Vintage Family Photos

A family photo, probably taken at our grandparent's house, near downtown San Diego.

Our mother sitting in a yard, or maybe even Balboa Park, circa 1940, before she had children. What a doll!

August 15th, our mom's birthday

Here's a photo of Mother with all five of us kids, the last one of us all together, taken a couple of days before Cordelia's wedding in 1982. Mike had come to San Diego for the wedding and Cathy and Jon hadn't moved out of state yet. Little did we know we'd never be together like that again. (from left, Cathy, Cordelia, Eileen Rose Busby, Michael, Sally and Jon)

Vintage Family Photos in Two Harbors & Lake Superior

     By Cordelia (Scott) Mendoza

     (Reprinted from Cottage Antiques blog)

     My mother, Eileen Rose Busby, passed away five years ago on April 6, so I have been reflective all week. I posted a tribute to her on Facebook and pulled out some of her old albums. I found some wonderful photos of my grandparents and great-grandparents. What a treasure. I am posting some of my Grandmother, Esther Rose, my mom's mother who I was fortunate to spend a lot of time with until her death in 1990 at the age of 89.

Here is a photo of her and her friends in 1920. Look at those babes:

 

                                                                                                . . . in the "Old swimming Hole"

Below, here is Grandma Rose at about 16 years old. I love the homes in the background.

This was at the end of the Arts and Crafts period, right before the Roaring '20s. Her outft completely fits the era.

Here's a great photo of what looks to be a general goods store in Two Harbors. Gram's off for some shopping, looks like to me. Date, circa 1918

Grandma and Grandpa were raised in Two Harbors, Minnesota. He was 12 years older and had gone away to war. He came home to Two Harbors. She always said "he was the most eligible boy in town". They fell in love, married and traveled across country to San Diego in 1922, the year my mom was born.

Frank & Esther, my grandparents. My grandfather was an avid swimmer and canoer and courted my grandmother around and on Lake Superior.

(Love the outfit!)

These photos are priceless.

Celebration of Eileen Rose Busby's Life

     On this day, April 6, five years ago, our mother passed away. It seems only fitting to celebrate her life through the words of those who knew and loved her. Here is an excerpt from a eulogy, spoken at her service, of letters written to her family:

From her cousin Herbert Holbeck: “We enjoyed our visits with her over the years. She was always so upbeat despite any difficulties, and she had the same honest directness as her mother.”

From a friend: “She was elegant and a lady.”

From a chintz collector: “I have one of her books. She was a respected and valued person in the chintz collecting community.”

From her friend and former neighbor Jo Cryder, who invited her to join her lunch group: “I'm heartbroken that Eileen has left us. She was such a glorious person. We had such good times going to lunch and getting together with friends at the First Friday Lunch Bunch. She was so full of life when I left her last September. 

“She worked such miracles with the house that was such a mess when she bought it. It's amazing how she turned the yard into a blooming garden. She just didn't let anything stop her once she decided to do something, whether it was remodeling a house, creating a garden, writing a book, teaching a class, or entertaining a houseful of family or friends. I was so proud to be included in her circle of friends. Eileen spoke often to me about you all and she was so proud of you. I felt I knew you even before I met you. It's hard to accept that such a wonderful woman is gone, and I miss her terribly even from way across the country. I'm grieving with you.”

From Shirley and Klaus Mendenhall, who visited her three days before she passed and who had just lost their father and father-in-law: “Your mother was truly the kindest, sweetest lady. I cherish the sympathy card she managed to send. The first thing she said to me on Sunday was how sorry she was about Daddy. It was just so typically her selfless attitude. We’re honored to have known her.”

And from Chip Mosher, a friend of mine who met her at a holiday gathering in Las Vegas: “One of the highlights of my rather quiet life was meeting your mother at the Thanksgiving soiree two years ago. The strength, integrity, wit and intelligence to her personality are etched indelibly in my mind. I truly hope when my time comes that she is one of the persons hanging around, waiting for and helping me to ‘cross over.’ That'd be a gas.”

Eileen's Five Children

Here's a photo, circa 1955, of Eileen's five children -- the Scott family -- twins Cathleen and Cordelia (left and far right), and Jon, Sally and Michael. Eileen sewed the twins' dresses, often making a matching one for herself out of the same material.

In between sewing, gardening and raising five children, she wrote short articles and mailed off a steady stream of query letters to Ladies' Home Journal and Reader's Digest, hoping to one day get published. It would be another two decades, after her children were grown and out of the house, that one of her articles would be picked up and published by Family Circle magazine around 1975. She made a photo copy of the check and framed it -- her first of many. She was proud.

Today, Michael writes textbooks on ornothology and the study of birds, Cordelia blogs (her site was given an award), and Cathy became a newspaper reporter but now writes full-time for Best Friends magazine and Web site while also writing true crime books.

Four Generations

Four generations: This is a photo that was taken when Cathy and Cordelia were babies. Their Grandmother, Esther Rose, great grandmother Alvina Holbeck, and Mother, Eileen. That's Cathy on the left and Cordelia on the right. Pretty amazing to have four generations.

Our Mom & Dad with his sister, our Aunt Thelma

This is a great picture, circa 1940, of our Aunt Thelma Corey, our Dad, Jim "Scotty" Scott, and our mom, Eileen. This had to be right after our parents got married, because Mother had not met our dad's sister until after they were married, when she followed him from Missouri to California. They lived in Lakewood, California, right after their marriage. Our Mom was just 18 years old and and our Dad was 29. He was pretty darned lucky to be hangin' out with these two lookers; he was in heaven when he was with them. Aren't they the cutest?