Sunday, October 28, 2012

Happy Birthday Mom

Well, I have done it again.  This is nothing new, it happened every year when I was in college . . . I forgot my mother's birthday.  In college, we always seemed to have our first round of tests at the same time as her birthday and, despite my best intentions, I forgot it every single year.  I am such a terrible daughter*.  This year I intended to write a blog post about my mother for her birthday, but instead I forgot . . . again.

Mom would have been 88 years old on October 22 if she were still alive.  She died in 1996 of lung cancer.  She was from a generation besotted by Hollywood and glamour, and, at the time, it was glamorous to smoke.  She lived in the Garfield Park area of Chicago, her father was a movie theater manager, she attended Resurrection grade school and graduated from Providence High School (all girls)in 1942. World War II began her senior year.  She was splashy, sassy, and taller than most of the girls in her class.

Life had many hard knocks in store for mom; but here is a belated photo tribute to Gloria Kennelly . . . the early years.

Gloria is in the middle row, third from the right.  The occasion is unknown.


Gloria, about age 13, with younger brother Eddie




Sitting on the front porch railing with her cousin and a friend


Even in the 1940's, the pose was everything!




Happy birthday, Mom - late as usual!

  *Please note: I am from the guilty generation of women . . . our parents made us feel guilty that we weren't better children, society scolded us that we weren't better parents, and churches always made everyone feel guilty. If we stayed at home to take care of our children we were dull and lazy, but if we went to work, then we didn't care about our children and were selfish.  Guilt rained down upon the women of my generation daily.

9 comments:

  1. Marget, I gotta say that first photo of the little girls in identical hats is priceless! It's too bad you can't learn a little more about the performance -- dance, singing, etc...

    Your mom was definitely glamorous! Thanks for sharing and happy birthday to her (a few days late).

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    1. Okay, typo! I meant "Margel." Sorry.

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    2. Nancy, I appreciate the comment and often these days I'm not sure who I am either!

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  2. I'm sure your mom wouldn't mind if you were a little late with such a sweet tribute to her, Margel. The photos are priceless--the first one reminds me of Kewpie dolls!-- and I love the poses. She looks like she had quite a sense for fashion. Thanks for sharing!

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    1. Shelly-
      I wondered if the Kewpie dolls photo wasn't part of a stage production that my grandfather "placed" his daughter in. He was the manager of the Studebaker Theater in Chicago at the time. Ahhh, now I notice that all of the girls are wearing make-up . . . they wouldn't do that for a school production. More research ahead.

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  3. Those are great photos, Margel. I love her skates.

    Dee

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    1. Dee, I'll bet it was a trick to skate on those Chicago sidewalks.

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  5. Hey, Margel,
    As we've mentioned before, we grew up just a few miles from each other on Washington Blvd. -- and boy! Does that front porch, the cement pillars, the buildings -- all look so familiar. Was this a greystone? i can't tell in the photos. Belated & posthumous congrats to your mom on her birthday. It was such a great old neighborhood! Our building had virtually the same cement "bannister" down the sides of the steps and similar pillars.

    Nice to see this.

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