Mary Louise Eklund

Category: Throwback Thursday

  • Monday Memories – 1908 Ship Postcard

    ship postcard front
    Ship Postcard Front
    ship postcard back
    Postcard message side Postmark 1908

    Hi, no I didn’t die. I have been dealing with a move, broken foot,  Mom’s broken leg, and connectivity issues in the country. Despite all of that I’m back and getting on schedule again.

    Let’s do another postcard from the past. This one hails from 1908. There are few things I liked about this one. First, the amount of message the person squeezed onto this single card. Second, it was sent from Springs Tennessee to Corryton Tennessee but it has a cruise ship on it. Thirdly, there is writing on the face. Fourthly, it is responding to an apology which is intriguing. So all these neat quirky features along with the fact it’s over 100 years old made it one I added to my collection to share with you. (more…)

  • Throwback Thursday – In My Easter Bonnet

    Bright, Mary Louise Easter hat

    Mom tells me all the frills upon it were tissue paper… she made this for me. Oh well I loved it and still love the photos from it…. I mean it’s the only Easter bonnet I think I had.

  • Throwback Thursday – Easter Morning Waking to Candy Baskets

    Eklund Mike and Mark 1974 Easter Carthage NY

    This Mike and his brother Mark on Easter Morning 1974 in Carthage New York.

  • Throwback Thursday – Molly McCravey Bright

    Mary McCravey

    Keeping on the great grandmother portraits here is my father’s paternal grandmother Mary “Molly” Rebecca McCravey Bright. The unique thing I think is her father was a Confederate veteran. She married Thomas Bright in 1895 (about the time of this picture) whose father was a Union veteran. She lost her husband in a horrid farming accident when my grandfather was a young boy.

  • Throwback Thursday – My Snowman and Me

    Bright, Mary Louise in snow with brown knit hat (2)

    Let me say that growing up I didn’t have a lot of experiences with snow. That would come when I lived in upstate New York, Michigan, and Wisconsin. Just doesn’t happen south of the Mason Dixon line. But there were times we got what we thought was a lot (several inches). I tried to do what I’d seen in books with it but in the end it was never as fun as the movies. There they don’t seem to mind it’s wet and cold. Here I made one of the few snowmen in my life. Good thing I was only four as there wasn’t enough snow to make an adult size one. But I look like I’m having fun…. then (more…)

  • Throwback Thursday – Ollie Belle Hicks Rolen, my great grandmother

    Hicks Rolen, Ollie Belle wedding picture crop

    This is another of my great-grandmothers. We each have four, two from our mother and two from our father. This is my mother’s paternal grandmother or as we liked to call her Granny Rolen. No she’s not unhappy it’s just what we called for years the Rolen mouth, turns down in a frown when resting but after some genealogy research found out it’s the MacMahan mouth. Ollie was a strong woman.  She took care of her husband for years after a stroke left him an invalid. She raised her children alone getting temporary residence to send them to better schools. She lost a child to untreated asthma, doing all they could for the girl. She was living when I was young and I remember her well. She was a fun woman that loved to garden and show children how things worked. Of course when I knew her she was an old lady not the young bride she is here. This was her wedding day. For years I’d see just this photo but finally we turned up the other half with her husband Milas Lavator Rolen. Here it is uncropped and not cleaned up: (more…)

  • Throwback Thursday – Short Skirts and TVs in Cabinets

    Bright, Mary Louise photo from brown photo album (8)

    That is me in about 1969. Yes the miniskirt was in full swing and I was hip to it. This was our home on Jennifer Street in Greeneville Tennessee. That TV there was black and white. It had two click dials one for VHF and one for UHF. We had cable that gave us five channels – ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS and the riveting local data channel. This consisted of a wall with a clock, thermometer, day and date in a flip calendar, barometric pressure, and a board with weather conditions (cloud, sun, rain, snow flake stuck on a felt board) The exciting thing about it was there was a camera set up to pan over these in the line at a very slow. It was one for 24 hours seven days a week! You didn’t have to call time and temperature just turn to the channel and wait for the pan. The clock up there was made by my grandmother or my mom. I remember there was a bunch of bananas on it and one was black. I have the clock now, it doesn’t work but still reminds me of a time when cable was five channels and miniskirts were the best style going.

  • Thursday Throwback – Me and My Hair Hat

    Bright, Mary Louise furry hat in the snow (5)

    Okay two things to clear up here. First the date Apr 71 is when the film was processed not when we had snow in Greeneville, TN that year.
    Second that’s not my hair on top of my head – it’s my hair hat. That’s what I’ve always thought of it as being. If you look my hair is down on my shoulders there. I loved that hat, warm, cool style, and had a magnetic chin clasp. What more could a girl want?

  • Throwback Thursday – Ida Rogers

    Ida Alberta Rogers(1)

    Meet one of my maternal great-grandmothers. This is Ida Alberta Rogers Temple Keener (1881-1963). We think this is about the time she married my maternal great-grandfather in 1904. She has such a pretty Gibson Girl look that is truly a Throwback.

    Happy New Year! Enjoy celebrating safely tonight!

  • Throwback Thursday – Time Machine Snowman

    Happy Holidays!
    Happy Holidays!

    My family had a plastic snowman similar to this one when I was growing up. When I saw this one on a walk back in 2006 I had a rush of throwback memories of ours. This one has a candy cane ours had a broom. So here’s a throwback to 2006 that threw me back to 1968.

    Today is Christmas Eve at our house. We’re getting ready for a big meal tomorrow and opening presents. Then will be the trip south to visit family. I hope whatever holiday you celebrate you are having a great one.