Aint Zita’s 1939 Visit

I know this photo has been posted before on Facebook.  I had a version of the photo from my dad, but it was not a good quality, even with a good scan.  I fixed it up as good as I could and shared it, too.  But it was not a blog post.  I got a better quality photo from cousin Sis a while back, with intentions to get it looking better to share.

And here it is!  Ain’t it grand?  I really like this old photo from around 1939.  I think it was taken in Lake Charles at my grandparents’ home when my grandmother’s sister Zita came for a visit.  Hence the title.  Or course, the title doesn’t actually say “Aunt Zita.”  I spelled the title the way I’ve heard the name ever since I can remember.  And for some reason I hear the other ones’ names pronounced like “ant,” but for Zita I always hear the “Aint.”  Say it!  It’s got a nice ring to it. 

The grandmother I’m talking about is my  paternal grandmother Germaine Erie Patureau Landry.  My generation always called her “Mee Maw.”  She was a sweetie.  She was married to Robert Joseph Landry, Sr., who we called Pee Paw.  At least all of the cousins who were born before he died called him that. 

Now that I’ve introduced those three from the older generation of Patureau kin in this photo, I’ll point out which ones they are.  Zita Patureau Schafer is the woman standing on the far left.  Next to her is Pee Paw, with Mee Maw looking over his shoulder.  All of the others in the photo are from the next generation in the Patureau line.  Nobody from that generation of our Patureau line had Patureau for a last name.  Maybe someone from our Patureau line should marry a cousin with the Patureau last name?  Just a thought!

Seven of the eight children of Mee Maw and Pee Paw are in the photo.  Their oldest son A. J. is not in it.  Next to Mee Maw we have Marie, Hubert, Germaine, and Bobbie – my dad.  The front row has my dad’s younger siblings along with Aunt Zita’s daughters.  They are actually the daughters of Erie and Zita’s sister Marie Therese “Bee”, who died shortly after the birth of her younger daughter.  Zita married Bee’s widower Clarence Shafer and raised the daughters Sis and Syl as her own.

Sitting in the front is my dad’s brother Johnny, cousin Sis, cousin Syl, sister Frances, and sister Wana.  They all look so sweet and cute.  Hey!  Didn’t I say that about last week’s photo?  Oh, well.  It’s true again this week.  But last week I was working with a photo of my great aunts and uncles, and this week was with my aunts and uncles.  One generation makes a big difference in commonalities in facial features.  While I did see some common features in my own grandmother last week, I didn’t notice as much with my grandfather’s siblings. 

This week I saw many more common features that brought to mind many of my cousins.  So I spent a little time with my sisters Karen and Jamie, my godmother Shirley and her daughter Chelleen, my cousins Colleen, Paula, Jeanne, and Tricia as I worked on the photo.  I had an enjoyable time.  I hope you do, too.