We’ve had 2 more birthday anniversaries recently. Our Dad’s sisters, Gladys Whalen Stoddard and Ella Whalen Hyde, were each born in this month. Aunt Gladys on March 24, 1893 and Aunt Ella on March 30, 1896. These girls were 19 and 16 when my dad was born; by the time I came around each was old enough to have been a grandmother to me.
I consider Aunt Gladys to have been a real Renaissance woman. She was the first female in Sackets Harbor to have a car; she set up and ran a tea shop when she was young; she was a writer and a painter, and traveled the world with her husband during his Army career. My Dad told me that Aunt Gladys’s way of adjusting to a new place was to learn everything she could about the place, its people, their customs, what they ate, etc. In a family that has so much shyness, I always admired her bravery and outgoing nature.
I must admit that Aunt Ella was my favorite aunt on Dad’s side. I had the pleasure of living with her in my post-high school years and we enjoyed many a secret cigarette and cup of tea together at her 625 Sherman kitchen table. I learned much about our family history during those conversations.
Aunt Ella was a formidable woman. She knew how things were done and made sure to share that information when the occasion warranted. Aunt Ella was queenly. She was the woman I wanted to be.
In the above picture, taken in 1905, Aunt Gladys is the first girl on the left, Aunt Ella is in the back row.
The picture to the right was taken around 1954. Aunt Ella and Aunt Gladys are in the front row, Ella on the left, and Gladys on the far right.
Such sweet and accurate descriptions of two interesting ladies!