Family Tidbit

This blog entry has two parts - the latter part I actually put together last week just after the last week's entry. I think it'll be self explanitory when you get to that part.
This first part is the result of a request Gail made to Dad when they spoke on the phone the other day. She asked to see a copy of the following photo.

This handsome young man is our Dad / Granddad / Great-Granddad.

Interesting personal story. When I was younger [probably, mid-teens] I was leafing through a photo album with Mother and saw a picture of dad in a bathing suit. I don't know if it was this exact one or not, but I said something like - Wow, Dad was a hunk! And she said with a funny smile: "See why I married him?" Well, we all know it was more than his body that she loved, but I guess it didn't hurt.

Historical Americana
While searching out historical info for the Lovell area I came across an interesting tidbit about Burma Shave. The connection is in here – wait for it!
For the younger members of our family who never saw any Burma Shave signs, here is a little tutorial. Before interstates people drove on 2 lane roads, and small red Burma Shave signs with white letters would be posted along the side of the road. Five signs, about 100 feet apart with 1 line of a 4 line poem on four of them ...... and the name Burma-Shave on the 5th. Here are a few samples:
IF HUGGING ON HIGHWAYS
IS YOUR SPORT

TRADE IN YOUR CAR

FOR A DAVENPORT

DON'T LOSE YOUR HEAD
TO GAIN A MINUTE
YOU NEED YOUR HEAD
YOUR BRAINS ARE IN IT


And this one painted on the side of a building in LOVELL, WYOMING

BEN MET ANNA
FELL IN LOVE
HAD A FIGHT
BEN-ANNA SPLIT


Dad doesn’t specifically remember seeing that sign but says that it was most likely on the side of the drugstore downtown. It was originally called the Busy Corner, later Lovell Drug (ps a cousin of his ended up owning Lovell Drug). One side of the building adjoined a local gas station and that’s were he thought it was probably written.