July 23 is 'Gorgeous Grandma' Day. I have to say, as a child, I don't remember giving much thought to the way either of my Grandmas' looked. I didn't give much thought to Mom's looks either. As I got older, I started noticing how much I looked like Mom, and how much Mom looked like her mother. To be fair, I didn't give a lot of thought to how handsome my Grandfathers had been either.
Grandma Wager was about 5'7". Which is actually quite tall for her generation. She was not stick thin, but she had some curves. Once she moved to Florida, her skin was perpetually tanned a deep bronze. She washed her hair a couple times a week and set it with rollers and pins to give it some curl. Grandma cleaned the house constantly. She smelled like a combination of Lestoil and Clorox. When she got dressed up, those familiar scents mixed with Knowing- which was the perfume she wore.
Grandma Primeau looked like a Grandma. Or at least a Grandma whose ancestors were German. She was short and kind of round. I think she was only about 5'5". I could be wrong. It seems like I was always taller than her. When we were teenagers, Grandma got out a photo album and we were looking at pictures. There was a wedding photo of a tall thin man, and a beautiful girl with glasses. My cousins and I asked her 'who's that?' and she said 'That's Grandpa and I'. We were shocked. Grandma looked so different before she had 10 children!
Now that I've be
come the official family historian, and inherited pictures of my Grandparents as young people, I can see both Grandmothers were in fact, beautiful young women. This picture on the left is my Grandma Wager. I don't know how old she was in this picture, but I guess she was in her late teens or early twenties. I was so used to her as Grandma, and looking the way I knew her, that I didn't recognize her in this picture. Mom had to tell me who it was. I found a picture of Grandma standing, and my first thought was 'I have her legs'. Grandpa Wager said he fell in love with her the first time he saw her. She said she fell in love with him at first sight also, but she wouldn't go out with him until he bought a car. She went to dances with guys who had cars, and then danced all night with Grandpa. Once he had a car, it was all over!
The woman on the right is my Grandmother Primeau. She was a teenager in this picture. She kind of looks like a southern belle, which is hilarious because she was from Upstate NY. Grandpa Primeau was home after WWII when he saw her at a dance. Someone bet him a bottle of beer that he couldn't take her home. The person who placed the bet knew my Great-Grandfather, and thought Grandma wouldn't go with a strange boy. Grandpa won the bet. They were married two weeks after her 18th birthday. Grandpa said she was the pretty farm girl.
I've always thought both Grandmothers were exceptional women, which made them beautiful to me, and finding their pictures showed that they were beautiful inside and out.
come the official family historian, and inherited pictures of my Grandparents as young people, I can see both Grandmothers were in fact, beautiful young women. This picture on the left is my Grandma Wager. I don't know how old she was in this picture, but I guess she was in her late teens or early twenties. I was so used to her as Grandma, and looking the way I knew her, that I didn't recognize her in this picture. Mom had to tell me who it was. I found a picture of Grandma standing, and my first thought was 'I have her legs'. Grandpa Wager said he fell in love with her the first time he saw her. She said she fell in love with him at first sight also, but she wouldn't go out with him until he bought a car. She went to dances with guys who had cars, and then danced all night with Grandpa. Once he had a car, it was all over!
The woman on the right is my Grandmother Primeau. She was a teenager in this picture. She kind of looks like a southern belle, which is hilarious because she was from Upstate NY. Grandpa Primeau was home after WWII when he saw her at a dance. Someone bet him a bottle of beer that he couldn't take her home. The person who placed the bet knew my Great-Grandfather, and thought Grandma wouldn't go with a strange boy. Grandpa won the bet. They were married two weeks after her 18th birthday. Grandpa said she was the pretty farm girl.
I've always thought both Grandmothers were exceptional women, which made them beautiful to me, and finding their pictures showed that they were beautiful inside and out.
I didn't really gave much thought to this either, but looking at pic's of my granny now I have to see she was a gorgeous woman. The fashion back then still cracks me up though.
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