Happy Birthday, Mom

Christine (Szerejko) Shenette and Antonina (Bulak) Szerejko

Christine (Szerejko) Shenette

Left to Right: Robert Szerejko, Helene (Dingle) Szerejko,
Antonina (Bulak) Szerejko, Christine (Szerejko) Shenette

Christine (Szerejko) Shenette

Christine (Szerejko) Shenette, Henry A. Shenette

Henry A. Shenette, Christine (Szerejko) Shenette 


(Digital Images. Photographs Privately Held By Cynthia Shenette; Photographs and Text, Copyright (c) 2012 Cynthia ShenetteHappy Birthday, Mom.  I miss you, especially today...

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A Postcard from Paris, 1918 (Part 1 of 2) - Those Places Thursday

J.C. 541. PARIS - THE PALAIS DU TROCADERO - Built for the 1878 exhibition
Exhibition tower height is 70 meters
(Digital Image. Postcard Privately Held By Cynthia Shenette. Text Copyright (c) 2012 Cynthia Shenette) It's interesting how one little postcard can offer so much information.  My grandfather, Adolf Szerejko, was a World War I veteran. I knew he served in France, but I didn't know too many of the details.  A while back I scanned and sent a copy of this postcard to my cousin Marek via e-mail for him to translate the message from Polish to English. The postcard is dated September 1918 and was sent shortly after my grandfather arrived in France.  

The Palais du Trocadero was built for the 1878 World's Fair which was held from May 1, 1878 until November 10, 1878 in Paris to celebrate France's recovery after the Franco-Prussian War.  The Palais was designed by Parisian architect Gabriel Davioud.  It was built in a "Moorish"  style with "Byzantine elements."  The two towers were 70 meters high, and it had a large concert hall in the center with two wings on either side.  The structure was demolished in 1937 and replaced by the Palais de Chaillot for the Exposition Internationale of 1937.

A Postcard from Paris, 1918 (Part 2 of 2) - Amanuensis Monday 


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Taking A Dip


(Digital Image. Photograph Privately Held By Cynthia Shenette. Photograph and Text, Copyright (c) 2012 Cynthia Shenette)  This photograph was probably taken at a church picnic for the parishioners of Our Lady of Czestochowa in Worcester, MA. I don't know exactly when it was taken, but my best guess is the late 1910s.  Zoom in, and check out the many details.

I love the two ladies in their long sleeve dresses and umbrellas primly watching the action in the water from the grassy bank, and I'm fascinated by the scantily clad (at least according to the standards of the day) woman on the left wearing just her shift!  Shocking!  I bet that made for some lively parlor conversation among the parishioners later that evening!  The children close to shore appear to be wearing their bathing suits and are no doubt wading where their parents can keep a close eye on them.  My grandfather, Adolf Szerejko, is the man in the water with his foot raised way up in the air.  Skinny dipping?  Probably not.  I love that the man on left didn't even bother to take off his hat before he jumped into the water!

If you have a moment, check out my post for last year's annual Swimsuit Edition of the Carnival of Genealogy.  It's one of my favorite all time blog posts.  After all, Girls Just Wanna Have Fun too, you know...

Submitted for the 119th edition of the Carnival of Genealogy. 

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