I'm pretty sure this was taken after Easter Mass on Sunday, March 29, 1959, in the backyard of my maternal grandmother's farm. I had just turned seven years old about a week earlier. I'm the oldest one squinting into the sun. My sister Debbie would turn five in April, Kerry would turn four in October and Steve would turn three in September. And my baby sister Theresa would be born at the end of May 1959.
That was a time when everyone wore their "Sunday best" to church and women and girls were required to cover their head with a hat or chapel veil (and sometimes as silly as it sounds...a kleenex or hankie if no hat was available). That was also a time when most businesses like gas stations, grocery stores, department stores and liquor stores were closed on Sundays. It was a time before big discount stores existed and most grocery stores were "mom and pop" shops. Some restaurants were open on Sundays. My dad managed one and almost always had to work on Easter Sunday and all other holidays except Christmas.
And so you see our new clothes we wore for the first time that year to Easter Mass and would wear every Sunday thereafter until the weather got cold. Our next new set of Sunday clothes were brought to us by Santa on Christmas. I think my dress and duster was a light purple and my sister's was pink. Looks like I was showing off my fancy white gloves and purse. And don't you love my Easter bonnet!
I don't remember any Easter baskets. I don't think we ever got one. Maybe no one did back then? I think we dyed eggs a few times with food coloring, hot water and a teaspoon of vinegar. I remember once that dad told me to use a white crayon and to write my name on the egg before dipping it. Oh, I thought it was magic when my name resisted the dye and showed up in white!
I only had Easter themed scraps enough for four little ticky tackies.
I think those scraps are left over from making Easter baskets for the grand kids over the years.
And that makes 254 little ticky tacky houses. I still need lots more. Memories will be written on the back of the quilt.
Happy Easter from Ticky Tacky Town!
12 comments:
your photo brings back memories - we too dressed up for Easter Sunday and had to wear a hat or veil of some sort for Mass - we did get Easter baskets but not a lot was in them as we had a super large family - jelly beans mainly and eggs a piece of chocolate. Kids now days are so spoiled! big designer type baskets but then much more spoiled for all holidays now aren't they
i think many of us relive our own past easters thru your blog post...i actually resurrected an old easter photo on my blog as well...life was so much simpler and defined then...sigh...
Lovely Easter memories. We had new dresses, white sandals and lace gloves for the Church anniversary every June. We paraded through the streets beforehand and did three performances of our concert (anthems, hymns and poems) three times: morning, afternoon and evening. From the age of five I always sang a solo. More of those pretty Ticky Tacky houses. How many will you need to make a quilt?
Indeed you post does bring back memories of Easters in the past. I too always had a new dress, shoes, and gloves. I didn't have anything new today, but I did enjoy the choir's beautiful music presentation this morning, and the pastor's sermon. Thanks for sharing your memories with us. ---"Love"
We didn't get 'baskets' - our chocolate bunny and jelly beans usually came in a sand pail or a sun hat. Something practical, in other words. (Like Mom made our Halloween costumes each year out of flannel, which became that winter's pajamas. She was very into practical...)
When I saw the date of your picture, it took me back to my wedding day. It was the day before Easter, the 28th, that year, so mom and dad used all the new clothes that was bought for the wedding to wear for Easter, too. I remember my brothers even had new dress hats. From inside to the outside, all was new. :-)
What an adorable photo. I remember wearing a hat and gloves to church. Loved my hats and wish we still wore them. We had Easter baskets but mainly to collect the eggs. I never thought of making fabric baskets. Yours are so clever. Perhaps I should make some for my grandchildren.
I can remember a similar photo with my brother on Easter morning in brand new duds in the backyard of my paternal grandparents' 'Mom n Pop' grocery store. We did get Easter baskets with jelly bean and a chocolate rabbit or lamb and we searched for the dyed hard-boiled eggs. I did start some ticky tacky house blocks (they are fun), but didn't think to do any Easter ones. Maybe next week, in between prepping for a quilt retreat.
Pat
I love your Easter memories. We weren’t a church-going family, but we did gather as an extended family for Easter Sunday. We always wore fancy new clothes, too, probably until things became casual in the early seventies. We never had Easter baskets either, but usually got a chocolate bunny or a fancy big chocolate egg with our name on it from the grandparents. The Easter bunny just came to hide eggs in the house. Our family gathering always included traditional Easter food (ham, deviled eggs) and some traditional Hungarian dishes too. And we always went for a long after-dinner walk as a group.
I remember talking about Easter dresses, but have no memory of the dresses themselves. My old photos show me in what are clearly that year's dress, but I was never focused on clothing. Much to my mother's disappointment! She still is a clothes horse, will multiple closets full of barely or never worn items. Meanwhile, I find something that works and hunt it down on eBay for years after I've worn it to rags :)
And yet, quilting fabric delights me! Go figure.
This is a GREAT post. I'm pretty sure I've never seen a picture of me taken on Easter. Actually I don't remember ANY photos taken until I got older and I took them. I do remember my uncle giving me a Brownie camera one year but I have no idea how old I was. Now we have so many digital pictures. But I love to make books at Chatbooks to give. And mugs with favorite pictures to give as gifts.
I'm pretty sure I never thought of making the kids fabric Easter baskets. What a great idea. I get my inspiration from friends so thank you!
Thanks for bringing back memories.
xx, Carol
We always had a new dress for Easter, too. One year my grandmother made matching dotted swiss dresses for my sister and I. We kids did not wear gloves, but my mother did. Bonnets were optional - but I usually had a new one for my daughter until she resisted wearing them at around eight. I remember hunting eggs (plastic by then) in the house and front lawn. There were usually a couple we didn't find for several months. Sandy at sewhigh.blogspot.com
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