MAY CONTAIN NUTS
HOME
 
JUMP TO PAGE   100  >  200  >  300  >  400  >  500  >  600
VINTAGRAPH • WPA • WWII • YOU MEAN A WOMAN CAN OPEN IT?

Well, What a Sweater: 1949

 I'd love to have a sweater like that today, but back in 1949 what I was probably happy about was getting my picture taken, thereby being the center of attention. I'm sitting on the well at my grandparents' house in Calpella, California. That's my brother in silhouette down at the other end of the arbor. My grandfather built the house around 1915, and raised wine grapes on his ranch for about the next 40 years. He did really well during prohibition, but suffered when grape prices plunged after repeal, for which he held FDR personally responsible. He was a feisty Old Country Italian. View full size.

I'd love to have a sweater like that today, but back in 1949 what I was probably happy about was getting my picture taken, thereby being the center of attention. I'm sitting on the well at my grandparents' house in Calpella, California. That's my brother in silhouette down at the other end of the arbor. My grandfather built the house around 1915, and raised wine grapes on his ranch for about the next 40 years. He did really well during prohibition, but suffered when grape prices plunged after repeal, for which he held FDR personally responsible. He was a feisty Old Country Italian. View full size.

On Shorpy:
Today’s Top 5

tterrace's sister

She has appeared in a number of his pictures, including this one:

https://www.shorpy.com/node/3860

She had a real cute pixie haircut in the fifties - and the pretty face that you needed to carry it off!

My Pix

Grandpa's house

Here's a rear view of my grandfather's house taken about 1930. In the driveway are my grandmother, my father and his Chrysler. If it is 1930, it's two years before he was married. The house still stands and is occupied, but since the peaked roof was removed it's almost unrecognizable. The last time I went by, though, I could still see that doorway to the basement where Grandpa made his dago red. Sharp-eyed koley5 is right; the well photo was taken the same day as this one. My memories of the house are indeed happy: sitting around the kitchen filled with aromas of Grandma's cooking; Grandpa playing his accordion; the front room with all the nice furniture nobody ever went into; puking purple after spending a day roaming the vineyards stuffing my face with grapes.

Sooooo Cute!!

I may have just fallen into a sugar coma from all the sweetness in this photo. Really, tterrace, you must start posting a disclaimer before showing us such cuteness!

That smile

Just like someone said previously, I knew it was tterrace without reading any of the captions. It knew instantly who had posted it simply from that mischievous smile you see in a 6 decade long parade of photos. I even bet if there is a police mug shot of tterrace somewhere we all can identify him instantly as well.

Surely we've met!

Every visit to your gallery induces my own "remember when" and a smile. Thanks for sharing!

Madame Ovary

I actually just said "aww" out loud.

(And it's not creepy at all that I knew it was you without reading the caption. No it is not.)

Seconds later ...

"What's that, Lassie? tterrace fell down the well?!"

Thought it looked familiar

Same sweater as the one you were wearing in that pic with your brother on the steps at your grandparents'. On the same day?

Another Kind of Family

You don't suppose it was the Mafia buying those grapes, maybe? Surely there was no legal domestic production of wine during Prohibition. There's an extensive literature about smuggling hard liquor from other countries (in which the Mafia played a role), but not much about wine.

[There was indeed much legal domestic production of wine during Prohibition. Wine consumption in the United States is thought to have almost doubled during those years. Although many wineries closed, others flourished, making ostensibly sacramental wine or a jellylike grape stock that could be used in home winemaking. - Dave]

Say cheese!

Great photo! Your smile is just precious.

After reading your comment, I would love to see some more photos of your grandparents' house if you wouldn't mind sharing.

Cool house!

From what I can see, this looks like a great house. I would bet you loved going to your grandparents' house, right? BTW, what a great smile!

Syndicate content  Shorpy.com is a vintage photography site featuring thousands of high-definition images. The site is named after Shorpy Higginbotham, a teenage coal miner who lived 100 years ago. Contact us | Privacy policy | Accessibility Statement | Site © 2024 Shorpy Inc.