicago, March 1959. Dad heads to work in his VW Beetle.

Bedtime

Suburban Chicago, December 1963. Close the garage door before you go to sleep.

Another Workday

Suburban Chicago, April 1960. Mom again heads out to the office.

Front Steps

Suburban Chicago, June 1962. Here's another photo taken fifty years ago. Mom, my paternal Grandmother Tatjana, and I stand on the front steps of my childhood home.

Lawn Party

Rockford, Illinois, June 1961. My Mom (the one in the dress) steps out with her Rockford friends.

Chopping Wood, in Three Takes

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Door County, Wisconsin, July 1980. Chopping wood was one of the activities Dad enjoyed when he and Mom were in Door County. Dad seemed to have some wood-chopping project under way most of the time. He chopped so much wood that it took up a good part of the garage space.

(You may have seen that Schwinn bicycle earlier here.)

Related by Marriage: Hanging Out

Suburban Chicago, about 1964. Mr. Irene and his maternal Grandfather, Stanley, swing in the backyard.

A Shielded Snowman

Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Winter 1957. Toronto Al—my Toronto Cousin's husband—has built a impressive snowman. What did he use to keep the snowman's arms outstretched?

Thanks to Toronto Al for making this photo available to us.

The Aftermath of the Blizzard

Yesterday I mentioned the 1979 Chicago blizzard. Here's how things looked after Mom dug out the driveway:

Suburban Chicago, January 1979. The Skylark is in the garage.

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Suburban Chicago, January 1979. Here's the walkway to the front door.

Home

This is the home in which I grew up. My Parents were its first owners. The house was part of a late 1950s subdivision. The developer named most streets after either: (1) Civil War generals or battle sites—for example, Sherman, Davis, Concord; or (2) his relatives—Elsie, Andy, et cetera. (I learned this forty years later because I happened to go to school with the developer's Granddaughter.)

The subdivision featured three home styles. All were based on a split-level design, and the three models had many features in common.

The home my Parents bought was the middle model. It had a two-car garage, and the Master Bedroom had an en suite, turquoise bathroom that doubled as my Dad's darkroom. The secondary bath was bright pink; it matched the kitchen tile. The kitchen came equipped with Roper appliances that lasted over thirty years.

Parked in the garage are the cars—Dad's black Beetle, and Mom's white "Swan."

Suburban Chicago, December 1963. I spent a lot of time looking out of the bay window in the living room. The multiple glass panels often leaked. That window had a wide, wooden ledge onto which our black Poodle, Gigi, jumped and barked aggressively at walkers. On the right grows the little spruce my Parents planted when I was born.