Saturday, March 27, 2010

my groucho marx


Monday was my paternal grandfather, Chester Hanna's birthday. He passed away in May of 2007 at the ripe old age of 93. He was surprisingly computer savvy for a man of his generation. I miss his daily emails. They weren't terribly newsy, but he fondly called me "kid", and it always brightened my day to see one of his messages waiting in my inbox. He handed down his love of genealogical research to me, and we spent many afternoons online, sharing family history.


He was born in Ervin Township, Howard County, Indiana on March 22, 1914, and lived in and around the area his entire life. He retired after working for Delco Electronics for 35 years, but always had a bit of an entrepreneurial spirit, dabbling in various businesses. For years, he ran a professional photography studio from his home, with a complete dark room in the cellar. I spent many a happy hour watching the photos magically emerge in the pans of fluid. To this day, I think of him whenever I walk into a photo shop, and catch that heavenly whiff of developing solution.


One of my dearest memories is standing in the back of his easy chair and asking for his black plastic comb, which he always kept, along with his assortment of pens in his trusty pocket protector. After I combed his Brylcreemed hair down over his eyes, he would peer out with a comical look, and make me giggle with delight. He was a quiet and unassuming little man. I always thought if he would just grow a thick mustache, and smoke a cigar, he would look exactly like Groucho Marx. But his personality was totally different; no singing of Lydia the Tattooed Lady, or silly Grouchoesque walks. And that's okay. I loved him just the way he was.


For more Sepia Saturday posts, click [HERE].

69 comments:

  1. Happy belated Birthday Chester : )
    That is a darling picture of you with him. His smile shows how much he adored you. You also inherited your wonderful photography skills from him.

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  2. I can see shades of The Bach's face in GP. I wish you could have met him, Cat. He would have loved you!

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  3. Sorry I've been missing. Lovely post and wonderful photographs as always. Everything you write is so rich and resonates long after I finish reading.

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  4. Lovely memories and sweet photos to match, Willow. I could sit and browse through anyone's family scrapbooks for hours--I find them endlessly fascinating.

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  5. I never knew one grandfather since he passed before I was born. The other grandfather, paternal, he always smelled of cigars. It's a strong memory.

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  6. A belated Happy Birthday Chester !
    Your picture shows that of a fine gentleman, with much love of your family.
    Willow, has indeed inherited your talent in photography, your skill lives on...

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  7. I love the photos of your family. And the stories behind them are equally fascinating.

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  8. What a beatiful and wonderful post. Thanks for sharing.

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  9. I didn't know either one; both gone before I came along. You were so lucky to have him for such a long time, Willow. Your afternoons tracing family history would have been so special. xa

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  10. I see the Groucho around the eyes, and really know what it is to comb a Brylcream head!
    I'm pleased to share my birthday with such a fine gentleman..
    How lucky you both were.

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  11. What a wonderful grandfather story...you were both so lucky to know one another throught the years. I loved the hair combing, photo chemicals and email connection...special girl!

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  12. fabulous shots willow...the first especially. happy birthday too.

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  13. Reminds us of the good old days

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  14. What a lovely post. I had not seen that first picture before! And I love the one of you and him...so cute.

    Yes, your ancestral dna tingles like his....and...no joke...the word verification is 'tingl'
    hee!

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  15. How wonderful to have gotten emails from your grandfather! Love the image of you combing his hair over his eyes.

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  16. ahh so lucky you have a photo of him with you....when I was looking for my Granpap's photos I felt sad there were none with me when I spent so much time around him...It is wonderful we knew our grands...

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  17. Oh, the memories of grandpas! I loved mine so much since he took the place of my Dad after he died when I was seven. Grandpa used to let my sister and I do the exact same thing AND put rollers in his hair too. Remember those pink "spoolies"? That's what we used and I still have some of them too! Thanks for the memories, Willow. There is just nothing like a Grandpa! Nothing!

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  18. Wonderful old photos - and the blog's looking pretty sharp, too!

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  19. Chesto, the sixth Marx brother.

    Who knew!? ;)

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  20. Teri, are you talking about those pink rollers that folded up like flying saucers? I used those! Gosh, I haven't thought of them in years.

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  21. Chesto.

    Phil, I am laughing so hard right now, I can hardly type!

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  22. Your grandfather and my father must know each other. Dad was 100 on the 24th and I am sure he had a rip roaring party. Yes, he was a computer whiz at 91 and gathered all our family genealogy together. He was a photographer during the war and we spent much time in the basement of the newspaper developing those wonderful pictures. Aren't we lucky to have such a heritage. Ah, the comb----Dad didn't have much hair.

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  23. I love these posts, Willow! The photos are always so incredible and evocative and your bits and pieces of story about your family so interesting. Your grandfather sounds terrific -- I love that you had that very modern time with him even in his old age. Thanks for sharing it.

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  24. i totally heart grandpa chester!!!!! and that pic of you and him....what a treasure!!

    wonderful s.s. post!!!

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  25. What a lovely tribute to your grandfather. And a wonderful photo of the two of you...

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  26. I feel cheated! I didn't get to know any of my grandparents. I must have missed out on something very special.

    Have a good weekend. Bisou, Cro.

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  27. It is a gift to be loved just the way one is! Lovely tribute.

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  28. That would be you on your grandfather's lap?

    An interesting post. I always read these and try not to skip anything as the details make it good or bad. And this was excellent.

    The reminder about the Brylcreamed hair and that reminded me of oil that dropped from the ends of oiled hair onto shirt collars. Gosh, what were we thinking?

    I see you did go black and it is awesome. I have played with that one too. And if you go back you can also change the colors on it. I have tried changing the background to a lighter gray and the black diagonal lines still show through.

    If you want you can change the picture on the banner so it fits in the space without coming up short. Let me know.

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  29. Hello Willow,

    More lovely photographs. I knew only one grandfather and only for a short time but have some happy memories. You are fortunate. Your GP was a few weeks older than my Dad.

    I see you're playing with the new Blogger template toy. I tried a few experiments yesterday but haven't taken the plunge yet!

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  30. A fond tribute to a much loved grandfather. My maternal grandfather passed away in 2003, aged 92. They were built to last, weren't they?

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  31. I have a crush on your grandfather. I also was blessed with a man of many interests and fine character. He left an indelible mark on my life. I inherited his hat and his love for the garden, as well as his great respect for John Steinbeck, et al. Thank you for the memories.

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  32. I could sit and browse through anyone's family scrapbooks for hours--I find them endlessly fascinating.
    data entry work from home

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  33. Lovely. You have such an easy, fluid, plain english style that I could happily read an account by you of paint drying on the side of a barn. You are also a fine editor, mixing in pictures and mainly photographs, but, of course, many, many other readers allready know all that. Housework, schmousework! On with the blog!

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  34. Brylcreem - now that's a word from the past. My dad used it for years and occasionally I can smell it on someone in the supermarket and I instantly think of my dad.

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  35. You have the most amazing photo collection...

    Happy B-day to your dear Chester/Groucho!

    Have you been watching the Ancestry Special on NBC?( Forgive me if I missed a post about that) I thought of you when I saw it advertised.

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  36. You are carrying on the photography skills in the family as well as the genealogy. He lived a long life. This is a wonderful post about a love between a grandfather and granddaughter. How fortunate you are to be that granddaughter.

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  37. Thank you for sharing these memories. I am reminded that I am a wealthy man. I knew and loved both of my Grandfathers, and spent much time with them. Now I am a Grandfather myself, and have the joy of knowing my Grand Children. There is no material treasure that can match the love they share with me.

    Mike

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  38. Wonderful memories. I didn't know either of my Grandfathers very well and now that I'm older I wish that I'd taken the time to know them.

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  39. Marc, you completely made my day, dear friend. xx

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  40. Such beautiful recollections. I Love the photo of the two of you together. I remember you mentioning that he also sparked your interest in astronomy.

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  41. Thanks, Abe. I made the header picture to fit the entire space, but it didn't look as nice, lost it's crispness. So, I struck a happy medium and enlarged it 50%.

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  42. Willow, I am constantly amazed by the quality of your family photos. They are markedly better in quality and interest than most of a similar age. Now I'm guessing the cause of that is that your whole family is artistically gifted...you, the Bach, Betsy...your grandfather...and probably more.

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  43. Wonderful that you have such an abundance of vintage photographs. Do you know how far back the interest in photography went? Perhaps even before your Grandfather. You have a very interesting family and I always enjoy your story telling abilities. This is really how our history was passed down. I remember my Mother and Father telling the family stories, which is the only reason I know so much of the family history. I'm sad that our current day history is not maintained in the same personal way.

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  44. Wonderful collection of photos and an intimate little tribute from a granddaughter to her beloved grandfather. I'm sure he treasured your relationship. How wonderful to have shared genealogy together -- I so wish I had been able to ask questions of my grandparents when they were alive.

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  45. How come you keep moving up to the top of the sidebar with a different time of posting? Have you got blogger time gremlins on old hamster wheel that keeps us all powered?

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  46. He must have been very comforted by the fact that you shared his love of family history and genealogy.
    Evelyn in Montreal

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  47. A wonderful story, as usual. Have you actually been to a photography studio lately that smelled like chemicals?

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  48. Great pictures. He sounds like a wonderful man and it sounds like you had a terrific relationship with him. I like that he used email too. The bryl cream/comb story really made me smile. I bet you miss him a lot.

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  49. Wonderful photos, amazing story. I love stories of our ancestors. So very interesting. Thank you for sharing!

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  50. Love the new look here, Willow - it's very Wordpress-y! Nice clean lines and it really spotlights your posts and sidebar.

    What a treasure-trove of photographs and memories you have. I envy you your relationship with your paternal grandfather since I never had the opportunity to meet mine.

    Kat

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  51. All kinds of Kudos for your posts Willow. I so enjoy them too. Even the comments add to the fun of a post. I think you are especially lucky to have relatives who blog to share with. I am trying to gather all my info for my grands and save pictures for them. It seems we don't get interested in genealogy until we get older and then most of the folks are gone. I love the picture of you and your GD.
    QMM

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  52. Great post! Love the trip down memory lane, so nostalgic. And you are just adorable with your grandfather. !!My WV below for this is auntatyp!!! like in "Aunt" someone - interesting, yes? since we are discussing relatives.

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  53. As we move up in the generations, there are fewer who call us "kid." I enjoyed this family story Willow. I am always pleased to listen to a story like this. Thank you.

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  54. You have some really great photos of Chester. I really enjoy all the things that you shared about him.

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  55. Wonderful post Willow. What delightful photos. The one of your grandfather as a little boy is particularly beautiful,but the love shines through in the last one. You always present such a rich and fascinating history with your maternal and paternal research and photographic records are so important in keeping the history alive. Congratultions on your interest and efforts.

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  56. Willow,
    Thanks for the great tribute to my dad. He was truly a loving man. I can remember the Sunday comics being read to us kids while we hung on the back and arms of his chair. We did have fun combing his hair, didn't we! Great pics!
    You are more like my little sister than my niece! Thanks again for this rememberable post!!
    :) The Bach

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  57. Great photos to illustrate this story. It's amazing how many SS posts make me say "Wow, what a cool-sounding guy (or gal)! Wish I'd had a chance to meet him (or her)."

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  58. wonderful how you really made the most of him, while you had him

    those top two photos are delightful

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  59. Brylcream and pocket protectors, those words sure take me back. Those are wonderful photos, by the way. Interestingly posed.

    Happy Birthday!

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  60. Willow what wonderful memories of your grandpa. The relationship sounds very special. Love the pic of you with grandpa, you look adorable! My maternal grandpa had passed before I was born and my paternal grandpa did when I was ten. How wonderful to have these memory to give to your children and grandchildren. I think I will try to get hold of my cousin with the goods on the lineage. Tres fantastique!

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  61. What a wonderful grandfather! You were lucky to have him for so long in your life.

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  62. Lovely to have the photos and the memories. My dad always had a darkroom too and I remember many of the same sights and sounds as you...

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  63. Lovely post Willow and a fine tribute to the man. You obviously inherited much more than your interest in genealogy from him - there is a photographers' blood running through the two of you (indeed, as far as I can tell, through the whole family).

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  64. Oh, I love these photos and your memories of your grandfather, especially how you would comb his hair down over his eyes and he'd play along with you--just wonderful!

    Thanks for stopping by my blog and leaving such a lovely comment.

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  65. OMG. A lame phrase, I know, but it expresses my first thought when I saw it.

    The first photo is dear to my heart. Probably the camera he is holding but how sweet the entire photo is - the kind you want to study for a long time; the kind you would like to walk into and never come back.

    Thanks you for sharing your wonderful family with us.

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  66. Beautiful pictures! Thanks for sharing the stories.I'm feeling so much these days that the more people share their family stories, the more we learn about American history. Just one story at a time.

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  67. Thank you for sharing this heartfelt tribute to a simple but loving grandfather.

    That final picture is simply precious. How lucky you were to have Chester as your grandfather!

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Inject a few raisins of conversation into the tasteless dough of existence.
― O. Henry (and me)