Monday, July 19, 2010

Monday Memories

If you've been following my blog for any time then you know one thing for sure about me and my beloved, we both ended up in Vancouver.  Dick arrived in Canada  from Germany in '54 and about two years later his family settled in Vancouver.  I was born in Winnipeg and when I was under two, moved to Vancouver. 

A little known Motor Mouth Fact: When we left The Peg, as it is affectionately known, we travelled by train, and your's truly learned to walk on the train!  That I feel accounts for why my feet turn outward when I walk, but that folks is a story for another day!  We now return you to, Monday Memories....

Being true Vancouverites, all families at one time or another end up at Stanley Park.  http://www.seestanleypark.com/     It's a wonderful place for families to go out and enjoy,  to play and to relax.  There are vast green spaces for picnics, and games.  There was the zoo (not there any more); the beautiful rose garden; Prospect Point; standing over the causeway to watch the traffic head North over the Lion's Gate Bridge; to eat fish and chips; of course the seawall, which you can walk around the entire park; and in my day and age, even Sun Free swimming lessons which both my beloved and I took there.  That pool has now been converted to a water park!  So it follows that a few pictures were taken of our families at the very same park. 

I often wonder as I look at these pictures, (these and others not shown here) if, we might not have actually been lounging on blankets or scarfing down ice cream cones within feet of each other.  I really hope that may have been the case. Can you tell I'm a romantic at heart?  I mean afterall, 14 and 17 just wasn't early enough to meet! 


I love this picture of me and my Daddy.  Quite obviously my beloved wasn't at the park that day, he'd still be swimming in the Badeanstaldt (swimming pool across from his house) in Germany! Dad really hated picnics but for our sake, after a busy week that probably included shiftwork, mom and dad took us to Stanley Park anyway! I see the three sticks on the ground and I wonder if Richie and Maddie and I collected them.  I also see a dolly.  I wonder whose it was, mine or Maddie's. Such great parents, I was blessed with.  Circa:  1948


Isn't this a great shot of my future husband and his family?  This was likely taken at Totem Park.  Next time we go, I must check to see if this totem pole is still there and if it is, I want to have my picture taken there with my beloved. He can probably still clamber up to that perch, but I won't be, I'll be standing on the ground smiling up at him! Circa, 1955

Now cut ahead a generation and here is my beautiful mom taking my sweet little niece, her Granddaughter, Erika to Stanley Park.  My sister-in-law took the picture.  If you parked there today, you'd be heading to the aquarium, but at the time this picture was taken, they would have been heading off to the zoo.  Mom is standing beside our Crown Imperial, the same car that took me to church to marry my beloved in '67.  Circa: 1966

Another little known Motor Mouth Fact:  Wow, you are getting two today!  You know the little girl sitting on the totem pole opposite my beloved? Well, the sweet little girl in the stroller is her little darling.  That little girl on the totem pole as it turned out, married my brother!

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hey Mom! I am completely loving your Monday Memories series on here. I know I have seen some of the photos before, but I like the stories around the images. Really nice!!

Love you xo

Allyson said...

Aw, thanks Cathy. I was hoping that our family would be enjoying the stories too. "Memories are made of this" as the old song goes.
Love you too xxxooo

Anonymous said...

Keep it up Motor! Love reading all about you and Diesel as "youngsters"... Papa hated picnics? Tyler doesn't care for them much either (but will do them for my sake as well) - all that sitting on the ground is hard on the long legs I suppose!

xo Amy

Anonymous said...

I too have been enjoying the posts "Monday Memories". Like Cathy, I enjoy the stories that accompany the photos.
*Isn't it great that you have all those wonderful old shots and that you can remember the stories that accompany them with such detail?! It's so neat to see those old photos and see/hear stories about our family. After all, it's one of the best families out there! Love you lots. Andrea xo

Allyson said...

Amy, that is too funny that Tyler doesn't like the picnics either! Good thing we don't have too many of them in our famdamily!

Andrea, I am so glad you are enjoying the posts too. I'm going to go to my mom's one of these days and scour her box full of photos. So many memories, only so many Mondays!

All in all, It is an easy blog to write and I was hoping my darling daughters-4 and 5 if Riki knows how to find it, would be enjoying it.

Unknown said...

Ta-Da! I made it! (Dray sent me the link!) What a great blog. I've said it before and I'll say it again, you are such a good writer Aunty Allyson. Thanks for all these enjoyable reads. xo

Allyson said...

Ricki!!!!! you found me. So glad you did because as you well know, anyone, anytime, can appear on one of my blog postings!
Thanks for your lovely compliment, you are sweet to say so and I appreciate hearing it too. xxxxx