Happy New Year

These are some small geese on Lake Aspen tody. Notice how white their bodies are. They were having lunch by diving deep for small fish. I timed them at more than 20 seconds under water for each dive - doing what comes naturally.

Final Family Images XVI 12-16-18

Well I have run out of Sessions Family Christmas Card Pictures. I trust you have enjoyed the 2 week blitzkrieg.
Here is the one from 1960. That is Topsie with the formal couple. Mom won the fur stole in a contest. She was famous for winning contests as she had also won a rifle and a Cadillac DeVille previously.

 

Here are a few more later updated cards. On the back mom has written, “The new Fence and us - We are now ready for any Indian attacks -“

 






 And a photo of the “Boys” at a wedding in October of 1989.

 

Finally here is where it all played out. That is my 1958 VW which I picked up at the pier in South Hampton England after college graduation. After a summer of touring it was shipped west and then through the St Laurence Seaway to Chicago where I picked it up and drove it to St Louis for med school and beyond.


 
ENJOY YOUR CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEARS HOLIDAY -2018




 

Family Images XV 12-15-18

In 1956 the photo shows that the family is increasing in number and quality in a move toward more gender equity as Jean Warren and Frances Pope join us.



In 1957 you can see that Kimberly Bob has joined the family.



In 1958 David and Frances graduated from Washington University School of Medicine, I graduated from Princeton, and Melissa graduated from LTHS. At this time Bob, Jean, and Kimbi are still in Nashville at Vanderbilt and as you can see from my graduation picture  Rob is almost on the scene.



In 1961 we continue to increase our numbers as Jeff, Jane and Jan join the party.
We are almost logarithmic in our growth and I am almost out of images.

Family Images XIV 12-14-18

In the passing years we continue to grow up. These head shots are from 1952. I was a sophomore at LT, Melissa was at the Oak Street School, Bob was at Abbot Hall in Medical school at Northwestern, and David was a sophomore at Princeton. Can you imagine how our folks funded all this? They indeed were so proud.  Bob graduated in 1952 and started his training at Vanderbilt in Nashville.

In 1953 I was playing #1 singles on the tennis team. We were not that strong but had a great time traveling together for away matches in the West Suburban Conference and playing our home matches down the street at Gilbert Park. In the summer I played on clay courts at The Oak Park Tennis Club in River Forest which allowed me to improve markedly.

In 1954 David graduated from Princeton going on the next year to Washington University Medical School in St Louis. I graduated from LTHS. I was Captain of the tennis team and our team was much stronger. Our highlight was beating Evanston in a dual match to break their multi years winning streak. In the state tournament I paired with young Gay Messick and we got to the semifinals in Champagne before losing to the ultimate winners from Oak Park in three hard fought sets. Our team placed third in the state - the best showing for LT tennis ever.

 

This photo from 1955 was the last one of only the four of us together. Bob was in Nashville, I was at Princeton, David was at Washington University in St Louis and Melissa was at LT. Topsie continued to thrive well after we had all left home. This picture reminds me that one year snow gathered in the low area of the roof to the right and in the spring on a Sunday morning about one quarter of the  plaster ceiling fell down on the dining room table with a resounding crash as we were getting dressed for church.

 

Lake Girl 12-16-18

It was a brisk clear sunny day so 
we went to Walker Lake at Kirkwood Park.
Lake girl found some plein air painters to play with.

Jailbirds 12-15-18

When she became the last child left in the house my Aunt Lucile (my dad's sister) let out rooms in our grandfather

Moultrie McKinney Sessions'  home which was the Archibald Howell Mansion in Marietta, Georgia. One of the renters was Frank Wellons who lived upstairs with his wife Helen and his daughter Margaret. Frank was a writer and editor of the Marietta Daily Journal. My dad, Arch, used to drive our family down to visit Lucile and the family home. The home was amazing with huge front pillars, large rooms with pocket doors and high ceilings, a carriage house in back, and stories that never ended.

My dad and his parents and siblings grew up there. The Howell House was a Greek Revival mansion built in Marietta Georgia in 1843 and is still going strong. Union Brigadier General Henry Judah stayed here in 1865 as the Union Army swept through to Atlanta. Because the field crops had not been used in the war effort they and the mansion were spared and General Judah had food distributed to the locals so he is somewhat of a hero.

On one such visit we met Frank Wellons. Although Frank appeared dour he was up for adventure and had a mischievous grin. With his hat he reminded me of a small town Southern sheriff. As you can tell by the picture we three boys were acting tough and ready to do some damage. 

Frank knew the Chief of Police and thought that we needed to be arrested before we did any real damage. So he arranged for us to be put behind bars to 'teach us a lesson'.

Have you ever seen such a dejected trio? It was the first time any of us had been in jail. It was a powerful lesson and none of us got into trouble for the rest of the vacation. And that is how we became jailbirds.

Family Images XII 12-12-18

Its 1949 and the Sessions Christmas Card picture triggers many memories. We are sitting at a table in our little back yard. Looking out from the table shelf is our cocker spaniel 'Topsie'. Bob is a freshman at the University of Colorado at Boulder. His surprise was that his roommate was a friendly one legged Indian, a veteran named Larry Puka, who went home on weekends. Bob loved it there and got all "A" 's. David was a freshman at LTHS

and I was at the Oak Avenue School in La Grange Park. Melissa was at the Ogden Avenue School.

It was a traumatic summer for me as I had fallen off a horse and broken my right wrist. I can still see the bone coming through the skin. It needed surgical treatment at the Hinsdale San by Dr. James Clark. In my groggy post op dream I can still remember Dr. Clark telling mom (behind the closed curtain but right near my head) that I could die from the infection. It was my first experience with a doctor's bedside manner that was deadly. I also remember with greater affection the several months of physiotherapy that were very helpful - hot whirlpool soaks and gentle massage. If you go back and look at the previous photos this is the first one that I do not have a smile. A happier result of the accident was that the folks purchased out first TV - a black and white Motorola with a clear picture on a small screen.

Family Images XI 12-11-18

In1948 we are pictured leaning against a wall. This is the wall lining our driveway which was curved for years in an attempt to save our birch tree. I remember that in 1948 our LTHS basketball team went to the state tournament in Champagne. It was ,"Downstate in '48". It was the year Bob graduated from high school.

This is a photo that didn't make the card but is of interest. It shows the cement jar to the right which was covered

with a soft 'leaden' metal material like that used in stained glass windows. It was hard to keep your hands off it as it bent very easily. You can also see the flower box, the front light, and the dark original '29' street address number. As you can see Bob has had a growth spurt and is ready to go to college in Boulder Colorado.

Family Images IX 12-9-18

In 1943 there were portraits of us kids.

And in 1944 we were on bicycles in front of our house. That is our dog Blaze, a pointer. I remember Bob and I walked Blaze on a long rope leash down to the end of Dover Street one day to the Salt Creek Woods where Blaze actually discovered some birds and "pointed".

Portraits were back in style in 1945. Melissa's facial feature's certainly resemble those of her daughter Alison.

And here is one that did not make the cut in 1945. 

At home during the height of the war our dad was an air raid warden. He would go out at night with a strange hat and a long flashlight to make sure the neighbors were observing the blackout. We had a mock daytime air raid where they dropped tightly cut newspaper bombs with red crepe streamers from an air plane.  I found one in the front yard and saved it. We would have been obliterated but luckily it was just a test. Where is it now? Its probably with my missing "trading"cards. We were saving all our cooked fat in tin cans for the war effort. We were raising vegetables in our victory garden on the Turk's vacant lot across the street from our back neighbors the Hoags. I was eating potato chip sandwiches (with ketchup) and a very occasional maple syrup milk shake. The folks were putting up tomatoes in glass jars in the basement using a Foley food mill and a pressure cooker.

Each old memory triggers another. We were playing mumbledy peg, and marbles, and kick the can, and tops (David was a whiz). I rode my bike to the Ogden School stopping on the way home to see the turtles and goldfish at Stulik's Pet Shop on Ogden Avenue. Mr Stulik was scary with a Czech accent but he had a wonderful rock garden outside his shop with green plants growing out of limestone rocks filled with holes.

Rumi Poem The Divers Clothes Lying Empty

The Diver's Clothes Lying Empty

You are sitting here with us,
but you are also out walking in a field at dawn.

You are yourself the animal we hunt
when you come with us on the hunt.

You are in your body
like a plant is solid in the ground,
yet you are wind.

You are the diver's clothes
lying empty on the beach.
You are the fish.

In the ocean are many bright strands
and many dark strands like veins that are seen
when a wing is lifted up.

Your hidden self is blood in those,
those veins that are lute strings
that make ocean music,
not the sad edge of surf
but the sound of no shore.

Rumi, translated by Coleman Barks

Family Images XIII 12-13-18

In 1950 we all continued to grow up. Topsie was a family mainstay. What I remember about her was that 

during a thunderstorm she always hid under the folks bed and if you tried to get her out she would snap at you which was entirely different than her usual kindly disposition. Melissa was at the Oak School. I was a freshman at LT and was going to Cheley Camp in the summer. David was a freshman at Princeton and Bob was at William and Mary and a Cheley counselor. Heady times.

Here we are in1951 all dressed up and in the back yard again. Its interesting because I don't remember any of us regularly utilizing the minuscule back yard not even Topsie.

This is a 1951 photo that was not used. 

Family images X 12-10-18

In 1946 the war was over. I still remember clearly that in August of 1945 we were eating in an upstairs restaurant in Sister Bay in Door County Wisconsin while coming home from Camp Greenwood. Great shouting began in the streets below and fire engines with their sirens full on went up and down the streets for what seemed like forever. Japan had surrendered and the war was won.

This image from 1946 was taken of us sitting on a wall in White Pines State Park which was several hours west of La Grange. My mother liked the park more than any of us.We are growing up.

In 1947 the photo was of us sitting on a stone bench on the lake front in Chicago. Lake Michigan is behind us

and the Shedd Aquarium is to the right (east) of us.

This is a photo that was not chosen for the Christmas Card. It shows more of the city and the lake.

Family Images VIII 12-8-18

 This is the Sessions Christmas Card from 1942. The balcony with snow on it was cantilevered off the "Boys" room which had been part of an addition to the original Zook designed house.Its floor was poured concrete. One of my first recollections was being in a railed crib at the foot of the folks bed as they were sleeping in this room at the time.

We were now fully engaged in WWII. Four days after the Japanese  attack on Pearl Harbor Germany declared war on the US and we declared war on Germany later that day (December 16, 1941). It was an interesting time for our family with rationing (especially gas and tires). Every American was issued a series of ration books. The ration books contained removable stamps good for certain rationed items like sugar, meat, cooking oil, and canned goods. Rationed items could not be bought without giving the grocer the right ration stamp. What do you remember? Any first or second hand stories?

 This is a photo that didn't make it for the card. It does show the potted plant design better.

 

Kindergarten - 1940

My mother kept everything. It was all important to her. Here is a recently discovered image of my kindergarten class at the Ogden School. I didn't recognize anyone even myself. Mom's note on the back says that I am in the second row on the far left. I have been wearing hooded coats for a long time.

Don's Blog Family Images VII 12-7-18

Nineteen forty-one was a fateful year. The surprise attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese Navywas 75 years ago today. I remember it well. President Roosevelt, on the radio, called it, "A  day that will live in infamy". We were at war in the Pacific and the war against Germany would soon follow.

At home the folks were sending out Christmas cards.

None of us could sing but we dutifully went to choir practice weekly at the First Congregational Church of La Grange. Our grandfather, Robert V Thomas, had helped fund the new addition with its steeple and cupola  to the original building in the early 1900's. He had advanced from the stock room to CEO of the Hooker Paint and Glass Co. He had moved his family from Warren Avenue in Chicago to a new home he had builton Seventh Avenue just south east of the church.

Who has that portrait of Lincoln?

Family Images VI 12-6-18

Our beautiful little sister, Melissa Jane, began to grow up (1940).

Around that time "Susie" came on the scene. She was the friendliest dog ever, a good sized Springer Spaniel.

She was definitely ready for prime time. There is nothing like a warm cuddly new born puppy for Christmas - how about three?

(1940)

Family Images V 12-5-18

Here is the 1938 Christmas Card Image. Our folks loved fireplace photos.

Don's Blog - An heirloom find 12-5-18

I trust you will enjoy this blog from an historical viewpoint. My mother never threw anything away which made for a challenge when my folks passed away many years ago. Several years after my brother died his oldest daughter, my niece sent me a large box filled with papers from my mom. I couldn't go through it until now and I came upon this heirloom find. It is a note in beautiful cursive to my mother, Gladys Thomas Sessions, from a dear friend who lived down the street from mom's childhood home on Seventh Avenue in La Grange,Illinois three days after my birth.

 Edna V Hawley November 24, 1935

208 Seventh Avenue

La Grange, Illinois

Dear Gladys,

We are all rejoicing over your

Safe accouchement, and are hop-

ing for your speedy return home

with young Donald Gordon.

How fine it must be to be the

Mother of three fine sturdy boys,

all of whom, I trust, will grow

into men capable of doing worth

while things for the good of their 

home and family, and for the 

world in general.  Surely our 

country is greatly in need of men; 

men who are capable of

true statesmanship, who will be

able to steer our old ship of state

out of the turmoil in which

we now find ourselves.

Whew, to, think of having boys 

instead of girls to clothe. No 

back aching worry, hustle and 

bustle in the sewing room to 

create dainty apparel!

Your sons will bring you the

lovely daughters, which some

other mother has had to dress

and who has doubtless tangled

then to look after their own 

wardrobes, and all you will

have to do is to love them, and

cause those daughters in-law

to feel that "there never was a

mother-in-law so fine as mine".

Whats a long ways ahead say you?

Yes, but what time will arrive 

long before you are quite willing

to let your boys go out into the

word to battle for themselves.

Seriously, however, you have a

wonderful task before you,

and a glorious opportunity

of helping to form the finest

of characters in your sturdy

lovely boys.  Was it Napoleon

who said, "The future destiny

of the child is always the work 

of the mother". I would add

"the fathers too" and say, the in-

structions received at mothers

knee, and the fraternal lessons,

together with the pious and 

sweet conversations of the fireside

are never effaced entirely

from the soul.

Of course, Gladys, I am include-

ing Archibald in all my 

thoughts of you, and in

offering both my sincerest

congratulations with my

love and best wishes.

Your life long old friend,

Edna V. Hawley.

The style and language still captivates. Edna V. Hawley was correct: those instructions, lessons, and conversations have not been"effaced entirely from my soul". 

Don't you wish we still received these heartfelt hand written notes?

Family Images IV 12-4-18

In 1939 we had a new and exciting addition to our family. Our sister Melissa Jane was born four years and a day after my birthday November. And then there were four. Here is Melissa at less than a month of age in the 'Sessions' baby bed which has seen wonderful use through the years. Cousin Rob Sessions has it now.

Many of us have similar images with the next generation.

Ed Boyce

Our Aspen Lake neighbor and the Founder of Innsbrook passed away last week. Saturday they had a festive

celebration of Ed's life at the Aspen Center at the other end of our Lake.  
Huge number of people. Short speeches. Good food. At sundown from our deck we saw that he went out with a bang. Actually many bangs and so much dynamite that our deck shook.

In the early morning after the celebration the power went off for 8 hours. So after Ed went out with a bang

he shut the power off. Ha!

Family Images III 12-3-18

These images are dated 1937. The first one shows the three of us on the wooden bench over the radiator by the living room window. Bob is holding some kind of mask. I am shown on the horse whose name was Gay Boy. Where is he now?

Here we are in front of the fireplace again. I am holding my favorite snow globe which later showed up in a dream at the beginning of "Bertram's Trip to the North Pole". Dave has a small porcelain bunny. Notice that there is no fireplace screen.

The last one shows us with a great image of our mom. She is sitting on our dad's oak chair.  I still have the chair and recently had it re-glued and new cushions made.

Family Images II 12-2-18

 I came on the scene in 1935 and this image is dated 1936. It is taken in front of our fireplace famous for its wrought iron inscription:

"FOR YOU THE HEARTH FIRE GLOWS". We are sitting on one of gramma's oriental rugs.

Family Images I 12-1-18

Growing up in the Sessions family included yearly photos of the kids. I will be sending some of these photos.

Hopefully they will trigger your interest. I cannot imagine how lucky I was to be born into this group.I would love to hear your thouhts.

The first one which is dated 1932 shows my two older brothers -  baby David Lee sitting on on Bob's lap. They are in a chair near a piece of furniture that appears to have a wall hanging behind it. Bob has a great head of hair and David Lee has on what looks like a baptismal gown. What do you see? 

This one is dated 1933. Bob and David are standing on the sidewalk in front of our home at 29 Dover Street in La Grange, Illinois. They are dressed for winter. From the shadow you can see that the sun is low in the sky.The trees are medium size elms that grew huge in the ensuing years. In the 60's they succumbed to the Dutch Elm disease and all died. Our block was a rounded triangle that was a village park before houses were built on it. The parkway between the sidewalk and the street was wide enough  for us to play 2 on 2 football. The flagstone on the right was part of a path between the street and our front door. What do you see?