JOIN BOSSY'S OLD SCHOOL BLOG ROLL!

i am bossy

The Return Of Bossy’s Family Tree. A Crash Course.

Last fall, Bossy began telling the story of her maternal grandparents using the vintage photographs that reside in a large wooden trunk at her mother’s house.

Bossy worked her way through their adolescence and a chunk of their young married life before other things got in the way—but Bossy is ready to pick up the narrative where she left off.

For those of you who may have forgotten the story or are new to this fog blog, here is everything you need to know but have too much of a life to ask:

Young

Bossy’s grandmother Bert was left on a doorstep as an infant—and that doorstep belonged to a crazy American Indian woman, and that doorstep was in a slum. That’s Bossy’s grandmother on the right. That’s the Crazy Old Woman in the middle—and to the left of her, the Crazy Old Woman’s crazy sister who has one pure white eyebrow and a pure white set of eyelashes. What a prize this
bunch is.

Meanwhile across town:

Three

That’s Bossy’s grandfather Walt in the center flanked by his paternal grandparents who are raising him after Walt’s parents pursued one of the rare divorces of the early 1920s.

During his childhood, Bossy’s grandfather learns how to play the drums, and when not gigging around town with his homemade drum kit, he lobs eggs into crowds and hops freight trains to his elementary school where he stares out of barred windows, watching the construction of a steel suspension bridge and memorizing the feats of engineering.

Walt is full of life, and full of hell.

Laugh

Meanwhile Bert’s situation becomes more desperate as her crazy caretaker—emphasis on the word taker with no care whatsoever—marries a shattered man with St. Vitus Dance and two threatening sons—and the whole crowd of them gets caught up in a series of evictions.

Walt meets Bert through his neighborhood buddies, and he falls instantly for this serious, beautiful girl who is sad, starving, and reading her way across the municipal library.

Waltbert

As their relationship grows, Walt scales the bricks of Bert’s row house to smuggle food through her bedroom window—but the Crazy Old Woman steals the food and dashes whatever remains of Bert’s hopeful spirit.

Racecar

So Walt and Bert hatch a plan to marry after enough money is saved to allow for an apartment of their own. For months and months they squirrel away used linens and homemade furniture and on July 4, 1936 they get hitched in front of a small circle of family and friends, kicking the Crazy Old Woman and that whole mess of a life to the curb. For good.

Fence

Young married life is sweet despite the fact that the depression is on and Walt works a full time job and plays in a Big Band every night. Soon there is a baby, and that baby is nicknamed Dondi. She is Bossy’s mother:

Dondicolorized

As many of Walt’s friends go off to war, Walt becomes restless for an adventure. First he takes a job on the other side of the state, but Bert refuses to uproot a life she is finally growing into. They separate.

Gardenwalt

Walt soon realizes the error of his ways, and he and Bert reunite and carry on—until the next fork in the road: Walt has been offered work a half continent away, in Wyoming. This time Bert agrees to the scheme, and what proves acceptable is the fact that they will join their best friends in Wyoming, Bud and Mickey.

So they sell off everything they own, and throw a few pieces of luggage on top of the old Packard.

Dashroad

And when last we saw Bert she was scouting around the Casper Wyoming refinery job site with Walt, who never minds the No Trespassing signs.
Or any signs.

So that’s the Family Tree summary—minus a few carrier pigeons, a case of Poison Carbuncles, and one Italian mother-in-law chasing a car down Danenhower Street.

And so forth.

Actually, Bossy suggests you read the actual Family Tree archive here—and then see you in the left-hand column soon with a new… episode?

Bossyturns

Reader Interactions

Comments

  2. wow, what a great story, and I love the way you tell it. I checked the archive. What a remarkable story that Bert’s life and upbringing was!

    Interesting about Walt’s parents being divorced in those years – I think it may not have been so rare, after all. My dad’s parents divorced, too and he was raised mostly by his aunts, since his mother was in ill health.

    I think divorce was something that had such a stigma in those days that people tried to deny it. My dad’s grandfather was a preacher, and so having his daughter divorced was even worse!

    Reply

  7. After months and months, I’m so glad Bossy has finally decided to get Bert off that rig in Wyoming. Can’t wait for a new episode. I can only imagine how much bigger Donde is by now.
    Thank you, Bossy

    Reply

  14. Hi Bossy, this is an interesting story and I really love those pictures. I rarely see those on my grandparents I just wonder what happened to those pictures.

    Reply

  15. So much drama. Now think of the reality TV that could have come out of that. If there had been daytime talk shows, do you think Bert would have gone on Maury?

    Reply

  16. Wow, what a great idea. I’m going to read through the archives and get the whole story. Can’t wait for the next installment. Don’t be surprised if you see something similar pop up on my blog, I love the idea!

    Reply

  17. Sounds so familiar … like my family. A divorce when there was no such thing, etc. Did anyone murder anyone? Cuz we had one of those, but unfortunately it was not a blood relative that did it. It was a relative by marriage only … so does that count? Cuz I like to claim a lot of crazy in our family!

    Reply

  21. Yeah the family tree is back! I LOVE it, especially the one about Walt’s mother taking off to Newark to head up an orphanage-’cause man, did those kids NEED her!!

    Reply

  24. This is awesome. I love vintage photos especially if there is a history and story to go along with them, and it was a real treat to have such a great story-teller. I loved going through the archives too, even if I did feel just a tad voyeuristic doing it…but in a good way.

    Reply

  27. I read the whole story this morning and was riveted by the whole epic. I love it! Give us more!

    Off topic: Is that a McCain ad on the left?

    Reply

  28. SO glad it’s back. Also? My great-grandparents were probably not legally divorced (although no one knows) but they were definitely permanently separated for most of their adult lives, in the same era. Divorce did happen back then, but I think they tried to hide the details.

    Reply

  29. FAMILY SCANDAL! Love, hate, romance… this story has it all. Beats the hell out of my great-great grandmother, America Bishop, who was the madame of a whorehouse in Paris, Illinois a generation before! (Yeah- explain that one to the kids!)

    Reply

  31. Very interesting!

    That last photo… isn’t from that era, is it? It looks like a four lane interstate, and those weren’t built until the cold-war era?

    Reply

  34. Out of lurkdom to say….No way you could make this up. What a totally wild life. Is the carnival involved anywhere in this?

    Reply

  36. Finally!! I read through all the archives of this story when I first found your blog and I haven’t felt complete since! I neeeeed the rest of this story..so interesting. Thanks for sharing!

    Reply

  37. Wow, I really see you in your mother. A lot of you! Such a pretty little girl. Love the story and the old pix.

    Reply

  40. Don’t go keeping your light under a bushel blog, girl. You KNOW this is a book. The first one.

    You have my support–and advice if you’d like.

    From the Pink Door in Seattle.

    Reply

  45. My grandmother was left on a doorstep too! Luckily they were very nice and not heinous or ugly or mean.

    Reply

  46. That picture of Walt with the cig looks like he’s the type that’s gonna flick the cig and break into some killer hands in pocket tap dancing.

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *