The Dougan Children posed in the “little house” for this Christmas postcard in 1930. Jo, going on 6, offers Craig, not yet 1, a stocking. The card reads, “Brother Dougan, we unanimously attest to the efficacy of this practice” Patsy, right, is just 4, and Jackie is 2 & 1/2.
Jackie reports that the fire prompted her to hold her arms over head that way; and that she insisted that her parents to build her roaring fires out of newspapers for months afterwards.
The 1946 card modernized the 1930 photo by printing in black and white. Then, at 21, 19, 17, and 15, the family put on their robes and carefully took up the same poses by the fireplace of their new home, Chez Nous.
The final photo wasn’t taken until 1996, 50 years later, at Ron’s funeral. In this photo, Jo is 71; Pat, 69; Jack, 68, and Craig was 66. Really, they should have put on their pyjamas and built a fire (Jackie would’ve liked that), but this was on impulse, so I guess that floral arrangement is a pretty good stand-in for the fire. This photo was never meant for the Christmas card circuit, but now, here it is.
Merry Christmas!
p.s. Not sure whose sock that was…
Love these “over time” photos of the same people in the same scenes. Only problem is that we have to get older to do it. We had a tradition of the three of us in Christmas photos, then for years by the fire, and then Eric was out on his own and Judy and I resigned ourselves to being alone in the photo. Now, however, for the past few years , Eric and his wife, Shauna, and their daughters Vienna and Calais, have joined us. Different settings, but the same people, just older (which the girls love, of course, but we don’t).