This my grandpa. Born in Ukraine, he eventually settled in New Jersey after WWII. . During the war, he fought in the Soviet Red Army against the Nazis. . The Nazis were bombing a train that my grandmother was on, and she was having difficulty helping her father evacuate. That’s when a handsome, mustachioed soldier […]
Proof of the prettiest smile ever. . This is a Marshall University sorority photo of my mother, Jane Costanzo, at the age of 19 in 1964. . My mother has had many accomplishments across her lifetime that I can recall. As a child, for example, being the diligent Girl Scout that she was, she practiced […]
Grandma. She’s the little girl standing front and center in the first photo. She just turned 95. . She likes to tell us that the family looks like share croppers in this picture. She was raised in Kansas and grew up during the Great Depression. One of her favorite stories to tell is about raising […]
I just found this Polaroid of my family’s house in the Bronx with my grandmother and my uncle Gypsy on the porch. So many memories here, some of my best. . I was just telling someone about the time we had a cookout in the fenced-in area with a TV facing out of the bottom […]
This lovely lady is 91 years young today! . Every year on her birthday she would be presented with a peony from this garden. . On her necklace is a basketball shaped charm, a gift from her steady fella at the time, captain of the team. When this snapshot was taken, she was 16 years […]
I’ve been a nature girl all my life. . Despite growing up in a big city, I feel like I am most at home when I’m exploring nature. . My first trail “hike” was at four months old, tucked in a carrier on my dad’s back. He carried me up to the top of Vernal […]
My Mom, circa 1975, just hanging out and reading Josephus. My Mom Leona Jean Graff Randell Wells has always been one to do her own thing. This shot was taken in our living room in Anchorage, Alaska. She’s probably 28, has 3 kids and is reading Josephus. Most likely, she’s taking a break from painting […]
Easter Sunday. Way before the days of Frozen and mass-market Princess everything, my mother bought this Alice in Wonderland dress while we were on vacation in Disney World. I was about 7 or 8 and it was a BIG purchase only worn on special occasions…this was no plastic costume! There was a petticoat and a […]
My grandmother and great-grandmother out for what I believe to have been a mothers’ day dinner circa 1960-something. Grandma laughed often, but was typically more self conscious in front of a camera. This glimpse of her at ease is an unusual moment in our family photos! It is from my grandmother that I inherited my […]
My mom was diagnosed and hospitalized with schizophrenia when I was very young. She remained hospitalized until passing away 10 years ago. I didn’t know her as well as I would have liked, well not in the traditional sense, but I knew her well through stories shared in my family. The few childhood memories I […]
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