Lottie's Photos: Life Long Friendships, 1939

Ed, Lottie, Rosemary, Mickey and Don

This photo was taken in 1939 and shows dad, mom Rosemary Garrity, Mickey Risoli and probably Don, the man that Mickey dated until she joined the W.A.V.E.S. during World War II. One of the qualities I most admired in my mother is how easily she made friends and how dedicated she was to maintaining those friendships for the rest of their lives. Mickey was clearly mom’s best friend. They met in grammar school and actively cultivated their friendship until Mickey died.

Early on mom, Mickey and Rosemary did things together. More than once they hiked all the way to Castro Valley, mom took both of them to spend time at her Uncle Henry’s cabin in Ben Lomand, and on August 7, 1936 the three of them went to Chinatown in San Francisco and then to the Golden Gate Theater for a movie. Then something happened in 1938 and mom spent less time with Rosemary but she continued to spend time with Mickey regularly. On November 24, 1939 they both skipped work and went to watch the big game between UC Berkeley and Stanford University – the Bears won the game. For New Year's Eve that same year mom, dad, Mickey and Don all went to the Alta Mira club to celebrate and they didn’t get home until 3 AM.

Mom and Mickey cut school together when they were 16, they went to the movies at the Paramount theater, and wrote letters to each other when mom went to Ben Lomand or Brookdale, and when mom was away on her honeymoon.

Mom and Rosemary also did things together without Mickey. They went to the garden show and movies at the Paramount in Oakland and the Warfield in San Francisco. Rosemary helped mom with her biology and geometry homework in high school. One time after hiking to Lake Chabot mom got a bad case of poison oak and Rosemary brought her some medicine. She also brought mom’s homework home to her. One thing I hadn’t known until reading mom’s diary is that Rosemary was not a native-born US citizen. On January 9, 1941 Rosemary asked mom to go with her when she filled out the paperwork to be naturalized. A few days later mom attended her naturalization ceremony.

Rosemary and Mickey both attended UC Berkeley after high school. Mickey became an elementary school teacher and Rosemary was a nurse who worked in Florida for a time and then moved to Alaska to work as a nurse. Neither Mickey nor Rosemary ever married but Mickey spend most of her life in a relationship with Nellie Smith.

Lottie's Photos: Dad's 1938 Chrysler

Dad's brand new 1938 Chrysler. Mom sure looks stylish in that dress and dad too
in his three-piece suit.

On April 1^st 1938 mom wrote in her diary that dad owned a 1936 Chevrolet but he wanted to buy a Chrysler. That day she had worked at H.C. Capwells but she didn’t say in what department. She worked at Capwells part time for a few years – sometimes in the toy department, at other times in accessories, and sometimes doing inventory. After work she went to the German House in Oakland – a place she frequently went to dance, drink and meet boys. She went with dad and two of her Menge cousins – Marion and Agnus. They left the German House he took her to Sam’s and didn’t bring her home until 2:15 in the morning. She’d forgotten her keys and had to wake up her mother to get into the house.

On April 5^th dad, Bert and Lorraine, who was Bert’s girlfriend at the time, picked up mom in his brand new 1938 Chrysler sedan. He drove them to Richmond, Berkeley, and all over. They had milkshakes and got home at 11:30.

Three days later they went out again. They drove up to the top of 35^th Avenue in Oakland and parked – which she underlined! Then they went for a banana split and he brought her home at 11:45. Before he left, he made another date for Tuesday and suggested that they break up because he thought it would be easier to forget about her now rather than later. But mom said, "she didn’t want to break up."

Lottie's Photos: School Photo, 1925

Mom did not take this photo but it was in her first photo album with the photos she took between January 1938 and October 1949. This is one of three grammar school photos I have. Mom labeled it McKinley School, San Leandro, February 1925 so she would have been five years old and in kindergarten. She is standing in the back row fourth from the left. This is one of very few photos of her with straight hair because she always had it permed. What is written in the lower right corner says 1466 T.C.W. Co. 251 Post, SF. That no doubt is the name and address of the photo shop that took and printed the photo. Terry also attended McKinley for grammar school.

Mom graduated from San Leandro High School on January 22, 1937. After that she attended Merritt College sporadically taking fashion design and business classes. She babysat during high school for spending money and continued to babysit after graduating. In addition, she was doing a lot of consignment sewing. She had a large clientele of women customers who hired her to make formals, dresses, skirts, slips, jackets and do alterations. Her existing clients would introduce her to new clients. She was constantly sewing. On some days she wrote about working on four or five different projects and she was regularly having women come to the house for fittings – sometimes multiple times a day. She earned between $1 and $6.50 for making these clothes for her clients. On November 10th she wrote, “I sewed from 9 AM to 10 PM tonight and am I tired. I finished Dixies formal, Mrs. Neall’s navy-blue dress, Connie’s skirt and put the lining in her jacket. Dixie came over tonight and brought me a new customer Mrs. Wickman who wants a formal made in size 42.”  

Lottie's Photos: Proud Grandparents, 1942

 

Terry was three months old when this photo was taken in June of 1942. Mom wrote in her diary “Terry gets cuter every day.” He’s being held by his paternal grandparents, Lewis and Anna Pattillo. When mom and dad were courting and first married, they spent a lot of time with both sets of parents seeing them essentially every week. They had dinners together, Dad went over to help his parents with all kinds of tasks, and he seemed to prefer to work on his car at his folks’ home.

I was surprised to read how early and how frequently mom left Terry with Gramma Thornally to babysit, and sometimes dad took him to his parents to watch him. Once when Mom and Dad wanted to go out with friends, they asked Gramma T to watch Terry. Gramma and Grandpa were planning to spend the weekend at Brookdale, so they took Terry with them.

They also spent every major holiday with one or both sets of parents and with Dad’s brother Bert. Sometimes they’d have dinner at one household and then go visit the other. At other times the combined family gathered for holiday dinners and other celebrations. Sometimes these events also included the Anglemyers – Marge’s parents.

Lottie's Photos: Terry's Birth, 1942

 

This photo was taken when Terry was 18 days old.
Clearly, Dad was very proud of his son.

Mom first wrote in her diary that she thought she might be pregnant on July 22, 1941. My brother Terry was born after 13 hours of labor and weighed 9 pounds 5 ounces. Dr. Mell who delivered Terry said that “Terry was so big he was ready for school.” Months later Mom wrote that Terry never seemed helpless like her friend Ronnie’s infant girl.

Mickey Risoli agreed to be Terry’s godmother – a Catholic tradition and she filled that role until she died. She always gave Terry birthday and Christmas gifts and sent him birthday cards every year. I was always a bit jealous because Dorothy Menge, my godmother attended my christening but seemed to forget about me after that. I think the same was true for my sister Kathy.

As soon as Terry was born our father was determined to buy a house and not live in a rented home. He and mom started shopping for a house immediately and first saw their future home on Elsie Avenue in San Leandro on April 16^th, 1942 just one month after Terry was born. They finalized the purchase on April 19^th and soon moved in. They put $750 down and their monthly payments were $36 – that’s about what I pay to subscribe to the newspaper these days. The house cost $5250.

Terry was christened on May 10^th. All the family attended the event, particularly Mom’s Menge relations. Mom said he behaved perfectly during the ceremony.

When he was born, he had an umbilical hernia. The recommended treatment was to put a penny over the belly button and tape it in place. Mom never mentioned this again so I guess it worked.

Lottie's Photos: Dad's 26th Birthday, 1939

 

Dad turned 26 on May 10^th in 1939. Surprisingly, mom didn’t write anything about his having a birthday party in her diary but she did caption this photo so I know who was there. In the back row left to right is Don, who Mickey Risoli dated for quite a while before she enlisted in the W.A.V.E.S. during World War II. Mickey, one of Mom’s oldest and dearest friends, is next to Don. Then Doris Low, Dad’s cousin in the printed dress. The couple on the right are Dorothy and Harold Hale. They’re friends I don’t know anything about.

Leonard Low, Dad’s cousin is in the lower left next to Dad. Doris and Leonard were the children of Mary Vetter and Fred Low. Mary was Gramma Pattillo’s sister. Then Bert and Marge, Dad’s brother and his girlfriend. You can see they were wearing party hats. Mom did write about many other parties she planned or attended and they always played games for entertainment, ate and typically had a lot to drink. I don’t know for sure but imagine this photo was taken inside Lewis and Anna’s home. In 1940 Lewis and Anna lived at 1310 39^th Avenue in Oakland. Probably they were at the same address in 1939.

Lottie's Photos: Brothers and Their Gals, Brookdale, 1939

Ed and Lottie, Unknown friend, and Bert and Marge

Dad was always close to his brother Bert. They shared a bedroom as boys and were always helping each other with projects like fixing each other’s cars. Later in life they helped each other with projects at their homes. Bert poured the concrete driveway at Mom and Dad’s Elsie home and he hauled a load of manure in his pickup for Dad’s garden. They went hunting and fishing together with their father, and years later after they’d both married they continued to take hunting trips together. As young men they took their girls on dates together – dinner, dancing, movies, stock car races, and on July 14^th of 1938 they went to the Fleishhacker Zoo in San Francisco and then to see the ice follies.

This photo was taken on June 21st at Brookdale – the vacation home Grandpa Thornally owned near Santa Cruz. Mom and Dad invited Bert and Marge to spend the weekend there. I don’t know who the man in the middle is but it might be one of dad’s cousins. Mom wrote in her diary that she and Marge stayed up till 4 AM talking. Marge told her that Bert was just as passionate as Dad and that she and Bert were planning to go to Reno to get married in October.

Lottie's Photos: Ed & Lottie, Trip to Brentwood, 1938

 

Dad and his family used to visit his cousins Elma, Jeanette, Patsy, Corrine and James, his Aunt Jo and her husband Carl Miller a couple of times a year. The first time Dad took Mom to Brentwood was on March 27, 1938. Mom wrote that there were fourteen family members for lunch in a small home. Everyone welcomed her and “treated me grand”. When they got back to the Pattillo home that evening Gramma served ice cream and showed Mom some of Dad’s baby photos.

They visited their Brentwood family again in August. What most impressed mom were the peaches, nectarines and honey-dew melons that Jo sent home with them. Mom remembered those peaches and mentioned them for the rest of her life.

In this photo they are sitting on the bumper of Dad’s 1936 Chevrolet. The photo was taken at Jo’s home. Mom is looking very stylish in that suit – no doubt another of her creations.

Lottie's Photos: The Whole Family, July 4, 1939

John, Ray, Loie, Lewis, Anna, Emma, Marge, Bert and Ed

I've always loved this photo because everyone is in it. Starting on the left, that’s John Roger Thornally my maternal grandfather. He is holding a pipe. I wonder if that’s the reason I’ve always liked the smell of pipe tobacco. Grandpa died right after my 5^th birthday but I spent a lot of time at Gramma and Grandpa’s house so I remember him. I remember being in his basement with him which was kinda spooky and I remember going to his funeral which frightened me.

The couple next to Grandpa are Marge’s parents Loie and Ray Anglemyer. They were at Bert and Marge’s home when we went there for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners.

Next are my paternal grandparents Lewis and Anna Pattillo. Looks like Lewis has a pipe too. Anna is wearing a dark dress with a lighter pattern. I used to call her Polka-Dot Grandma because I had difficulty keeping my two grandmothers sorted out. Anna has her arm looped through Gramma T’s (Emma’s) arm who is standing next to her.

Bert and Marge are standing between Emma and Dad. Dad is the tall, handsome one on the right. No wonder mom fell in love with him. Mom took the photo two and a half months before she and Dad were married. The car was probably Dad’s.

Mom and Dad met on January 14, 1938 when Mom was eighteen. That night she wrote this in her diary. “I went to the German House with Mollie and danced with Vern. Then I danced the rest of the set with Ed Pattillo and he brought me home. He has a swell car, and is 24 years old. He wants to see me again but I’m not very interested.” Hum, guess she changed her mind about Ed Pattillo.

Lottie's Photos: Ed & Lottie, July 4th 1938

Ed Pattillo and Lottie Thornally at Mary and Fred Low's in Fresno, CA for the 4th of July

When Dad bought mom her first camera for Christmas in 1937 he couldn’t possibly have known that she would spend the rest of their lives together documenting our family history in photographs. When this photo was taken on the 4^th of July in 1938. Dad had invited Mom to meet his extended family who were living in Fresno.

On July 2^nd Mom wrote, “Ed and Burt and his father came for me at 2:00 PM. We got to Fresno about 6:00 PM. Met Ed’s Aunt Mary, Uncle Fred, cousins Leonard age 17 and Doris age 20, and her friend Leo. Had dinner and then drove around Fresno. Came back to her house and decided to go to a little Chinese place and have pork chow mein and danced to a nickelodeon until 11:30 PM. Then had cantaloupe a-la-mode at the drugstore where Leo works. When we got back Ed’s other Aunt Kate and her boyfriend Ben were there from Los Angeles. Nobody likes her.”

The following day, “Got up about 7:15. Ed took me to 8:00 mass. We weren’t hungry for breakfast. Ed’s Aunt Kate fought with her sisters Mary and Anna (Ed’s mother) all day long. Doris showed Ed and I all over Fresno. She took us through the park (that would have been Roeding Park which I worked on 64 years later). Had fried chicken for lunch. About 7:00 Ed and I, and Doris and Leo took blankets out to the park and laid there till 10:30 PM. Ed and I were alone most of the time. Was that fun! Had ice cream served at the car and got home about midnight. The weather is perfect.”

Then on the 4^th of July they, “Got up about 8:00. Had breakfast and later on ice cream. Took pictures of everyone. Ed and I, and Burt and Mr. and Mrs. Pattillo, and Leo’s brother Eddie left Fresno at 1:30. Had supper at Ed’s house and then went to see fireworks. Couldn’t park near the lake (that would be Lake Merritt in Oakland) so we went into the hills. On the way home, Ed spanked me until I said I would marry him. He said, “You little bum could you put up with this son of a gun for the rest of your life?” And I said I could if he wanted a bum.”

So, this photograph was probably taken at Mary and Fred Low’s home in Fresno. Mom and Dad both look very happy. Dad has thick, wavy hair and is wearing suspenders, polished dress shoes, a tie and tie clip – pretty fancy. It looks like he has a wedding ring on but that makes no sense. No doubt mom made the dress she is wearing since she sewed almost all of her clothes then and for the rest of her life. Interesting that she parted her hair in the middle and had it permed.