It's Memorial Day

It's one of the days on which we honor those who served our country, 

including two generations of the Smith and Bierbaum families. 

Alice's note on the back of this photo of Elwood G. and his nephew is 

"Raymond and his Uncle El." 

Taken in or around 1917

 A generation later, there was new war. 

Here is "Brother Joe."  

No date

Here is my old man as a very young one, in his uniform. Photo is circa 1942. 

After he died, we found the buttons from that coat in his dresser drawer. 

Elwood J. hated the army, but he saved the buttons.

3 Men & a Baby—3 Girls & a Soldier

Three men and a baby: Elwood G., baby Elwood J., Alice's brother Bob, Raymond (Elwood G.'s nephew), and ?? It was most likely taken in 1926.

Baby El, on the same outing. Though Kathy and Betty suspect it really was Bob's little girl.

 Three gals and a soldier: Alice as at far left. Likely taken in 1917.

Frolicking swimmers at Lake Nelson

Elwood G. Smith, Doughboy

My mother, Ellen, just sent me a photo album that my father, Elwood J., put together in the late 1940s. The photos cover 1942-1948— the end of his high school years, his army training, his stint in Alaska during World War II, and home life after he returned, including his sister Betty's wedding. With this album were a handful of other photos--beautiful studio portraits of Alice in her 60s, my father as a boy, and this one of his father Elwood G., most likely dating from 1917. I am pretty sure that my father only acquired this photo after Alice's death in 1999. I include it here because it's from the time period of Alice's album. Alice and Elwood G. married in 1924. 

I never met Elwood G. He died years before I was born, and the few stories I heard made him out to be a tough guy who didn't suffer fools and could throw a sharp punch. Grandma Alice said that the war changed him profoundly. Here, he is still a young man with a lifetime ahead of him.

Bob, El, and Gramp, 1922

Bob Bierbaum, Alice's older brother, with Elwood G. and "Gramp" in 1922

May, 1922

Best guess: These photos are from a Memorial Day outing. 

Elwood G., Bobbie, and Alice's mother Mary Bierbaum, out for a ride. What a great car!

 Penciled in next to their names--"May 1922."

 See any familiar faces? 

The Honeymoon Continues

Here are some more of Alice's honeymoon photos, from 1924. They don't reveal much and are terribly faded. Elwood G. must have been camera shy—there are no photos of him. He must not have liked to take photos either, as there are no photos of his young bride. But I know that Alice enjoyed herself on the trip. She was in her 90s when she mentioned her honeymoon to me. She said very little but had a far-away look in her eye and a special smile as she recalled it. That's how honeymoons should be. 

-L

Honeymoon Photos

There are no wedding photos in the album or among the loose photos in my collection, but I found a little envelope marked "Pictures Taken on Our Honeymoon 1924." I remember hearing that Elwood and Alice went south for their honeymoon, but there are no markings on the photos--and no familiar faces in the photos. Wherever they went, the woods were piney and the roads were unpaved.

-L