HELBLING Family (Click for Family Tree)
Happy First Day of Spring!
This picture is so happy and spring-like that it just HAD to be our post for today. It’s also a good way to finish up honoring Mary during her birthday week.
Flowers are blooming all around and the trees and grass are greening up after our very dark winter of 2020, so it is especially lovely to see this picture of Mary. She was born March 16, 1925, so may be about age 12?, and is definitely smiling and happy. It does look a bit later than March, since the flowers are so tall and it was most likely taken in St. Louis, Missouri, where winter lingers a bit, especially back in those years. This might be her Easter picture, with her short-sleeved, ruffled dress, cute shoes, and her big hat. It could instead be a year or two earlier, as Mary was always tall, but there is no date on the image for us to know for sure. The family lived at 5154 Page Blvd. in St. Louis, Missouri, a two-story home built in 1895, at least from 1920-1940, so this was probably taken in that back yard. Mary’s father, Gerard William “G.W.” Helbling, loved to garden, so he may have planted these beautiful flowers. (We don’t know if her mother, Anna May Beerbower Helbling liked to garden or not.) One of those windows may have been in Mary’s bedroom.
If anyone can help us date this more precisely or tell us more, please let us know!
Notes, Sources, and References:
- Family treasure chest of photos.
- 1920-1940 US Federal censuses and city directories.
- Google and realtor.com images to confirm what house at 5154 Page Blvd. looks like. https://www.google.com/maps/place/5154+Page+Blvd,+St.+Louis,+MO+63113/ and https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/5154-Page-Blvd_Saint-Louis_MO_63113_M72000-86995
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