The weather was cool and rainy, so I decided it was a good time to go through another old photo album to pull some pictures of good memories. The year is 1982, when Ted’s parents celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. Here is their wedding portrait and their anniversary photo. Look at that wedding veil! All that fabric on the floor is her veil, not the train of her dress. I knit the doily the pictures are standing on as a gift to Mom one year.

The celebration began with a dinner at the church. Dad was ill and hospitalized at the time of the anniversary party. He couldn’t be at the dinner with Mom, but her sisters sat beside her for the meal–Verna on the left (below) and Leona on the right.

After the dinner, Dad was released from the hospital for a few hours to be with the family at home. We took a few pictures while Dad was at home. Here is the anniversary couple.

I don’t have any pictures of Mom and Dad with their children–Ted and his siblings–or their grandchildren, but I do have photos of Mom and Dad with their siblings. Here’s Dad with his sister, Marcella; his brother, Bob (behind Cella); and his brother, John (right).

Of course, the next picture is Mom with her siblings: her brother, Clinton; and her sisters, Leona (center) and Verna (right), sitting beside her.

Just for fun, here’s a picture of the three girls, circa 1912. Left to right, it’s Mom, Verna, and Leona. Those are big hair bows. It looks like Verna and Leona have identical skirts, blouses, shoes, and hairstyles. All three girls have similar necklaces and Loella’s hair and clothes are similar, if not identical to her older sisters’. So pretty!

Returning to 1982, Mom’s wedding dress didn’t fit her after 50 years, but it fit Lisa, her granddaughter, so Lisa modeled it for us.

When we finished taking photos, there was visiting, cake, and more food for everyone. Two of the grandchildren admired the cake and were probably hoping to have a piece ASAP. That’s Kari (4) and Kathy (9).

During that same summer visit to Wisconsin, there was also some kind of celebration with my parents, but I can’t remember what it was. The only significant date in that time period was my mother’s 60th birthday, but we have no pictures of a cake or presents, so I don’t know if that was the special event or if it was just an opportunity for the entire family to be together. While we were all dressed up (after church?) we took pictures. The first photo below shows the entire family. Left to right are Tom and Jo; then Ted and me with our kids; Steve (still single) in the red shirt; Russ and Betsy (dating, but not engaged until six months later); Grandpa L; Bev with her children, Eric and Cheryl (her husband, my brother Denny, died 5 years earlier); and Mom and Dad.

We took a picture of Mom and Dad and a picture of them with their children (me and my siblings). Back in the days of film, we couldn’t check to see if my eyes were closed or if Steve was looking at the camera. Photos like this give us things to laugh about later.

Then we took individual photos of each of us kids. Ted had glasses with photochromic lenses that went from clear to dark in bright light, so he looks like he’s wearing sunglasses in all of our outdoor pictures during the time he had those glasses.

While we were all dressed up, someone (probably my dad) took a photo of Ted and me with our children. I sewed the girls’ matching Strawberry Shortcake dresses.

Grandma wanted a picture with her granddaughter, Kari. If the lilacs and the snowball bush were blooming, this is around Memorial Day.

After the photo shoot session, it was time to change into informal clothes and have some fun. My dad joined the sibling chorus line in the back yard. I assume my mom took the picture.

Then Grandpa took Tommy and Jeff to the mill pond and taught them how to fish.

It looks like June 1982 gave us a chance to be with all of our family members for some good times and good memories.