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?

Scenes From Storyland Village 1955

In mining the archive of my family's 30-odd years of 35MM slides, many things have become utterly remarkable to me.  One such detail is how some simply-shot photos by one or both of my Grandparents on a family outing to Storyland Village in Neptune, New Jersey can hold so much rich feeling.  While some of the images that I've unearthed are compromised by discoloration, dust or scratches, a vast majority of them are crystal clear and bold with Kodachrome hues.  For instance, the saturated colors and quality of light in this particular series of images still hold a joyful palette that's a lot like the Technicolor cinema gems of the time period.  

There will be NO huffing, puffing or blowing THESE houses down.

"Locked her in a pumpkin shell and there he kept her very well..."

Hey diddle diddle, there's a cat and a fiddle... 

Sadly, the cow was largely cropped out of this particular moon jump.

Not QUITE The Old Woman Who Lived In A Shoe...

Though my Grandmother Joan would eventually become mother to four children, grandmother to five and Favorite Aunt to many others, only my Uncle Kevin (in overalls) and Mom (in doorway, at front) were hers at this time.  

The beloved (and sadly, taken too soon Cousin Janet) is seen behind my Mom at right.

A painted and costumed clown bids my Grandmother (carrying Uncle Kevin) farewell as Mom looks one.

1955: Have Brood, Will Travel

Here are some glimpses of Spring 1955 from inside yet another box of my Grandparents' well-preserved 35mm slides.  As usual, everyone looks fantastic... Neatly-scrubbed and well dressed, laundered and groomed.  Though probably a little bit warm on the Easter Sunday shown below, I get a kick out of how my Grandmothers' fox fur stole makes another striking cameo.  Nanny must have spent a pretty penny on that furry folly (and worked to get her money's worth) because it seems she wore it every chance she got.

ABOVE:  Twin Cousins Lois and Diane with Ricky (in hat) and Janet (lower left).

My Uncle Kevin is the one in the shorts who looks like he's about to take off down the street.

My Mom is probably wondering how her handbag looks with her little Mary Janes.

Cousin Janet with my Mom.  Though young girls, they look like two little old Ladies Who Lunch here.

More backyard fun with the cousins...

Donald and Brian...  INSTANT comedy, folks!

Kevin... Not too sure about having to hang out with these icky girls.  

He would, however, change his mind about fraternizing with the female of the species in later years.

Unidentified bathing beauty at an unidentified swimming lake in an unidentified state.

Backyard barbecue at Aunt Harriet's house near Four Corners in Staten Island.

Above & Below: Cousin Janet (in front, at left) with my Mom and Uncle Kevin one one of the motorboat rides on the Asbury Park boardwalk.  Oh, how I wish my Grandfather had spun around and gotten some shots of the Asbury Casino and Carousel House behind him.

All this excitement sure wears a two-year-old kid out.  Forget snack time, Kevin needs a nap!

The Colors Of December 1956

Another gorgeous shot of my Mom and Uncle Kevin on "good behavior".  I don't think it had so much to do with the imminent arrival of relatives as it did the imminent arrival of a certain portly bearded man in a red suit.

My Grandmother, Joan Nelsen, is seen here (arms folded) pregnant with my Aunt Karen, who would be born 11 days after this photo was taken.  Joan's sister Marion is in the royal blue dress to her right.

Christmas was always a massive deluge of toys and games in our family... even before I was born.  These photos show a couple of the Nelsen kids' gift opening sessions: The requisite morning gift bonanza in pyjamas (above) and a later one (all dressed up) after the arrival of company.  

My Grandparents always told stories of struggling to make ends meet.
However, it should be completely clear that NOBODY in our family was starving.

My Grandmother:  The 1950s model of female domesticity: Pregnant and sweeping (in an apron).

Having been a New Year's Eve baby, my Mom always celebrated her birthday on or around the Christmas holiday.  Here, she is seen playing with other kids in the family, who seem to be entertaining the adults with their antics.  I 'd love to know what was going on HERE...

Happy Birthday, Mom.  5 is gonna be the best year yet... I can just feel it!