Betty Lou and Her Younger Phenice Cousins
I really didn’t have anything in mind for my blog post this week. Sometimes I’ll see a story that needs to be told or find an amazing old photo that I just have to share. But this week I just went looking back in some of my mom’s old photos. It is my mom’s turn, after all. I gotta keep it relatively even.
I’ve been thinking of posting this photo for a few years now. I had to look back at my old posts to make sure I hadn’t used the photo before. This is my 350th post, so it’s getting harder and harder to remember which photos I’ve posted and which ones I have thought about posting over the years. 350 posts is a lot! It’s almost enough for a post for every day of the year. Of course some of those posts weren’t “official” posts. Either they were lagniappe or documents supporting another post.
Phenice family cousins in Hathaway, Louisiana, circa April 1951.
This picture was taken around April of 1951 in Hathaway, Louisiana. I estimated the date based on the youngest subject of the photo. I can identify her as Carol Phenice. She was born in the winter of 1950/51 and she looks like she is still quite young and the weather and plants looks like it is springtime. The oldest subject of the photo is my dear sweet mom. Her name was Betty Lou Bucklin and she was born on May 20, 1933. Her parents’ names were Fred Bucklin and Myrtle Phenice.
I’m mentioning her parents so I can explain to you the connection between my mom and her younger companions. And in this case, the connection comes from Myrtle Phenice AKA Grandma Bucklin or just Grandma. Myrtle had a younger brother named Orville Phenice. Orville and his wife Elta Whitman Phenice had five children, including their three youngest shown in this photo.
Holding little Carol is their third child Linda. She would be about eight years old in this photo. The boy in the photo is my mom’s cousin Paul. He was the only son out of those five children. That’s just like what Grandma and Grandpa had. I wonder if he and my Uncle Austin ever got together to complain about living in a household of mostly girls. I grew up in a household that was evenly divided and it seems to me like the best situation. I’m probably biased.
I wonder where all the other siblings are from these two families? It doesn’t really matter. It would have been too crowded with everyone in it. This is a nice little grouping of cousins. I’ve always liked the photo. It is such a good photo of all of them and the background is pleasing. I’m pretty sure it is at my grandparents’ property in Hathaway.
And now I’ve finally used the photo in a post. I’ll try to make sure I remember that fact!
Love this ❤️ Maybe Betty Lou was babysitting!
Diane Prejean you could be right! It just looks so relaxed.
One of the few photos of Uncle Paul where he wasn’t pouting. The story my Mom (his older sister) told was that he had a habit of misbehaving before getting his picture taken (& receiving the consequences!)
And that pouting for pictures by Paul was passed down to his son Glyn!
I love pic! Your mom looks so beautiful and I just love Uncle Paul’s smirk— something about his crooked smile reminds me of my Grandma
I love this. Betty Lou was so beautiful and Aunt Linda looks only a few years older than that image even now! That is Grandmas little smile on Uncle Paul.
Paul’s expression looks like he’s planning what mischief he can do next. 😆
I have never seen this pic before. I love it – dirty feet and all!
Linda Rogers I noticed the feet, Linda, and am surprised that Jacko didn’t comment on them!
Love these stories and pictures