Winning, 50's-Style

See that pretty lady in the photo below? Guess who that is?

That's right! That "Mrs. C" is my mom, somewhere around 1959 or 1960, when she had only five kids and probably a bun in the oven. I just loved finding this newspaper clipping among a bunch of family photos in a long-forgotten box in the attic. [I only wish the quality was better, but it's the best I could do with the scanner.]

How proud Mom must have been that day!  She said that she completed a crossword puzzle from the newspaper as her entry into the contest.  Times were really tough back then; a win like that was a very big deal.

There are some noteworthy aspects of this photo. First of all, isn't Mom beautiful? Second, look at my sister Geri, demonstrating classic, well-behaved-oldest behavior. She and Mary look so sweet.  In mom's arms is my brother Tim, who is reaching out to grab the ownership certificate from Mr.Gordon. Oldest bother Jim is standing in front of Mom.  Most interesting to me, though, is my brother, Tom.  That's right--brother, standing in front of the dryer. [Take another look.] Why in the world is my brother wearing a skirt?!

I called Mom, just now, and asked her why Tom's wearing a skirt in the photo, and she insisted that it couldn't possibly be a skirt. (She hasn't seen the photo in years.) I assured her that he very clearly appears to be wearing a skirt.  She laughed and said she has no idea (and she looks forward to seeing the photo).  Perhaps Geri or Mary will be able to shed light.

I'm thinking the answer to the mystery is simple--her dryer at home was broken, and Tom got the short end of the stick that day. Regardless, the photo is a classic and is dear to me.

How about you? Do you have a favorite family photo that makes you smile? If you happen to have a blog post about it, I invite you to share the link in a comment below.