More From Charleston

More From Charleston

Laurie Turns Two

Laurie's First Birthday

It looks like I am clearly having this party in Charleston. Here are photo's of my 1st birthday. I wonder why Becky changed shirts?

Who's The Mom?

I heard stories throughout my life about my childhood. Much was made about how Becky took care of me. She took me places with her and showed me off to all her friends. I guess a thank you is in order for the time spent with me. I know in families the older children usually take on a lot of responsibility. So, for what ever time my sisters spent as a teens caring for me, I will say thank-you now.

Parkside Dr. In Charleston

My Favorite Photo

Here I am on Parkside drive probably wandering where my dad went to. I think it is a great photo. Dad was nearing retirement finally. My sisters had spent most of their childhood being moved from town to town never living in one place long. I huge transition was about to happen at Parkside drive for my family. Claudia describes to me a turbulent home as relationships with big sister and mom were not the best. When dad was home on weekends he would drink till he was drunk. Many times she described him has violent towards mom. I can only speculate that there were heated arguments about where they would be retiring to, a dating teenager, and a ten year old starved for attention. Alchohol was a given for my family. My father grew up drinking moonshine in the hills of Kentucky until prohibition. After that it was always party time on weekends.

Despite the stories of turmoil, I don't have any memory of any bad times at Parkside Dr. I have been told that I was loved, cherished, and sheltered from any drama.

Charleston 1955

These photos show I was a healthy happy baby! Once again I am in the sink with no clothes on. We lived at 522 Parkside Dr. in N. Charleston. The photos in Charleston show me at 91/2 months. At this time dad was still gone a good bit. The stories I hear from family told me that I was cherished and sheltered from all the drama at the house. Mom was enjoying being social joining the garden club, and ladies clubs etc. Becky would have been 16 and at Bishop England and Claudia 11.

Looking For The Details

It's been great trying to get these photos organized. Looking at these photos a little closer tells me what house we were in. I can also see that mom was a great housekeeper. At least from the photos every thing is tidy and neat. I always thought that I was in the closet getting in a purse! After getting a magnifying glass I see those are dad's shoes. Who knew? I also like checking out the clothes and curtains in these photos. Mom was an excellent seamstress and made most of our clothes. These photos were taken in Annapolis Md.

It's a Girl!

Here is a photo of mom and dad looking awfully confident! I think they must have been out that night at a friends house. Mom would never be without curtains on the window! She was forty when I was born on Dec 30th, 1954. I was born in Annapolis Md. at the Naval Academy Hospital.

By this time they had been stationed in Norfolk Va and California. They were getting ready to be transferred to Hawaii when the orders changed to Charleston S.C. These photos of Annapolis can be identified by the carpet! Dad and mom both were smokers and loved their social life. Great socks dad!

Suprise!

Here is a photo of my family in 1952. Claudia, on the left would be eight. My parents are thirty eight, and Rebecca Weber, mom's daughter from a previous marriage, would be thirteen. They were married in the spring of 1945. Here my father Ed is a chief in the Navy and would soon be retiring in August of 1952 after twenty-one years of service. They both grew up in Louisville Ky during the great depression. Daddy had served during WWII and at this time still fighting in the Korean War on the USS FOSS. My parents had come a long way together. They had been childhood friends during the depression and now they are raising a family very comfortably. Both had only an eight grade education.

After much research I discovered that dad had been through many battles on the U.S.S Boise and had witnessed many tragic events during the war. Claudia and Becky were true "navy brat's", being moved around from one Navy base to another and dad was gone most of the time at sea. I get the impression from Claudia that she never felt accepted by mom and Becky. I would imagine Becky had a tight bond with mom after the death of her father and was most likely happy to have a new dad. They could now be secure and not have to worry about survival so much. I do know from stories that Becky was the model child..doing her best to be "perfect".

It was told to me by mother that Dad wanted to adopt Becky. He was not allowed to, as Becky's grandfather Weber promised her an inheritance if she stayed a Weber. This was indeed the decision that my mother and Becky must have made.

I can hear mom how saying that they better have this baby while Ed was still in the service and let the Navy pay for the baby to be born. They were stationed in Annapolis Md. at this time.