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Tag: 1940s

Best All Around in ’46

Best All Around in ’46

Remember when Bill Clinton was running for president and this picture went public of him as a teenager, shaking hands with President John Kennedy? Well, that was during an annual event called Boys Nation. It was (and still is) sponsored by the American Legion. My dad attended the very first gathering back in August of 1946. Dad also shook the president’s hand, as is tradition during the week-long convention for future leaders from every state. Only his presidential handshake was…

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Angels and angles

Angels and angles

So where did Dad fit in with yesterday’s post about 8th grade graduation? He and Mom were both born in 1930 (his birthday is May 28, so he’s slightly younger). He should have been in that photo, too, right? One would think … Dad’s family moved from Lowell, Massachusetts, to New Haven in 1943. They moved in right across the street from the Cassidys on Chatham Street. The Vayos at number 32 and the Cassidys at 33. Dad started out…

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Graduation day

Graduation day

Nowadays, there are graduation ceremonies to celebrate moving on from nearly every grade and every activity. It used to annoy me until I realized the end result could be a photo like this one: Back in my parents’ day, though, it took many years of study to achieve a graduation ceremony. At St. Francis School in New Haven, Connecticut, there was even a group portrait taken when the class passed out of 8th grade. There’s Mom – Joan Cassidy- in…

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Red-haired sisters

Red-haired sisters

My mom and her sister, Bunny, are what sisters ought to be. To this day, they stay in touch regularly and visit when they can. Mom was born April 6, 1930 and christened Joan Virginia Cassidy. Her sister, whom we’ve always called Bunny, arrived a few years later, on January 17, 1933. Cecelia Frances Cassidy was her given name; first name for her mother and middle name for her dad. The good Lord gifted both sisters with red hair. ‘Twas…

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