Vintage shots from days gone by!

Well said sir, and I agree.

 

A few more photos from the forties and early fifties, these are of wife's grandfather. He worked for Chrysler for thirty-some years, retiring as a high-level executive in 1954.

about 1941:

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walking their Great Dane in a 3 piece suit, probably '42 or so:​

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Christmas, probably during the war years:​

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About 1948 with one of their grandchildren:​

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This is about a 'relaxed' as he got:​

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His later years after he retired. Probably about 1958 with one of his many many Chrysler convertibles:​

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His last convertible was a '64 Fury, I haven't located slides of it yet. His last new car was a '68 Dodge Polara 2dr hardtop. He passed in '79. His wife passed about 2000. ​

 

Military times from the wife's family slide collection.

Her dad (left) and uncle in 1942:

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Dressed up, again just before they shipped out:​

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One of their cousins, a Marine probably from about the same time:​

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Local VFW "Honor Board" I think at either St Clair Shores or Grosse Pointe MI, during WWII. Note their names, 4th column, I think #4 and #5 - surname Wunderlich (is it any wonder why those 2 German boys were deployed to the Pacific, and not Europe? ):​

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Post-war, the brothers opened a Schwinn Bike shop in the Detroit MI suburbs, finally closing it in the early 60s. This photo is from about 1958: ​

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Wife's grandparents' home, Grosse Pointe MI, looks like early fifties (can anyone identify year and model of their Chrysler? It's the only pics I found of it so far):

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Egbert the Carnival Monster was a popular character who appeared as one of the many entertainments associated with the Pageant of Birmingham in 1938. The Pageant was a celebration of the Centenery of Birmingham's Charter of Incorporation as a city, it lasted from 11th to 16th July 1938 and involved over 8000 men, women and children many of whom participated in performances for King George VI and Queen Elizabeth in the grounds of Aston Hall. The King and Queen were in Birmingham on the 14th of July to open the first part of what became the Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

 

I LOVE those photos!!!!

 

Rationing started in England on the 8th January 1940.

The image above represents a weekly war-time meat, cheese and butter ration for one person. Many of life's necessities and luxuries were rationed to help the war effort, Ration Books were issued for the purchase of bacon, butter, sugar, meat, flour, sweets, chocolates, jellies and cheese. If you wanted vegetables, then you grew your own. In addition to food rationing, petrol was rationed until May 1950. Clothes were also rationed, coupon books were introduced around the beginning of the war and only removed in March 1949. Even after the war ended rationing on some items continued for several years, all rationing was finally ended on 4th July 1954.


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Wife's cousins, pics from early/mid fifties:

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Can anyone identify the car in background? ​

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How about this car? Looks MOPAR, maybe '55, '56?

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Cousins' new home, about 1950:​

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On the waterfront. . .

This looks like somewhere along the St Clair River (MI), looking south toward Detroit but not sure:

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Wife's grandparents' Chris Craft is in some or maybe all of these pics. The cruiser was built about a 1952 or '53. It had twin Chrysler (of course!) power plants. I rode in it only once after we got married in '74, he passed away in '79 and his widow sold the boat in the early 80s. It was a beauty. These pics were probably someplace in Canada:​

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1953 Chrysler New Yorker.

1956 Chrysler Windsor.

 

Wow! A lot of us will eat that much meat, butter and cheese per day. I've read stories about how difficult rationing was during the war. Putting it in an image really drives home how little they where allowed.

My wife is writing a novel about a young gal from London who was evacuated during the war. She's been interviewing real evacuees for research. Their stories are amazing.

 

We had one just like that in our home town, back during the war; it stood in front of the court house...

Rob

 

Don't worry, your not missing out on much, hell the black Camaro is the highlight in that movie!

I do apologies about that but any time anyone states that the war started in 1941 I get a little peeved, my grandfather was killed in combat in early 1940.
It's not a poke at the U.S. it is more in rememberance of they who were fighting that war since September 1939.

Doc.

 

Looks like palm trees in the first picture and I done remember Michigan ever having any of them.

 

Very observant, thanks for pointing it out. I sure missed that one.

Some of the old slides were all mixed together, many with the boats and water scenes were of the Michigan & Ontario area around the Great Lakes. The grandparents did a lot of traveling to Florida and the islands so that's probably where the picture was taken.

 

great pics thanks for posting! But how would the lifelong Chrysler guy who took them feel about your avatar?

 

Yeah, but we weren't calling it a world war until past Dec. 7 & 11, 1941. Until then it was yet another European war and some skirmishes in the Pacific. For the US, 1941 model cars are still pre-war.

 

Hey, I understand and certainly no disrespect was intended. Sometimes I guess we tend to get a bit 'nationalistic' about such things, not to ignore others' situations but perhaps more because of what it means to us as citizens of our respective countries. Surely the Poles, Czechs, Brits and others would also argue that the war started earlier than '41. Had it not been for some political bickering andfoot-dragging, the US would probably have been more involved prior to Pearl.

My daughter's mom in-law and maternal grandparents are from Fiji, I had the opportunity to meet with them a few years ago during their visit to British Columbia (where my daughter now lives). Her grandfather in-law wasn't specific on the years but told some horrific stories of when as a boy during the island's occupation how the natives were severely mistreated. And how when the Allies liberated them, that they were so grateful. I am not a WWII history expert so don't know when Fiji was occupied by the Japanese, nor do I know exactly when it was liberated by the Allies.

He has since passed but his widow still resides on Fiji.

My father in-law and his brother were mostly in the Solomon Islands, both were shore artillerymen but again I don't know many other details about where, when, etc. They're both gone, wish I would've talked to them more about such things when they were still here.

One of my uncles who also fought it the Pacific is still alive and has told many stories about his war years. (I posted a pic of him previously, next to an old car before he shipped out) He was infantry and saw a lot of bad stuff, his first stopover was Alaska but most of what he tells about was on New Guinea.

 

You're welcome. And a good question! Well... in his later years dad in-law drove Fords too but not till after his pop passed away in '79. He wasn't loyal to any one brand but at that time I was a Ford Parts Manager - and his #1 son in-law

 

I'm sure this pix was NOT during WAR YEARS. Check out the small color TV lower left. Our first tv was B/W in 1948.

 

Tell me about it!!! To this day, I won't touch KARO syrup, during WWII we had to substitute KARO for sugar on cereal every day!---Then there was the rationing on butter also, you had to pop the red dot & mix it with the white (?) junk to simulate butter.---& Meat?? Forget that!---Everyone was chowing down on white rabbit & chicken!!---Tin foil wrapped candy bars? Nope,---aluminum foil was used for the war effort.----Gas? Most of us were issued an "A" sticker for the windshield, limited amount only. If you had an "F" sticker you could get all the gas you wanted. (FARMERS).
Same for ALL RUBBER products, Tires, fan belts, inner tubes etc.
All these items were always available IF you went the "Black Market" route,----But, that was UNAMERICAN!!!------Don

 

Raceron...these are phenomenal and priceless pix ...thank you THANK YOU for putting them up !!

And a MoPar family to boot - awesome !!

Rat

 

That's the edge of a piano & the bench in the lower left of the Christmas pic - if that's the pic you reference. You can see the curtain in the background, between the leg & above the seat. Again, I'm guessing the year it was taken; I'm quite sure it was 40s but uncertain which year.
thx
Ron

 

Well, I just got a nasty message as well.
Ok, so war in the SW Pacific started in 1937, I just forgot to mention that! Japan invaded China and there were numerous other small islands also taken by them at the same time.
The entire SWP only became a battlefield in Dec41, when the US (And other Allied bases) were attacked. The US is the only country to enter the World War then.

Doc.

 

The 3 painted Lines may be an unofficial sign for the train to blow it's horn 3 long times.

 

This is such a great shot, I found a rattle can of green paint to match that fender splotch.

 

I agree with raceron,
now that i see the curtain in the background,
and i can see it (the same pattern as the curtain) thru the chair..
but it is almost an illusion of a tv in there,, weird...