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.

Kathleen Joan Nelsen Makes Her Debut

My Mom was a fashionista from the very start!

A dressed-up Kathleen Joan Nelsen on her Christening Day, January 1952.

My Mom is seen with her parents above and her Godparents (Aunt Marion & Uncle Richard) below.

A Father-Daughter Dance.

An oddly-cropped camera misfire with gorgeous results: My young Grandmother with my smiling Mom.

Later that same year: Cousins celebrating with the rest of the family.

Ladies in a Holiday Coffe Klatch (above) my Great Grandparents' priceless Holiday Manger (below).

My Mom gets her first lesson in Holiday Swag.  Sorry, Kate... No Ralph Lauren this year.

And ONCE AGAIN, let the record show... NOBODY, but NOBODY was starving.

There's something about that doll emerging from under that fake brick drape that makes me laugh.

My Mom flanked by my twin cousins Lois and Dianne... Picture Perfect Ladies.

I have no idea who these kids are.  I just like their style.

And, in closing... No family photo set would be complete without a very telling non sequitur.

My Uncle Henny (at right) is pictured at work at a mechanic's garage with an unnamed colleague and a fetching pictoral centerpiece.  The 1950s "Dirty Old Man" pinup calendar coupled with the sly grin he is most definitely choking back over his can of Ballantine Beer says everything you need to know about the hilarious, brilliantly witty, totally wiseass (but extremely kind and loving) man he was.

We are who we are in this life... All we can do is be great at it.

Nineteen Fifty-Three In Living Color

My Grandmother Joan with my then-newborn Uncle Kevin and Mother (nearly two years old).

Uncle Kevin is christened as his Godparents look on. 

My Grandmother receives baby gifts at a party thrown for her by former co-workers at AT&T.

Thanksgiving Dinner with Uncle Richard (in front, at left), Aunt Marion (in rear, at right) and their growing brood.  Cousin Lois is on the left (in red) and her fraternal twin sister Dianne is wearing a matching red top across the table from her at right.  Baby Cousin Janet is peeking around from behind Dianne, but there is no sign of Cousin Ricky, who was most definitely around at this time.  I don't know who the man in the blue tie is, but the older woman in the blue dress toward the back of the photo is my beloved Great Grandmother Mae Costello.

Classic Father & Daughter Moment:  My Grandfather Norman with my Mom at the park.

ABOVE & BELOW: Two gatherings... Many cousins.

My Grandmother tends to my (rather unhappy) Mom's pom pom outfit as Cousin Janet makes her best "grownup face".  This photo seems to have been taken at a scenic overlook on the Hudson River overlooking NYC.

ABOVE & BELOW:  My Grandmother and Grandfather with my Mom and the infant Kevin in front of their apartment on Hoyt Avenue in Staten Island.  Saint Vincent's Hospital can be seen in the background.

My Mom pushes a doll in a brand new toy baby carriage.  I'd like to think that she was just getting in some early practice, seeing as she would be pushing me around in one of these exactly 20 years later.

This must be where my Mom's love of the equine decorative motif began.  Who knew that such a highbrow taste level would have its origin atop a coin-operated storefront ride on a Staten Island street?

Though somewhat soft focus and oddly composed, this is one of my favorite images from the family slide archive.  I first happened upon this slide and took some sketches from it some time in the 1990s (when the slide carousels were first given to me by my Grandfather).  I remember being transfixed by the complexity of this Kodachrome frame (and the questions about the holiday activity around it) as I projected it onto a white wall of the studio in my Brooklyn apartment.  A short time later, after boxing up all of the carousels for what would become a whole decade, I would use elements of those initial sketches in the composition of a kaleidescopic drawing called "Every Xmas Ago". 

Cap Guns At The Table And OTHER Hits Of 1954

Images from Summer 1954: My Grandmother with my Mom and Uncle Kevin.

Mom and Uncle Kevin brave a vinyl kiddie pool on a hot day and play with their cousins.

Unmarked Summertime Slide.  Sometimes my Grandfather's eye was just astounding.

Mom on her third birthday (above) and on Christmas Morning (below).

Let the record show that my Mother was NEVER a morning person.  Even at age three.

Another Christmas... and yet MORE amazing Christmas loot.

My Great Uncle Richard and Great Aunt Marion with their son Ricky.

Ummm... Question: Who's grabbing at the back of Uncle Richard's swimming trunks?

My Grandmother, the bathing beauty... On one of many trips to the Catskills and Adirondacks.

Summer 1954.  My Uncle Kevin's first birthday party.  

First of all... Let's note that NO ONE here looks terrible happy.  

Secondly... Which genius let my cousin Ricky bring a toy cap gun to the table?

Florida Convoy, Summer 1956

Several images from a Florida vacation that my Grandparents took with my Mom and Uncle Kevin.  Also in tow on this trip were my Great Uncle Richard and Great Aunt Marion, as well as their growing brood.  I keep coming back to how simple (yet rich with feeling) these outings were.  Traveling with children was very expensive, so road-tripping in two cars and staying in guest bungalows at motor inns was the cheapest option.  As modest as the accomodations and modes of transport were, it was a diversion from the every day for the kids and a welcome getaway for hard-working parents who needed a break, a change of scenery and a walk on the beach.  

Side Note:  I love the fact that tucked away among these scenes of family togetherness, there was this one isolated image depicting three anonymous bathing beauties making their way down the shoreline.  Perhaps my Grandfather just wanted to capture some "local color" for posterity...  I'm sure it was just a National Geographic moment.