The 1948 Wedding of Bill Hansen and Florence Ryan

Florence Ryan and Bill Hansen

Every time I'm convinced there are no more treasures in my immediate family left to uncover, a new one turns up.  My sister-in-law, Linda, was going through some things in her home and found a binder full of wedding pictures of my mother and her two sisters.  The three girls were part of that generation that had to wait out World War II for the "boys" to return home.  As the oldest of three girls and a boy, my mother had to wait the longest as her young adult years were put on hold. 

With the war finally over, there was a sudden availability of eligible men. All three started dating prospective husbands, and in the end, all three girls were ready to marry at about the same time.  My mother got married in January, her sister, Evelyn, in April and her sister, Florence in June.  Not only were there three marriages in five months, but my grandmother made the bridesmaid dresses for all three weddings.

So back to the binder my brother and sister-in-law found.  It was filled with beautiful pictures of elegant weddings.  I do not recall seeing many of the pictures before.  My brother felt that the blog was a great vehicle for sharing them with the family.  I put some of the pictures into collages and then decided to make a photoshow with all of the pictures for Florence and her husband, Bill.

I'm glad I can still be surprised.

Music of Our Parents - Que Sera, Sera

My mother liked to sing. As mentioned in an earlier post, I always assumed that the songs my parents sang were "old" songs -- not contemporary ones. My mother often sang Doris Day's song, Que Sera, Sera. There was a story that went along with this song. Doris Day, although not in my mother's class, went to the same high school as my mother and her sisters. The high school was Our Lady of the Angels, or O.L.A. located in St. Bernard. It was an all girls' school that in the present day has been combined with the boys' school, Roger Bacon.

Virginia, Evelyn and Florence at O.L.A.

My mother and her sisters all played in the O.L.A. band. Mom played the clarinet, Evelyn played trumpet, and Florence played the sax for a while.  Aunt Evelyn said they convinced Florence to switch to bells, because they needed another petite girl on the bells to match the other bell player.

I learned a lot about the song. According to Songfacts:

"This became Doris Day's biggest hit and her signature song, but she didn't want to record it because she thought of it as a children's song. Livingston explained in Zollo's interview: "She didn't want to record it but the studio pressured her. She did it in one take and said, 'That's the last you're going to hear of this song.'"

In fact, the song went on to win the 1956 Oscar for Best Song.  It also became the theme song for her sitcom The Doris Day Show, which ran from 1968-73.

Here are the lyrics to the song:

When I was just a little girl
I asked my mother, what will I be
Will I be pretty, will I be rich
Here's what she said to me.

Que Sera, Sera,
Whatever will be, will be
The future's not ours, to see
Que Sera, Sera
What will be, will be.

When I was young, I fell in love
I asked my sweetheart what lies ahead
Will we have rainbows, day after day
Here's what my sweetheart said.

Que Sera, Sera,
Whatever will be, will be
The future's not ours, to see
Que Sera, Sera
What will be, will be.

Now I have children of my own
They ask their mother, what will I be
Will I be handsome, will I be rich
I tell them tenderly.

Que Sera, Sera,
Whatever will be, will be
The future's not ours, to see
Que Sera, Sera
What will be, will be.

I like the sentiment of this song because it reminds me (a Control Freak) that you can't control everything about your life.  To some extent, what will be, will be. You can download it for $0.99 at Amazon at this link:  Que Sera, Sera 

Later I hope to add a photoshow link so you can hear the whole song and take a flight back to the 50's.

Note:  Doris Day was born Doris Kappelhoff.  She was the granddaughter of four German immigrants.  She grew up in Evanston (Cincinnati, Ohio).  There is some discrepancy about the year of her birth.  Based on the Census, she would have been born in 1923.  My mother, born in 1922, was in the O.L.A. class of 1940.  Aunt Evelyn was in the class of 1942.  According to an interview with Doris Day's son, her mother dropped out of O.L.A. at the age of 16 to pursue her career. 

Virginia Vonderheide Ryan - II

Raising Children

Virginia Ryan loved being a mother.  She had four children in very short order:  Virginia, Evelyn, Florence and Jim.  All four children were born in five years.  As children, Grandma had a desk in a little alcove off of the living room (I have it now), and this family portrait was on it.

Pictured from left to right:  
Florence, Virginia, Jim, Evelyn, Roy and Virginia

Virginia was protective of her family.  Aunt Evelyn told me that when they were growing up, St. James School was located just on the other side of the fence in their backyard.  Grandpa had installed a gate making it easy to get to school.  When Jim was in the 8th Grade, the school relocated to a new facility on Springfield Pike.  "Poor" Jim had to walk to Springfield Pike for school as he was in the first 8th Grade Class to graduate from the new school.  Grandma did not like this one bit.

 You can bet that Grandma sewed all of the girl's dresses and probably made their hats.

 



I recently called Uncle Jim because I realized that he "came of age" during World War II and I knew he had been in the Navy. He told me that he was going to be drafted when he turned 18 in July 1945. Not wanting to be in the Army, he made the decision to enlist in the Navy in June. He attended basic training and then was scheduled to go to Hawaii following a week's leave at home. Meanwhile, the war ended and his orders were changed. I will tell his story in another post.

Jim never saw a day of combat, but that does not mean he was exempt from the "horror" of war. He was assigned to the "cleanup" crew assigned to the Pacific. Need I say more. His mother was understandably very distressed at the thought of her only son going off to war. They lucked out.

Note the picture on the desk!

As I type this, I realize that today is the 16th Anniversary of my mother's death.  I dedicate the page to her memory and the sense of family that she instilled in me.