Reader's Digest, January 1948

 

This is the cover page of January 1948's Reader's Digest.  The typeface may be different and there are very few illustrations and no photos, but the subject matters are the same as ones we face today.  Here is a sampling:

 

 

You would think by now someone would have this housing problem solved to benefit ALL of us.

 

 

United Nations apparently didn't work so well in 1948 and still suffers from disfunction today.

 

 

Article on the Von Trapp Family - 20 years before we all met them on the movie screen.

 

 

This article caught my eye.  I'm providing the entire article for your reading enjoyment.  What struck me the most is that the article is written by a man!  He seems to have some strong ideas about what women should do. 

 

 

 

Article about the stars.  Who doesn't enjoy stargazing?

 

 

Our Heroes are still coming home, from a different war.

 

 

Hawaii was probably a popular topic in 1948, having just been made a state.

 

 

Article about a lawyer who helps those wrongly accused.

 

 

And finally, an article about help for women going through menopause.  They haven't figured that one out yet, either.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dionne Quintuplets Book

I just discovered this little gem of a book among Madeline's memories.  It's been more than 6 months since I posted and I appreciate those who emailed me to let me know you missed MM's.  Life got a little hectic and to be honest I needed a little break from the "old days".  But when I came across this book, plus two Reader's Digests from the 1940's, I felt the pull toward blogging again.  So let's take a look at the book!

 

The Dionne Quintuplets were born on May 28, 1934, in Northern Ontario, Canada.  They were the first quints to live more than a few hours.  In 1934 quintuplets were born only once in 57,000,000 births.  The novelty of this is detailed in the book.

 

 

The book is full of photos and information about the girls.

 

 

 

This photo was taken at 13 months.

 

 

Yvonne and Dr. Dafoe, who delivered them.  I think he enjoyed the publicity of it all.

 

 

I love this picture!  The little girls doing laundry.  Some toy that was--washing machine, drying line, ironing board, and iron.  You can't start them too early! 

 

 

This was a special "quinmobile" which helped them get around.

 

 

 

Potrait with the Dr.  He wrote in his diary at the end of the day they were born, " Oliva Dionne--5F".  That meant 5 baby girls were born to the wife of Oliva Dionne.

 

 

The quints on a bobsled.

 

 

 

 

The quints were so rare that the family set up the nursery as a tourist attraction.

 

If you are curious to learn more about the Dionne Quintuplets, I discovered this amazing Pinterest page.  (I must set up a Pinterest account for MM's!) 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Circus 1943

Madeline loved the circus!  She took her grandchildren several times and since we always lived far from home because of being in the Army, she would send money each year to take the boys when the circus came to town.  One year when we lived in Kansas I purchased our tickets so early that we had almost front row seats.  The boys loved it and we received a special visit from the clowns.  Madeline loved the circus so much that I think it was fitting that she took her great grandchildren to see the big show a short time before she passed. 

I discovered this program for the 1943 circus in a scrapbook of her college days.  Enjoy!

The cover in beautiful color.

A poem by Edgar Guest.

Why we love the circus.

The flying Wallendas.  I loved them.

Circus animals.  I remember taking our boys to see the elephants before the show.

Clowns--who doesn't love them?  (Well, Kramer for one.)

I thought these were amusing.

To learn more about the 1943 circus here is a great website to visit.  The Circus Historical Society (never knew there was such a thing!) is full of great information.

"The Scrap Album"

I discovered a wonderful website while researching Raphael Tuck and Sons for my last post.  The Scrap Album is an amazing site about the history of keeping scrapbooks and albums, as well as greeting cards and calendars.  I encourage you to visit and look around this most informative site where you can learn about "Father Tuck's Complete Picture Maker For Little People", a box set complete with an album, brush, glue pot, and pages of stickers.  Children were encouraged to use the stickers to make their own scenes and pictures in the album.  How creative! 

Malcom Warrington is the site owner who gave me permission to share with you.  He has compiled a colorful history of scrapbooking and greeting cards from long ago. 

There'll Always Be An England

I discovered this beautiful calendar from 1942.  It has beautiful photographs of England along with snippets of poetry.  Enjoy!

The calendar was manufactured by Raphael Tuck & Sons Co., Inc.  They produced not only calendars, but greeting cards and post cards for many years.  Here is a good place to learn more about them.



 

A Note From the Author and Some Miscellaneous

Hello readers!  I just want to take a minute to thank all of you that have taken the time to leave me a comment or to email to tell me how much you enjoy Madeline's Memories.  It means so much to me to hear from you and to know that there is someone out there who is interested in Madeline's keepsakes.  I recently posted some photos and letter from former Red Sox Dave "Boo" Ferriss and I received a very nice email from his daughter.  What a nice surprise for me!  I always forward your emails to my husband Bill so he can know that you are enjoying his mother's memories as well.  Thanks again and keep them coming. 

I have some miscellaneous items to share today that I discovered in my organizational chore.  The first is a series of 4 photos taken when Madeline was about 3 or 4 years old. 

I've posted this last photo before.  My youngest son Andrew is an artist and he recently painted his interpretation of this photo for Father's Day:

Pretty cool!  I like how he brought the photo up to date with the bright colors.

 

I found this photo in a box with no other clues to identify it.  Madeline does not look happy!  It looks like a cheerleading squad and she is their coach. 

This is the back of the photo and the girls have all signed it.  From the few notes I believe it was the cheerleading squad.  Love the note that says "Thanks for helping us with all our problems."

(Added 7/23/2012)

I received some information about the cheerleading photo from my sister-in-law:

The cheerleading photo was taken many years ago, of course, and those "girls" are now in their fifties! In the photo, the girl in the second row from the bottom, third from the left, is Sheila Judkins, whose mother was Judy Judkins, a good friend of my mother's. Sheila still lives in Rutland on the old family farm that she inherited, and she is a school principal at one of the elementary schools in Holden. She was Abby's first grade teacher, and Abby adored her. She is still a Judkins as her only marriage ended in divorce many years ago. She never had any children of her own. Now you know the life story of one of the cheerleaders!

With the group photo I discovered these really cute Easter cards that some of her class made for her.

Just adorable and so colorful. I wish I knew who made them so I could let them know that she liked them so much she kept them forever!

This card looks like an end of the year one.  I would have kept them too.