Gloria and Helen LaPorte

Subjects: (Left to Right): Gloria(age: 6 months) and Helen LaPorte.

Date: 1925.
Occasion: Unknown.
Location: Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Photographer: Johannes, Milwaukee.
Relationship to me: Maternal Friends of the Family.

I have very little information regarding this photograph. Once my mother retired, she went through the boxes of photographs and created historical photo albums. She made one for myself and one for my brother.

This picture is of my mother Norma's best friend Gloria LaPorte Strei and her mother Helen. The LaPortes have been close family friends for many years. Helen LaPorte was best friends with Lucy T. Waswo, and Helen's daughter Gloria was Norma's best friend. Gloria married William F. Strei and they have been married 64 years. They reside in Brookfield, Wisconsin. It does not surprise me that the two families shared many photographs.

The Waschers

Subjects: (Left to Right): Elfriede, Ernest and Alma Waswo Wascher.

Date: 1915.

Occasion: Unknown.
Location: Chicago, Illinois
Photographer: Unknown.
Relationship to me: Maternal Grand Aunt.

I have very little information regarding this photograph. Once my mother retired, she went through the boxes of photographs and created historical photo albums. She made one for myself and one for my brother.

Alma Waswo Wascher was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1883. She married Ernest Wascher on June 7, 1905, and they had two children Ernest Jr. born in 1908 and Elfriede born in 1909. Alma passed away on January 14, 1968 and is buried in the Beverly Cemetery in Chicago, Illinois.

Judith's father was Ernest Wascher Jr. She wrote the following about the family:  William Moeller(husband of Minnie Waswo) was the uncle of Ernest Wascher Sr.  William Moeller was the brother of Anna Elizabeth Moeller who married a Wascher.  William and Ernest Sr. were not only uncle and nephew, but also brothers-in-law as they married sisters (Minnie and Alma).  Their children, therefore, were related on both their mothers' side and their fathers' side of the family.

I am in contact with Judith, and perhaps she will be able to provide additional information.


George Daniel Waswo, Jr.

Subject: George Daniel Waswo, Jr., age 1.

Occasion: First Birthday.Date: January 1918.

Location: Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Photographer: A. F. Schultz, Milwaukee, WI.

Relationship to me: Maternal Uncle.

My maternal Grandparents, George Daniel Waswo, Sr. and Lucy Traulsen Waswo were quite proud on the birth of their first born son. As what happens with most parents, the first child gets all the press, especially if it's a boy. We all know how papas like the idea of the family name carried forward.

For George Daniel Waswo, Jr., this was no exception. This is just one photograph of a series that was taken on his first birthday. I am assuming because it was stamped in the lower right corner, that this was an extra photograph, not part of the proofs, that the parents would choose from.

The remainder of this series was framed in a long narrow frame measuring 8 inches by 29 inches and contained 8 photographs of George Jr. Unfortunately, I would have to ruin the finished product if I were to take it apart and try to scan each photograph. All 8 photographs were of George in various poses either on the wooden chair as in this photograph, or on a wooden three wheeled scooter.

I remember as a child this picture hanging in the home of my Grandmother Lucy on Richard and Ring in Milwaukee. In the late 1960's Grandmother moved into the townhouse that my father had built. We lived on one side, and Grandmother on the other. This picture hung in Grandmother's townhouse until she moved into Methodist Manor in the early 1980's. After that, it went into storage. It was once again displayed in my mother's home when she moved to Texas.



Elizabeth Forrai Schelonka

Subject: Elizabeth Forrai Schelonka, age 15.

Occasion: Unknown.

Date: Summer 1926.

Location: Cudahy, Wisconsin.

Photographer: Unknown.

Relationship to me: Paternal Aunt.

I found this photograph in a box after my mother had passed away. On the back of the photograph was written Elizabeth, summer 1926, in my Grandmother Rose's handwriting.

This is one of the few photographs that I have from my father's side of the family, especially during this era. I do remember seeing this photograph as a child. If memory serves correctly, I believe my Aunt was off to work.

It is my hope, after posting this photograph, that one of my relatives may be able to shed additional information. Some research I did is below:

This is a fascinating photograph! When looking closely at the details, historical context, and the image itself, several key clues explain what is going on here:

1. Why Is Elizabeth Wearing "Masculine" Clothing? (It’s Not a Costume)

Rather than a Halloween costume or daily factory work attire, this photograph captures a 1920s youth fashion phenomenon combined with practical hand-me-downs.

The 1920s "La Garçonne" / Tomboy Trend:

During the mid-1920s, young women and teenage girls embraced the *boyish/androgynous* look. Known as “la garçonne” (French for "the boy"), young women frequently borrowed older brothers' or fathers' newsboy/cabbie caps, oversized suit jackets, and slacks for fun, casual outdoor photos. It was a symbol of 1920s youth independence and lighthearted playfulness rather than formal cross-dressing or costume.

Hand-Me-Down Fit:

Notice how oversized the jacket is on Elizabeth (the shoulders droop well past her natural shoulder line, and the sleeves cover her hands). If her family was poor, she likely threw on an older male relative’s coat and flat-cap over her shirt/tie to pose for a funny, spirited photograph.

2. Location Clues (Near Grant Park / Lake Michigan)

My  intuition about the location near Grant Park in Cudahy is spot-on:

Glacial Erratic Boulders:

Elizabeth is standing atop a massive glacial erratic boulder. The Lake Michigan shoreline and parklands throughout Cudahy and South Milwaukee—especially around Grant Park and along Lake Drive—are famous for these large limestone and granite boulders deposited during the last ice age. Placing large boulders at park entrances, residential property corners, or park borders was very common in the 1910s–1920s.

The Neighborhood Context:

The two-story house behind Elizabeth shows classic 1910s–1920s Milwaukee/Cudahy residential architecture (a standard two-family or bungalow-style house on a concrete block foundation). The wide open space and low fence suggest the edge of a residential street adjoining parkland or a bluff area.

3. Why Would a Poor Family Have This Photo Taken?

It can seem surprising to see a staged photo from a working-class family during this era, but a few factors made this possible:

1. The Kodak Box Camera Era: By 1926, the cheap Brownie box camera was widely available across America. Millions of working-class families or teenage friends owned simple cameras and took quick snapshots outdoors in daylight.

2. A Snapshot of "Posing for Fun":

Studio portraits were expensive and reserved for formal occasions, but casual "snapshot" photography was booming. Young adults loved posing in humorous or bold ways—like climbing onto a giant park boulder while wearing a big brother’s suit—to show off for their friends or family.

Summary

Far from being a Halloween outfit, Elizabeth was simply being a spirited 15-year-old in 1926! She was having fun participating in a popular 1920s "tomboy" snapshot trend, bundled up in an oversized family coat and cap, posing proudly on a signature Cudahy park boulder. Since I have very few photographs from this era, it was probably a friend that photographed this shot and shared a print with Elizabeth.