1947 At The Ballpark

thevintagebungalow

thevintagebungalow

VFG Member
I've been meaning to post this photo for some time. This picture was taken of my husbands family in 1947 at their box seats at a Wichita State University ball game.

The back row starting at the left are my DHs Great-Grandparents Emma & Curtis Wellborn. They were always impeccably dressed. I don't think I've seen one pic of them that they aren't dressed to the nines. Next is his Great Uncle Francis next to his sister, Marjorie (Greg's Grandma) with her husband (Gregs Grandpa) Virgil Wellborn. Francis, Marjorie & Virgil were all deaf. In the front row is Virgils sister Beverly and her husband Lowell Hammer. I just think it is the neatest picture and I'm so happy we have it!!

1947WellbornsAtWSU.jpg


Kind of a neat story - Marjorie & Virgil met at a Kansas School for the Deaf picnic. She attended the school but he did not. Marjorie's brother Francis married a deaf women whose name was...Francis!! He passed away many years ago but I do see her once in awhile.
 
That is, indeed, a wonderful photo and they all look so elegant. Great grandma's dress (she looks more like a 'great grandmother', than a 'grandma') is lovely.

In my other life a thousand years ago I used to teach at a school for the deaf. It is rather unusual for two deaf parents to have a child who is not deaf, as the causes were usually genetic, as appears to be the case here, if the great grandparents had two deaf children. I am assuming your husband and your husband's parents are not deaf.

Thanks for sharing that lovely bit of nostalgia.
 
Thanks everyone!

Marjorie & Francis were born of hearing parents. However, there is generational hearing loss in that side of the family. One of my husbands Aunts tried to go through and figure it out. It seems to skip 2 generations. In this case Marjorie's children (my FIL and his sister) were not deaf and none of their children are deaf. However, my sister-in-law was pegged to be the one that may have children with a hearing loss and sure enough two of her children have impaired hearing but thank God not deafness!!

Virgil was born to hearing parents. His deafness was due to his mother having measles (or mumps- can't remember which) while pregnant with him. His father Curtis (pictured above) did not like thinking of his son as impaired so he was not given any special treatment. In fact, he was not allowed to learn sign language and was sent to regular school where he played sports including hockey! At his funeral, one of his old friends said they invented their own sign language so they could communicate!! Later in life, he did learn American Sign Language. I was never very good at sign language but I did know enough to talk with them when they were alive.
 
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