A Portrait of Pee Paw

I thought I would continue my grandparent theme again this week.  Two weeks ago I had my paternal grandmother featured.  Last week I had a photo of both of my maternal grandparents.  So that just leaves my paternal grandfather.

But not only that, I had photos that showed them in really good light.  In Mee Maw’s case, I meant that literally.  The lighting of the photo was really special.  Last week with Grandpa and Grandma, the photo was really good of both of them and the twinkle in Grandma’s eyes was noticeable.  So I had to do something special for Pee Paw as well.

Fortunately for all of us, I obtained a really good photo of him earlier this year when a few of us Landry cousins got together to share our photographic treasures.  This photo is from the Secret Collection.  It is a very small photo.  It might have actually been in a locket that my grandmother had.  I could be mistaken.  But trust me, it was small and it had several creases in it.  I cleaned it up tonight so I could share it with everyone.

As I said, this was my paternal grandfather.  His name was Robert Joseph Landry, Sr., though he went by Rob and Bob when he was this age.  He was born Jan. 9, 1893, in Westlake, Louisiana, to Simon Alcide Joseph Landry and Marie Celeste Leveque Landry.  Alcide had fought in the Civil War out of Brusly, Louisiana, and later married his half first cousin Marguerite Baselite Landry Leveque’s daughter Celeste.  The family moved to southwestern Louisiana shortly before Rob was born.  He grew up in Westlake and I know they were still there in 1912.  I have a photo of him in 1912 and another one of him from 1915, and this one looks like it was taken between those times.

It’s such a great photo of him.  It looks like a studio portrait.  Very professional.  I wonder what the occasion was?  He was mainly involved with baseball during this time.  I’m sure it was taken before he joined the military in 1917.  All this speculating makes me realize how little I know about the details of his life.  When we cousins got together to share photos, I discovered that his hearing loss was a result of a training accident during his time in the military.  That’s what led to his discharge and why he wore a hearing aid the rest of his life.

So I am discovering more as I keep exploring all of my relatives.  I’m also getting these great photos.   And I share it all with my adoring fans.  Can you believe it?  I’ve posted at least one post a week – every week – for the past four years. That’s a lot of posts!   l intend to keep writing them. 

Why stop now?  I’m on a roll!