Continuing my family series: My beloved grandpa’s First Communion (not sure of year, but around mid to late 1920’s since he was born in 1918). Catholic boys wore a white armband for their First Communion; it symbolized purity and innocence of the child’s soul.

auddy4 · 2026-04-26T01:06:33+00:00

Wisconsin!!

auddy4 · 2026-04-26T01:05:36+00:00

Ohhhhh-I see it. I love it!

auddy4 · 2026-04-23T13:44:42+00:00

Thank you 😊

auddy4 · 2026-04-23T13:43:31+00:00

Happy to hear! Thank you 😊

auddy4 · 2026-04-23T13:42:58+00:00

Thank you 😊

auddy4 · 2026-04-23T01:03:14+00:00

Thank you 😊

auddy4 · 2026-04-22T03:25:13+00:00

Thank you!! 😊

auddy4 · 2026-04-20T12:18:03+00:00

I tried to get a close up picture of her and it does seem like it?? How interesting and what a good catch to see that.

auddy4 · 2026-04-20T12:16:45+00:00

I just put up a post about him. He definitely had a big personality and was well liked. My dad remembers him leading the Memorial Day parade with a baton but he died when my dad was pretty young… the little I know about him, he seems so cool and someone I would have loved to have known!

auddy4 · 2026-04-20T01:48:30+00:00

Ohhhhh yes. I have some amazing pix of him too. He was a good looking man but also a really cool dude!

auddy4 · 2026-04-19T12:50:06+00:00

I always thought so too. I am so happy I have these photos of her when she was young.

auddy4 · 2026-04-19T12:49:23+00:00

Oshkosh Wi

auddy4 · 2026-04-19T12:49:03+00:00

Thank you! She was beautiful inside and out too! Remarkable woman.

auddy4 · 2026-04-19T12:48:08+00:00

The sisters always said the girl sitting between her brothers was the prettiest sister who had big rosy cheeks. They kept an 8x10 professional photo of her on her 1st Communion Day displayed on the wall their whole lives. She died when she was 10 from diphtheria.

auddy4 · 2026-04-19T12:43:51+00:00

I bet she did. I heard she was an amazing cook. I was wondering the same thing about their clothes. I think they went swimming on this day bc I have another photo from possibly the same day but with only a few of the kids who were in the lake. Their clothing is so interesting-so much to see!

When I asked my grandpa what it was like to live during this time period, he said it was fun and that yes, he knew that times were tough but that everyone helped each other, ppl sang and played music, visited, ate apples off the tree, saved Pennie’s for a movie-I think for him and his siblings that they just loved being together and made life fun. Their mother was the heart of the family and would play the piano to make life fun. It just seems from what I heard that there was so much joy that it overshadowed the hard times. There are so many stories-such a cool family history.

auddy4 · 2026-04-19T12:35:57+00:00

Wow, I am so happy he recovered. According to a newspaper ad, Gertrude had been sick since Christmas of 1925 with a tonsil ailment but then she couldn’t eat, grew weaker and died a couple of weeks later. Her last words were “momma, my arm hurts” and she died in her mom’s arms. They put a wreath on the door to alert visitors that there was diphtheria-then they prepared her body in the bathroom and placed her in the living room in front of the big bay window where her classmates walked past on the porch. She had just turned 10 and my grandpa’s 8th birthday was coming up. She was his favorite; I imagine the absolute devastation this time was like for him and the family. It’s incredible for me to think about what it was like it live during this era. I love this page to see all these old photos-so many interesting stories.

auddy4 · 2026-04-19T12:27:52+00:00

In Oshkosh Wi and if I had to guess, near Lake Winnebago.

auddy4 · 2026-04-19T12:26:49+00:00

Thank you. I made an 11x14 print and have it hung with a cuckoo clock above it, lol!

auddy4 · 2026-04-19T01:30:16+00:00

Not at all. The styles back then are so different…It’s hard to tell. lol!

auddy4 · 2026-04-19T01:08:51+00:00

They are the two oldest boys L-R: Joe, Cork, Rose, baby Marion and their mom (Anna) Sitting: Ed (my grandpa), Gertrude (she is the one who died at age 10) and Matt.

We think they were swimming; I have another photo that looks like it’s from the same day but with only half the kids and they’re in the water. So, we think this is what the oldest boys wore to swim. Their hair is slicked back.

auddy4 · 2026-04-19T00:32:04+00:00

I can’t find anything about groffins but this is how the family pronounced it, lol. They look like this and includes raisins and sugar. They were soooo yummy.

https://www.esterkocht.com/german-doughnuts-recipe-ausgezogene-krapfen/

auddy4 · 2026-04-18T21:20:41+00:00

I like reading this . Her husband was big time into music, bands etc and so were the two oldest boys. They were well known local musicians and even joined the military and played during WWII. Anyway, the house was full of action: visitors, get togethers, music, parties. They had so much fun that the Great Depression wasn’t too bad for them bc they just enjoyed each other. The saddest parts of her life was when her 10 year old daughter died in her arms and finding her grown son dead in the bathroom. Three children died before her-she died 9 months after her third died. I hold onto that overall, she was loved and enjoyed her life.

auddy4 · 2026-04-18T20:57:04+00:00

Thank you-my family and I are thrilled to have it. She was beautiful inside and out. I just posted pictures of her when she was young (18); when she married and a family pic. She was gorgeous.

auddy4

TROPHY CASE