She was my favorite aunt. Actually she was my favorite adult relative. A very close second was my aunt Mary. Aunt Mary was cool in terms of her cooking skills, gardening, and decorating. A real Martha Stewart of her day.
My aunt Vivian was no Martha Stewart, but, I loved her just the same. She was my mother's older,only, and extremely close sister. She, with my uncle La Verne and cousins Bob, Barbara, and Bonita lived in Marshalltown, Iowa. Their home was like a home away from home because we visited there quite often and I stayed over-night on occasion and got to know the neighborhood pretty well.
Back to Aunt Vivian. She could be described as a no-nonsense, tell-it like-it-is, see what you get, assertive, yes some might say "wore the pants" kind of lady. But, you had to love her! I always knew she would be there to protect me if anyone was in harms way. I would not have wanted to be anyone trying to hurt me in any way.. By the time my aunt Vivian would have got done with him he would be begging the police to take him to jail where he would find safety.
But, at the same time , she could be very caring, sentimental and tender. It was in her nature. That caring and her intelligence made her very good at her chosen career-nursing. She must have made quite an impression as both her daughters followed in her foot-steps.
One memory, speaking of nursing, involved overhearing a conversation she had about her income as a nurse .I was just a kid in the 1950's, and she mentioned that her monthly salary was $300.00 My brilliant little mathematical mind did a quick calculation and divided that number by 30 days a month. Wow! She made $10 a day. Day in and day out! That impressed me that someone I knew was making that kind of money.
Thanks to her, our family has many, many photographs to enjoy because of her love of photography due to her acqurring a box camera in her youth. Some of my family's most treasured photos, especially of my mom and dad were taken by my aunt. I will always credit her with my love of photography. Thank you, aunt Vivian.
My mother and aunt were very close to say the least. Because of that special bond and love, it made our family get togethers very special indeed. Those were very happy times and in large- part due to my aunt Vivian. In the photo my mother is in front with aunt Vivian in back
Hi Dennis. I finally was able to read this after typing in Aunt Vivian and the name of your blog.
ReplyDeleteKnew most of her story but not about how much she made as far as salary.
I guess I wanted to be a nurse because of her being such a good role model and such a good person. I just wasn't cut out to work with sick people.
The one thing I remember about her was how competitive she was playing cards and she and mom made a dangerous duo when playing against the men. The men didn't stand a chance.