Classic!

Ohhhhh! How cute TB! :)How old were you and do you remember that picture being taken? Is that your mother in the distance ahead of you?

Boy, just think, the Godfather Trilogy was unheard of and no one would have had a clue as to what the heck "the Gangster BB" was or how it'd fit into the future.

TIS

TB, what a great photo!! I love it!

And now two from Sicilian Babe:

At her parents' wedding (July 22, 1944); the Allied forces hit the beaches of France some seven weeks earlier; the outcome of the war was still uncertain at this time as her parents married; (from left to right: SB's grandfather, her mother - the bride, and her mom's sister):



.

SB's parents right after the ceremony; her dad was stationed at the Brooklyn Naval Shipyard then before being shipped out to serve in the Pacific; the war would go on for 13 months after the wedding. Imagine the uncertainty of a young bride getting married, knowing that her husband was going to fight in a war and not knowing if she'd ever see him again. Tough times! (I love that her father got married in his uniform.... it really was the best thing that a groom could wear then!)



Great pix, SB!

Thanks so much for posting those, SC, and sorry I'm such a boob when it comes to resizing my photos.

My mom got married a month before her 18th birthday. They married because my dad was able to come home on weekends while he was stationed in Brooklyn.

I know I have some beautiful color wedding photos that they took in a studio, but I haven't been able to dig them out yet. I'll try to look for those (if SC doesn't mind the emails).

Very very nice SB! You're mom wedding dress is beautiful and elegant as many of them were back then. The satin was truly a rich satin back then, or so it seemed.

This really is a nice idea for a thread. All I can say is what you all already know...treasure those pictures. Isn't it wonderful? And to be able to share stories that our parents related to us about their lives.


TIS

Not at all.... I love this kind of stuff (ESPECIALLY from this time period when so many lives were in turmoil because of the war, yet they all carried on with normal ceremonies like a wedding).

Your dad really looks like the kind of guy that I would've wanted to hang out with (yeah, I know you can't make that judgment from one photo BUT he has such a genuine smile that its just a "feeling" I get).

This thread was a BRILLIANT idea, SC! Perfectly in keeping with the spirit of friendship and fun we try to keep up on these boards. Many thanks!

Thanks, TB.

I have a picture of my brother (he's two years younger than you) wearing a very similar jacket to yours (and he had a fedora, too). Great stylings from that period!

SC, He would have loved this place and loved coming to one of our sit-downs. The Godfather was his favorite book and he loved The Trilogy more than any other film. He was a brilliant man, and I was always sorry that he didn't live to see the internet, because I think he would have found it so fascinating.

TIS, wedding dresses were impossible to get at the time. My mother went from shop to shop and there were none to be had. My grandmother was a seamstress, but was unable to get any fabric. However, my mom walked into one store, and the woman had that gown in the back. She said it had been on hold for months, but that the bride had never come back for it, so my mom had a wedding gown. I believe that several other brides in the family wore that gown, too.

SB, I, uh, hesitate to say this, but your grandfather looks like Joe Profaci. Are you sure your family wasn't in the "olive oil business"?

My grandfather was, back in Sicily. He and his brother had a farm, and olives were one of the crops they grew. But in the US he was a presser down in the garment district. My grandmother sewed and he pressed.

Very romantic, no??

You're right... he does!

I've really enjoyed seeing all the photos posted here - truly a wonderful idea, SC.

I recently went through a ton of photos that my grandma had, I think last summer, because she needed them organized into albums. And I'm now looking through one of the albums I set up because my uncle wants some scanned for his computer.

Anyway, I wanted to share my own, and was able to scan a few of my mom's parents.

My grandpa - 1943


My grandpa home on leave - 1946


My grandparents


I hope to find, scan, and share some of my dad's parents - my Italian/Sicilian side.

Very cool pix, gina!

Your grandfather looks like a kid in that first picture!! So, he was in the Shore Patrol, huh?? We got a cop's granddaughter hanging out in a gangster board??

When was the last picture taken?? (I assume it was after the war).

Alright, now you've got me needing to know stories about my family because I don't have much to tell!

I asked my mom, and she said he wasn't in the Shore Patrol. He was stationed in the Pacific (Marshall Islands at one point, I think) and after getting injured, ended up at a hospital in Hawaii. There's some story that I remember him telling, which I asked her about...apparently he was on a boat carrying supplies, and something caused an explosion that left only him and another guy on the boat alive. I don't know if that's what caused the injury, though. See, he'll tell a lot of stories when he's in a storytelling mood, but the same ones don't always have the same details when he tells them again. So he's got some great information, but I never know how true some of it is.

The last picture has no date on it, but I think it was sometime in the late 40s.

Maybe you should ask HIM.... I'm pretty sure that armband on his sleeve is for the Shore Patrol.

Wow, good eye, SC. I don't know, then. I'll try to ask him about it next time I talk to him.

---

Turns out there weren't as many good ones of my dad's parents as I thought - at least for this time period.

My grandma in 1946
GF relation:
"1946 - Michael kills Sollozzo and McCluskey; goes to Sicily March 15."
"1947 - Michael marries Appolonia"


My grandma in 1951
GF relation:
"1951 - Michael & Kay get married; Anthony born"


My dad's parents - later time period...just wanted to share it - not sure of the year


I love looking at old pictures of them because I never knew them - they passed away too soon. My mom always tells me how much she loved my dad's family, and how they all welcomed her so well when they were dating and then married. She says his mom was a very friendly and loving person and never held a grudge against anyone...she'd always be kind to anyone she knew. I get to hear stories about her from my dad's aunt every so often, and that makes me wish so much that she was still around.

That second picture (of your grandmother) is a hoot. I was a few weeks old when it was taken, so obviously I can't speak from memory, but just look at her dress! Its so cool!!

Judging from the hairstyles I'd guess that last pic is from the late 60's/early 70's (big bouffant ladies hair and big sideburns for your grandfather).

She wasn't the only Italian bride that year.... Appolonia got married in '46 as well (or was it '47?).

Well, my scanner is behaving (so far), so here goes. I will include only one picture per post, because they're coming right from my hard drive, and captioning is impossible.

This is a picture of my father (1923-1999). I think it was taken around 1946 or 1947. He was unmarried at the time (that didn't happen until 1953).

Why is it that 23 year olds back then looked so much older??

Keep 'em coming, SV!

Good connection! I added "GF relation" notes to my pictures, according to JG's timeline.

SV, can't wait to see more!

Sorry, but I just had to post this one!

*************************

INCARCERATED!

Special to the GangsterBB

Even as a "yoot", the young Signor Vitelli could often be found doing a short stretch in the "pen". Shown here in a 1956 photo, the wiseguy-in-training-pants was no stranger to life behind bars. While usually refusing to talk, the "Diaper Don" could be heard, periodically, bawling for his mouthpiece.

Great pics, everyone!

50 years later... no change!

At least 50 years ago his mustache was real...

I've always wondered about that, myself. I guess it's a combination of the clothing, the hairstyles (sometimes), and the fact that many folks back then lived harder, rougher lives. (My wife's grandfathers were both farmers in rural Michigan and they certainly looked older than their years.) I know in my father's case, World War II was an absolute horror that he seldom mentioned, unless directly questioned. Even then, I had to find out the real details from my aunt (his younger sister).

Here's a shot of my father from again, c.1947, with an anonymous hottie on the beach at (I believe) Coney Island. Now, you have to understand, my Dad wasn't the most talkative man. You had to pry stories out of him. If you were lucky, he tell you, if you weren't, he'd "clam up", give you a look, end of story.

Years ago - I may have been a teenager at the time - I came across this picture in an old envelope full of photos that had not made it into any of our family albums. I showed it to my father, and said something brilliant like, "Hey, Dad - who's the babe? You never mentioned her!" He stared at the picture for a few moments, then handed it back to me saying, "Ehhh, I don't remember." Then he gave me "the look". End of conversation.

He had great taste, tho! Wow.

...chicks weren't still wearing onesy's back then?

JG & SC - Let's just say that right now, I'm questioning the marital status of your respective parents!

Signor V.