From the get-go Nancy and I have always taken a lot of pictures. It started out with a cute little fancy camera gifted to us for our wedding by some very close friends. It was a Pentax Auto 110, a mini SLR camera small enough to fit in your shirt pocket. It came with attachable telephoto lens, wide angle lens and flash unit. It was very cool.
From there we graduated to a series of 35 mm jobs that served us until the 21st century when like the rest of the world we graduated to digital. Two are shown here. They are the survivors.
I say survivors because I lost two other 35 mm cameras over the years in very "dad" ways. The first one was placed very carefully on the roof of our car as I was loading child car seats or something. Then I drove off. Didn't realize my error for several miles (oh like that's never happened to you).
The second lost camera incident was even more colorful. The victim disappeared into the Huron River while I was taking an action shot from the rear seat of a canoe. We hit a rock just as I was focusing. The camera went flying - not even sure in which direction - as I struggled to keep myself and Cathy, the subject of the intended photo, in the boat. And yes, I had removed the cord from around my neck moments earlier to get just the right angle for the shot. As my father-in-law Rae liked to say, "It isn't easy being stupid".
We also dabbled here and there with home movies. We bought a nice VHS-C movie camera.
We took a number of movies in the early going. I found them interesting, and it was nice to have the kids voices captured for posterity. But the videos were too brief and infrequent to serve as a true family history. The movie camera was just not convenient enough, especially away from home. However, this expensive toy did have its day. The kids used it on several occasions to play movie maker and entertain friends. They also used it for a few school projects that turned out pretty well. So we feel that we got our money's worth.
In the beginning of our pre-digital period we alternated between print film and slide film. Eventually, because of their versatility we went almost exclusively with slides. I'd say from the early 90s on. Before we were done with 20th century technology, we managed to stack up over 70 100-slide carousels.
So. Now you can see what has intimidated me about this project for so many years. That being to scan the 7000+ slides along with 1000+ prints into digital form. And being a not-so-closet OCD carrier, I feel an overwhelming urge to review and edit each scanned file and organize them all into proper date sequence. Can't help it.
Okay. Enough of my pain. I'm dealing with it. And have procured the necessary tools and lubricants to proceed. So here we go. My first Memory Lane post was in October 2012. It covered our wedding in June of 1980. I'll take it from there.
I would describe the period immediately following our wedding as "the honeymoons". The first, of course, was the actual honeymoon. It consisted of a three-day weekend at the Marriott in Ann Arbor. The posh one, on Geddes Road. Pretty glamorous, eh? What can I say? We had limited funds and even more limited vacation time. After taking Monday off we reported back to our professional lives on Tuesday.
Here are a few shots of what I like to call "The Marriott Caper". The first ones are of what all newlyweds do on their honeymoon - sit by the pool.
And catch a few rays. This pose is still one of my favorites.
As is this one.
Then there was riding around in Nancy's little green Chevette, visiting old haunts and dining out.
The "for the record" confirmation of the upscale venue.
We also took walks by the river and discovered duck watching. Seems like we have done quite a lot of duck watching in our now 40 years of marriage. Parks, Disney resorts, the lake. I'm happy to say that ducks seem to be about everywhere, and they're almost always in a good mood.
The other perhaps unusual activity that pervaded our short but sweet honeymoon was going to the movies. Nancy and I have always been big movie people. So between other honeymoon activities we caught several of the latest films of the day. Eight, actually. I can't remember all of them, but I'm pretty sure Kubrick's adaptation of King's "The Shining" was among them (not your typical love-birds movie). I have to admit that the weekend was a bit of a blur - but great fun. And it set the tone for the active but simple social life we have maintained for so long.
The second "honeymoon" period covered most of the next six months. It was the time during which as a couple we established relationships with both sides of the extended family and launched what would eventually grow into our active cottage life.
But the first order of business was to set up our household. And that required - a house! So we found this little bungalow rental in Harper Woods.
And settled in very domestically. We were quite happy as shown in these "only been married a few days" pics. Blissful, is how I would put it.
Of course there were chores to contend with, we being aspiring responsible community members. From the beginning we took an equal partner approach to such things. Like yard work.
Meal prep. Yes, that's me at the controls of the grill (a sight few have beheld in more recent years; that befuddled look on my face eventually ended in me being relieved of any duties involving flammables).
And auto maintenance. Nancy here enthusiastically assisted by a giddy little Teddy.
You get the idea. Things were going smoothly. To celebrate our transition to married life we ended June with a gathering of my side of the family at a fun restaurant in Saginaw called Holly's Landing. It was also a celebration of my parents 30th anniversary (our anniversary dates being only four days apart, this joint ritual would be repeated many times over the years). Attending from left to right were my dad Wendell, mother Dolores, sister Wendy, sister Cindy's boyfriend Mitch (in back), Wendy's husband Dick, Nancy and sister Cindy.
Owing to the vagaries of life, I believe this is the only picture ever taken with this particular group.
July of 1980 began with an interesting gathering at our Harper Woods digs. I had recently completed my first year of management, which was as the manager of a revenue officer training group. As was typical of training groups, all of the graduating trainees were about to be reassigned to other line Collection groups around the state. So the graduates along with their coaches and a few invited guests celebrated and said their goodbyes with a backyard cook out.
If you are or were an IRS employee (or a non-compliant taxpayer :-) you may have encountered one or more of these individuals as they set about their careers. Here are just a few pics of the occasion. In this first shot we have Linda L (later known to most as Linda W) with graduate Karen K (last names omitted due to NDA requirements).
Here we have guest Kathy S. with graduate Larry M.
Graduates Phil S., Lois R. and David H.
And finally coach Cynthia L., guest Eric E. and my bride.
Things went pretty well, and all parted company on the best of terms. We did have one unfortunate incident. Unbeknownst to us, our six-month old puppy, Heidi, had spent the afternoon cruising around the backyard sampling unattended wine glasses. After everyone had departed we found her passed out behind the backyard maple tree. She recovered, thankfully, and as far as we know no complaints were filed with the ASPCA.
Soon thereafter we took our first trip to Ipperwash Beach and Avon Rae cottage, the LeRoy family Canadian getaway on the southeastern shore of Lake Huron. I had been there before, during the courtship, but that was different. I hadn't yet been formally admitted to the family. Now, I was in. Time to party. Here's a shot of the cottage as it was in the summer of 1980.
At that time there was no seawall, just a gently sloping sand dune down to Lake Huron. Two distinguishing characteristics of the cottage - the old sign and the wooden porch - were still intact. This venerable structure (sort of a large, two-story wooden tent) has seen a lot of upgrades over the last 40 years. We'll get to them in time.
But more importantly the visit was my first opportunity to meet and get to know the Canadian side of the family. First there were the cousins, more like Canadian sisters to Nancy, Lynne on the left and Ann.
And their parents Aunt Evelyn and Uncle Ken.
I'd like to share one final shot from that first visit. Here are the newlyweds about to crack a big honkin' bottle of champagne to celebrate. Note the semi-faded red sofa-sleeper that we're sitting on. It's another one of those distinguishing Avon Rae characteristics that has since fallen by the wayside.
Later in July Nancy and I had another little adventure. Turned out that the Republican National Convention was in Detroit that year. So what the heck. After work one night we along with some work friends took the trolley from the Patrick V. McNamara building (where our IRS offices were located) to the fairly new Renaissance Center, where the madness was ensuing. Here are some memorable shots.
And our fun conveyance. Way before the people mover.
This is a shot of the Horace E. Dodge and Son memorial fountain. The photographer was the creative member of our little group, Bobby Douglas.
Here is the lower level gathering and vendor area, which to this day is a common venue for Detroit's series of summer music festivals.
And my companions - bride Nancy, Mary Aguzzi and her hubby Dick Hickson, Patty Cooper and her hubby Bobby D. .
Here we are looking for treasures in the inventory of a political pin trader.
And a final shot of the still newlyweds with our pin purchases. Yes, that's me in a rare U. of M. shirt appearance. If you can't quite make out the pins mine is a head shot of J. R. Ewing (of Dallas fame), and Nancy's says "Detroit Loves a Good Party". Since then we've tried to contribute to that concept as often as possible.
Unfortunately there was a little more adventure associated with this outing than we were looking for. At that time during work hours we parked our car at the Bagley Street Garage, lovingly referred to by its patrons as "rusty ramps". We left the car there that afternoon when we trollied to the Ren Cen. What we hadn't realized was that the garage closes at 8:00 pm. And I mean closes. Nobody in, no cars out until 6:00 am the next morning.
Having spent most of our pocket money on party food and drink, plus the pins of course, we found ourselves standing outside the closed garage with very little cash. A little under $13 actually. This was pre-cell phone by several years, and Uber was a full generation away. Also, it wasn't fashionable (or prudent) then to use credit cards for cab fare. But desperate, we took a chance and flagged down a cab on Michigan Avenue hoping our funds would be adequate.
Our Harper Woods place was about 12 miles from downtown. As our cab driver cruised out I-94, our eyes were glued to the meter. As we pulled off the freeway at Allard Avenue the meter was pushing $11. When we finally pulled up in front of our home on Huntington a few blocks away it read $12. We breathed a sigh of relief, gave the cabby everything we had, jumped out of the car and beat it to our front door. Suffice it to say, the cabby didn't get much of a tip. I've always felt bad about that, and it has caused me to basically over-tip all service providers since. Guilt is a tough thing to shake.
We wrapped up July 1980 with one more newlywed ritual. Nancy carted me off to the Toronto area to visit the Canadian relies. While we had had a nice initial visit at Ipperwash Beach with Nancy's Uncle Ken, Aunt Evelyn and family there's nothing like seeing people in their natural habitats to learn what they are really all about. As I have noted in several previous posts, especially the one called "Canadians", these people are special.
I had a great time getting to know them better, hearing stories about the long history of the McKellar girls (Nancy's mom Marge and her sister Evelyn), their extended families and the close relationships they have maintained through the years. And I was warmed by their interests in our newly formed family and our plans. As you will read in later Memory Lane posts, this first visit laid the groundwork for what has been a forty-year good time for me, for Nancy and her cousins, and now two generations of children. A case in point is this pic, shot last August in Clearwater Beach Florida.
This is Nancy's first cousins twice removed, Reid and Emily (grandchildren of Nancy's cousin Lynne), sharing beach treasures with my mother Dolores after we all met for a seaside lunch. That's a four generation international connection. We've had a lifetime of such memories.
Back to 1980, our late July/early August visit included seeing the highlights of Toronto, such as Eaton Center,
The CN Tower,
Toronto from the top of the CN Tower,
Ontario Place, including an open air concert by Judy Collins,
and the usual backyard cocktail hour. From left to right we have me, Uncle Ken, cousin Lynne, cousin Ann and Aunt Evelyn. This was actually the dawn of my slowly-developed but impressively durable Manhattan period. Apparently what happens in Canada does not stay in Canada.
Let me close out my reboot of Memory Lane with this shot of Nancy with our gracious hosts, Evelyn, Ann and Ken, as we prepared to return to the homeland.
Well, I hope this taste of our family's origins has whetted your appetite for a little more. Now back to the slide scanner.
Grosse Pointe Charles
