Today is my mom’s birthday. That’s her above. I would guess she was in her mid to late 20s. It was before I was born.
I’ve been thinking a lot about this lately, considering preparations for the centenary of her birth. One of the mysteries about my mom is that we don’t really know the year she was born. It might have been 1921. It might have been 1922. It might have been 1923. “Check her birth certificate” you might suggest. I have official birth certificates for her showing each of those dates. So, had she lived, this might have been her 99th birthday. Or it might have been her 97th. We’ll probably never know for sure.
My mom was almost literally “born in a trunk”. She was born in St. Joseph, Missouri while her parents were performing there. Within days she was on stage and I have photos of her as an infant and toddler performing and a copy of her first contract and the first dollar she ever earned performing.
She had a hard childhood. For her first several years she lived in hotels all over the U. S. She sometimes said that when she was a kid she thought that all food came with tin covers over the plates.
She probably wouldn’t appreciate my sharing this but I will. After her parents split up, she was shuffled back between them, sometimes living with her mom, sometimes her dad, sometimes her dad’s brother’s family, sometimes her dad’s sister’s family. I believe that the 1921 birth certificate was one her mom or dad obtained so he (or she) could put her in school during the day. Her first school was Shenandoah School in St. Louis. I’ll write more about this later.
I’ll probably celebrate next year as her centenary but if the pandemic is still in full swing I may defer the commemoration for a few years.
You’re right, she wouldn’t have shared much about this…She was “fostered out†to so many relatives households. It made her the vibrant person she was I believe. She always made a point to tell me she felt loved. Different households had differing capacities to care for her. The most beloved Aunt Belle was a frequent memory. Any more info about the extraordinary Aunt Belle?
You’re right, she wouldn’t have shared much about this…She was “fostered out†to so many relatives’ households. It made her the vibrant person she was I believe. And made her an ardent Our Little Haven supporter. She always made a point to tell me she felt loved. Different households had differing capacities to care for her through the years. The most beloved Aunt Belle was a frequent memory. Any more info about the extraordinary Aunt Belle?
Not much, sadly. What Mama said, I remember. Aunt Belle was a country woman and made all of their own jams, jellies, breads, etc. Mama spoke very fondly of her. That’s pretty much it. I’ve got as much as I know about her background in our tree at Ancestry.com