Old Family Photos

Photographs like this hardly appear real. They seem more like an invention of Hollywood or an amusement park where you place your face in a cutout (in this case a painted 1930's school bus) to have a photo taken and a good laugh.
This is my mother's story.
In 1932 she and a dozen other young girls took a very long trip from southwest Missouri to the state Capitol in Jefferson City. These girls were the winners of the Home Economics Competition in the district schools. During this period in history and rural location girls were honored for their home making abilities. Some of the girls won for baking and canning, some for dressmaking and quilting, still others for gardening and embroidery. However, my mother won for what we in this era would find much more unique. She won the district competition by designing an undergarment. A Brassiere to be specific. My mother was a clever woman who grew up during the depression with very limited resources. She was an artist at heart who could make something from nothing-- a skill enviable in today's culture. She was an award winning flower arranger, a superior homemaker, a devoted Methodist, an honorable wife, and most of all an inventive and inspiring mother of five. The other girls were winners in the typical home arts of the 1920's and 30's. But my mother chose an unsung undergarment to design and sew--basic to looking good in those formfitting gored dresses of the period. She didn't win the state competition. I think the subject of her entry was a little too sensitive but the trip was an eye-opening experience for a sixteen year old girl from a farm in rural Missouri.
This scene was real. Taken on a bridge during a warm summer day over 80 years ago. The girls went their separate ways after the trip. One became my aunt, one became a Home Economics teacher and one was killed during WWII. To hear my mother tell the story about this trip it was the adventure of their young lives. An interesting note to this story is that I live not far from that bridge outside Jefferson City.
This photo is on my wall reminding me of a young girl traveling over 175 miles to show off her bra.

As told to me by Maxine Peck Taylor--my mother.
She is third from the right in the photo--pretty cool hat!!