marcielsims.com Blog

Finding my Way Back: A Follow-up Story to “I Lost my Way”

I wrote a little story about how I lost my way during my very difficult times long ago, when I was young, a war raging and had terrifying effects on lives.

Trying now to find my way back after I did not believe for more than seventy years is the hardest task, I ever had to face during my lifetime of 96 years. I have a wonderful, dear friend, Karin who is aware of my struggles, and she dedicated herself to give me a helping hand by encouraging me, writing me e-mails with quotes and passages from the Bible. Karin gives me support and knows what happened to me and my dear sister Friedl during the difficult, heartbreaking and painful years in my, then young life.

Now, just today, something so endearing and touching happened to me. I have a lovely lady Janet, a neighbor here in our apartment building, I moved to, when I experienced my biggest loss, my beloved husband Hal. The lady, Janet, had a very tragic accident, a fall and she injured her leg, it was very severe, she needed surgery and after, a very long recovery and healing. Janet is doing fine now. During that time, I brought her a tea tray in the afternoon, something to spoil her and show her, I cared. On the tea tray I would leave one of my “short stories” which she enjoyed reading. I am a guest writer for a website and have been writing short stories for over three years now.

Today, when I brought Janet, my little friend, her tea tray, she graciously offered to lend me her Bible to read and enjoy the beautiful stories about Jesus, which I had missed all these years.

This is a fine and precious Bible. Bound in a beautiful soft, dark brown leather and gilded edges on the pages. Such a treasure. I will of course begin reading. Going back in my life, when I was growing up and Jesus was always present, always my companion, my confidant and my protector.

In my parent’s home, in my bedroom were window seats by every window, overlooking a romantic setting, a garden, beautifully manicured with a big fountain, a rose garden and benches to sit and enjoy all, large flowerpots with beautiful plants and white crushed rock on the walkways. That window seat was my refuge, my sanctuary growing up. My favorite times were there, reading good books and especially the Bible with wonderful stories of Jesus.

I wished with all my heart, growing up, that I would become a woman with tenderness, kindness, respect and a big heart like Jesus.

And if I had a big lapse and got lost for a large portion of my life, I am trying very hard now, to find my way back.

My Most Interesting and Adventurous Job

My husband, Hal, and I, Ilona returned from a seven week visit to Germany and as I entered my favorite Drug Store in Bellevue, where we resided, the nurse behind the counter waved at me and asked me to talk with her if I had the time. She told me about an Executive, Mr. Crue who came by last week, asking her if she knew of a person who would speak good German, not a two-year German from school, but good and no dialect German.

She said she thought of me right away. I had resigned from my job before our trip since I could not get a “leave of absence” but wanted more time off than my vacation. I told the nurse, I might be interested, if I knew a little more about the Company and details of the job. She went to the phone and came back after a short conversation. I had an interview the next day at noon with Mr. Crue. The Company, Heisdorf and Nelson, were Poultry Breeders with satellite facilities in Cuxhaven/Germany. They were located here in Houghton, Washington and had their breeding facilities in California.

They were shipping three-day-old “Nick Chicks” all over the world by PAN AM airlines. Mr. Heisdorf, owner of the Company imported Haflinger horses from Austria which he planned on breeding with Arabian horses on his farm here in Hollywood Hills, Woodinville, Washington.

I was to synchronize movies in German into English about these horses and teach the Executive, Mr. Crue and the different department managers the German language and help them translating their speeches they would give, travelling to Cuxhaven, Germany for better relations, speaking the language.

It was a great and interesting job and of course, I said yes to Mr. Crue. There were many rewards. When I had to drive to Mr. Heisdorf’s home with paperwork or pick up a new film to synchronize, shipped from Cuxhaven, I had the chance to see and pet the horses Mr. Heisdorf owned and had on his immense property in Hollywood Hills in Woodinville.

I got to know and became friends with Lazlo, the trainer and groom, who would take me to the wide-open fields with roaming horses. I always had an apple or a carrot in my purse to feed the horses, especially the foals. After some visits they would recognize me and come galloping toward me putting their noses into my purse, knowing there would be a treat. It was always a wonderful experience for me and brought back cherished memories from my earlier life, a beautiful life long ago.

When Mr. Heisdorf modernized the accounting system, knowing that accounting was one of my specialties, he asked me to run accounting, learn the key punch machines and eventually get into programming, to become the “In house” programmer. Once the programmers were finished with all the software, I moved to a glassed-in area right by the comptroller and the accounting office with my desk and key punch machine.

German lessons, horses, film synchronizing and trips to the farm, became my secondary job I planned to do evenings and weekends. Heisdorf and Nelson, Poultry breeders had a computer, a large computer from GE on lease. At that time computers were not for sale and the smaller version, the personal computer as we now know, was not available then. I was looking forward to learning programming.

Regarding the personal duties for Mr. Heisdorf, I was willing gladly to keep up. Mr. Heisdorf was a wonderful gentleman, a great boss and the side benefit of seeing the horses, all this was for me the most interesting and adventures job.

Sadly, this great job only lasted until my Hal got transferred from North Bend to Longview, Washington in 1968 and I had to say “Goodbye” to the wonderful people at Heisdorf and Nelson.

An Addendum to Story 157

“One Good Thing Leads to Another”

Eine Kleine Berg Kapelle (A little Mountain Chapel)

This is a little addendum, a story to tell my readers this special reason for this special and beautiful mountain chapel, by Julius Boehm’s home in Issaquah, Washington.

My Hal’s good friend Julius Boehm’s reason of having a beautiful chapel built on his property in Issaquah, at the foot of the Cascade Mountains in the State of Washington. It is a most beautiful and awe-inspiring little chapel and very much a love-inspired, precious vision to Julius, our dear friend. His chapel is also in memory of fallen climbers. It was completed in 1981 and is a replica of a 12^th century chapel in Switzerland.

Julius came from Austria, a beautiful country amid the Austrian Alps. He was an avid skier and mountain climber. He continued mountain climbing and giving skiing lessons, when he came here to our area, the foothills of the beautiful Cascade Range.

While growing up in Austria, he was used to seeing beautiful, precious chapels or just a shelter not necessarily a building while skiing and climbing the mountain peaks. They are a frequent sight for the climber who made it to the top. A welcome sight after a climb. Such a reward to enter these small buildings with Frescos on the wall, maybe fresh flowers by a large cross as backdrop. They are well kept, a shelter and a place to give thanks for a good and safe climb. Or pray, be thankful for this magnificent view one is privileged to experience. Anyone and everyone, visitors, skiers and mountain climbers are welcome to enter these chapels high on mountain peaks.

Julius loved the mountains, the Alpine mountains in Austria and Germany and here the beautiful Cascade Mountain Range and he loved skiing until late in his life, into his 90s.

When he purchased the property by Issaquah, he already envisioned his chapel. A beautiful chalet, to give him the space to live in and have his chocolate shop and the precious white stucco chapel. Inside there are beautiful Frescos painted by his friend Margaret von Wrangel. A steady reminder for Julius of the mountain chapels in his country of birth, Austria.

One Good Thing Leads to Another

After arriving in the United States in 1954 and getting acquainted with some of my Hal’s friends, like Fred and Marylou, two dear friends since high school, I was pleasantly surprised to get to meet some more. Fred was one of my Hal’s best friends and buddy’s and he told Hal about his friend Julius Boehm, an Austrian by birth, an officer in the Austrian cavalry. He wanted to meet me, the General’s daughter, after Fred told him about my father being an officer in the German cavalry during World War 1. Julius was very much intrigued with my father, in fact with my family, being that Julius came from the same background as my father, only Austria and my father came from Germany. Marylou and Fred planned a gathering in their home of all their friends and invited Hal and me to be the “guests of honor.” During this festive and pleasant evening, I not only met Julius, but also his companion Margaret Von Wrangel. She was a lovely lady, an artist. She was a painter, mostly murals and frescos.

Julius spent a lot of time with me, having many questions about where my father was fighting during WWI. I also told Julius that my papa was a prisoner of war by the British and spent two years after the war on the island Ceylon, now called Sri Lanka. Julius had a chocolate shop in north Seattle, close to Fred’s and Hal’s neighborhood. His plan was to build a complex of buildings on the property he had purchased by the town of Issaquah on the East side, right of the highway going to North Bend and the ski area at Snoqualmie Pass in the beautiful Cascades. A beautiful, striking Chalet with ground floor chocolate shop and workroom to make all chocolates and above on the second floor his living quarters. Most items that beautified this place Julius had ordered from Austria to keep things authentic and true. He had hand-painted tiles shipped, enough to build an “Kachelofen” a Tile warming stove or heater that filled a large corner in the living room in circumference and from floor to ceiling. This big, awesome heater would keep the tiles warm and heat up all the space on the 2^nd floor for days.

I had a call from Julius, when the chalet was finished and he wanted to open his chocolate shop, to ask me if I could help him in the shop until he could find the proper employees. I talked it over with my Hal and we decided that I could do this for our new dear friend. While I sold chocolate in the shop, Margaret Von Wrangel was busily working in the workroom, melting chocolate and dipping individual chocolates into the milk- and dark-chocolate ganache. Every morning when I arrived Julius was in his kitchen to melt big chunks of chocolate and poured hot milk over it to make hot chocolate, like the famous “Angelina’s” hot chocolate in Paris. Large cups and spoons. Margaret, Julius and I would sit by the big heating oven and had a lively conversation going until the opening of the shop. Julius always managed to bring the conversation to my father, or the Prussian race. So handsome both women and men, the military men. The beautiful women with chiseled features, high cheekbones, classic beauties. With this statement Julius was looking right at me.  If Margaret would not have been there, I would have been embarrassed, but we could change this subject quickly.

Julius, for his age, still was very active. He still gave skiing lessons on Snoqualmie Pass, swimming lessons to children at the Y and piano lessons to private students. Like my Hal would say: “and an eye for beautiful women.” He also was well known for his charity work and still climbed mountains and skied while in his nineties. A very interesting gentleman, well educated, charming and well-travelled and most of all a dear friend to Marylou and Fred and now to Hal and me.

After all the buildings by Issaquah were completed, including a beautiful precious little chapel, Margaret started her work on the outside of the buildings beautiful, life size murals of Austrian scenes. On the inside the walls displayed great and awe-inspiring frescos, absolutely beautiful!

These warm and wonderful memories of our beginning of a great marriage, sixty- four years, and the start of forming lasting friendships is the foundation that my memories were built and formed and will always occupy a special place in my heart and mind, never to be forgotten.

Thank you, my beloved Hal, dearest Marylou and Fred, Julius and Margaret.

A Party for Hal and Ilona

This was the year 1954 and a big “going away” party was planned by my friends. I was leaving my home in Germany as soon as my visa and entry permit would be granted. My Hal had to leave already, which was a law, after marrying a German National. This celebration was in honor of Hal and me since we were leaving Germany for a “far away” land, unknown to Europeans, then still. A large part of the country is of course less developed, since it has vast areas of open land. On the East coast are some large cities, like New York, Washington, Boston and the beautiful New England area. In the State of Florida are some cities, right by the ocean. There are large cities like New Orleans and Miami. On the West Cost of course there are big, beautiful cities too, my Hal tells me, like San Francisco, Los Angeles and Seattle. Now, after air travel has become the mode of travel, it seems so much closer and it only takes hours, not days.

The United States of America is a highly industrialized nation that helped the British Empire win the war, which Briton could not have won on their own. The US not only contributed men, soldiers, to WWII but transported all materials necessary on ships to Europe, including planes, like the B17 bombers and fighter planes.

Such commitment, such fast industrialization, after the bombing attack of Pearl Harbor.

I was of course not concerned or worried about the travel time.  My worry was more:

“Will my Hal’s family like me?”

“What is the big state of Washington like?”

“What is Seattle like?”

 Germany just emerged from a brutal, uncultured and uncivilized war, that Hitler had started, every city involved in the bombing raids will have to start over, it is a wasteland.

Not having air travel, as we know it now, before the war, America was unknown to Europeans and tourism. I worked for Northern Area Command of the American Armed Forces, General Eisenhower’s Supreme Command Headquarters as secretary to the communications officer in Frankfurt, Germany. I heard conversations about some cities like New York, Boston or San Francisco etc. I realized how big and modern they are. They called San Francisco the Jewel by the Pacific Ocean.

It was the evening of the party, and the guests were arriving. Mostly friends of my parents, a few of my sister Friedl’s and my friends. My dear professor, Dr. Stern and professor Dr, Eckhart, both from the University I had attended and graduated.  Mr. Espenschied, the pastry chef of Café Espenschied, was a very good friend of my dear mama’s who no longer is with us. He brought for me a beautiful present he himself created. In a fine wooden box, five pink roses, long stemmed, beautiful green leaves, looked like they were real and had just been picked. They were of course of eatable material, sugar, finely ground almonds, water and color. They were beautiful! Some friends brought lovely gifts, small, easy to pack into my suitcase.

It was a memorable evening with wonderful piano music, champagne and… tears. Going so far away no one knew when or if I would come to visit again. This was 1954 February and my first visit back to Germany was September 1957.

So much had changed with rebuilding the cities. Friends had married and some had moved away. Time had passed and time moved on. But it was always wonderful to see my dear sister Friedl and her family, when my Hal and I planned our vacation and went to Germany. Years later, my sister, and sometimes her husband and their boys would spend time here with us and they loved it.

The evening ended with tears, goodbye is a hard word to say, especially when there is no guarantee of a HELLO, again.

November 14^th A Very Special Day

Frankfurt/Germany November 14^th,1953 was the happiest day of my life. But not for long, after a ten-day honeymoon I had to say goodbye again to my beloved Hal, my new husband. His time in the Armed Forces was up and he was being shipped out from Bremer Haven, going home to the United States, Seattle in the state of Washington, his home. I had to stay behind to wait for my Visa and entry permit to follow my Hal to Seattle, my new country and my new home.

Siggi, my dear friend, agreed to be my Maid of Honor and Hal had a good buddy of his from the Signal Corps be his Best Man. My bridal gown, I had designed, was ready and my sister’s husband Georg got Hal a beautiful tuxedo and all other items that my Hal needed for that special day. We were all set and all I had left to do was to get my dear friend Siggi her dress and shoes etc. German customs require that the bride provide all this for the Maid of Honor. Siggi came the weekend before our wedding, and we went shopping in Frankfurt for her. She found a very beautiful dress, shoes and a small purse.

After shopping we met my Hal with his “Best Man” at the Hauptwache, the center of the city of Frankfurt and together we had lunch at Kranzler Café. It was a happy occasion and the four of us had champagne to start our little celebration together. Hal ordered a fine red Burgundy, suggested by our waiter, and the Filet Mignons were done perfect with a beautiful cognac sauce. The happy conversation stopped, and it got very quiet. A sign of exceptional and excellent food. As we were enjoying food and wine we had violin music in the background, performed by a gentleman, dressed in a tuxedo, sitting on a stool close by the concierge.

While we were waiting for our dessert and espresso, we talked about our honeymoon to Switzerland for ten days. Seeing all the beautiful sights and getting to know one another better before we had to part. When my Hal starts his journey home, I will go back to work at the Head quarter’s building in Frankfurt where I had been working for over five years, until my visa and paperwork will arrive and I am granted entry into the United States, joining my husband in Seattle, my new country, my Hal’s country.

The dessert was equally delicious as our lunch, the dessert plates were a “Still Life” with a piece of mocha/chestnut crème torte centered and around it, cherries, strawberries and pieces of banana, dipped in chocolate ganache. A beautiful presentation of dessert!

After we said our goodbye to Siggi at the train station, Hal and his buddy took a taxi back to their barracks and I walked home. The following Friday, the 13^th was our first wedding day at the courthouse for German law. We all went to dinner after the short ceremony. The next day, the 14^th of November was “THE DAY” our wedding day in a most charming and beautiful American chapel.    

          

                            

My heart was pounding, and I was scared. Scared, that I might not be able to follow the sentences spoken by the American Chaplain, maybe misunderstand or mispronounce it and Hal’s buddies, sitting all in the front row, would laugh…

Well, it all went well until the end, after the chaplain finished. I did not hear what he said, I was finally breathing, relieved, it was over, nor do we have this custom “kissing the bride”.

                                                                                                                                 

Hal stepped up, reached for me, pulled me close to kiss me.

My reaction? My surprise? I stepped back, stiffened up, arms down my sides, saying: “What are you doing Sargent Halvor Cole?”

After explaining it all to my Hal and all his American friends, I recovered, and we all left the chapel to go and celebrate. We had all our guests together with music in the background, lively conversation and laughter. We served a wonderful “Wedding Punch.” I soaked cut-up peaches in cognac overnight, poured champagne into a big crystal bowl and added the peaches. We served a beautiful wedding cake with coffee after.

The next morning, we took a train to Switzerland, first stop, Basel. We celebrated our lifelong commitment to one another, both hearts, souls and minds in unison for sixty-four years of love and happiness.

Sgt. Lesher, Ilona, Hal, Siggi and flower girl, Sophia

Note from Marcie: I so love this story and the beautiful pictures to go with it–I hope you enjoy Ilona and Hal’s wedding tale and the accompanying pictures as much as I did.

One of Those Many Callouts

It was the year 1963 and my husband, Hal, working for AT&T was transferred from Seattle, Washington to a brand-new facility, a Radio Communications center built in North Bend, at the base of the Cascade Mountains. The original crew of six technicians were a close-knit group and the callouts for trouble shooting during some nights were covered by them equally and fairly.

This night a callout came for my Hal, he answered, and I heard him say:” I will be on my way.”

Usually I got up too, when a call came during the night, if it sounded that it could be a long while, whatever the problem could be with equipment and may take longer, I would make coffee and something to eat for my Hal to take, to be prepared for a long night. All the transmitter and repeater huts were along the Cascade Mountain ridges and had to be maintained. A locked gate at the entrance was to keep unauthorized people out. When Hal got to the gate that would lead to the station called “Rattle Snake Ridge” he found the gate open, and a car parked by the gate. All six employees had two-way radios, they needed to communicate with one another, when out on a call to the different radio sites.

Hal contacted his buddy, Neal, recognizing his car to find out what was wrong with a piece of equipment and if he needed anything from the office, before Hal would start up the mountain. My Hal found out…NO… there was nothing wrong with any equipment. His buddy, Neal was out hunting that evening, shot a bear and had trouble securing and bringing this bear down the mountain to his car. Neal had a little flat bed, sat the bear on it, but had nothing to keep the bear on that “contraption.” He needed another person to keep the bear from falling off.

Hal helped his buddy secure the bear and used a flashlight to show them the path. Finally, they made it all the way down to the gate and got the bear secure into Neal’s car.

When my Hal came home, I got up to see that he was alright and when he told me this absurd, oh so funny story with vivid descriptions, we both started laughing. Neal, Hal’s buddy, always went hunting and foraging for food. He and his wife had nine children.

Too bad there were no phones yet, like we have now. A picture of all three of them, a dead bear, sitting on a board upright, Neal behind holding on to the bear and Hal walking in front pulling the board and holding the flashlight. Priceless!

The Little Apple Tree

After my husband, Hal and I (Ilona) retired, we decided to leave the city life behind and move to a quieter place with less rain to the eastside of the Cascade Mountain Range to a small town by a beautiful lake called Chelan. After a long search and process, we found the house we wanted. No stairs, all one floor, two large bedrooms, two bathrooms, a beautiful big library for my Hal, a very large kitchen, living and dining room and an attached double garage. The outside was white stucco, and it had a red tile roof.

After the inside was all remodeled, we were very pleased to move in. The house was finished and was now awesome. The outside needed to be completed now. My Hal wanted some trees in the yard, and we found two beautiful cherry trees, one of them was a weeping cherry. Hal also wished for an apple tree, to harvest his own apples for apple pie which he loved.

The little apple tree of course did not bear fruit the first and second harvest times. Hal showed patience, he was waiting and often went to check out the blossoms, still no apples followed. But the following autumn, oh so happy was my sweetheart when he discovered after the blossoms came the actual fruit. He looked at his tree every day, most likely counting apples and looking forward to the harvest day!

My Hal took a wicker basket and I, with a sober face, not laughing at the size of that basket, wished him luck for this harvest day and thinking of this gigantic basket coming back in with a few apples in the bottom of it. Good thing, I did not laugh, the joke would have been on me.

While Hal was harvesting his apples, our neighbor’s cat “Boots” came out to visit my Hal and they had some petting time. Boots liked Hal, whenever our neighbor would be gone for a few days, my Hal would look after him and feed him. They became good friends. Boots had a beautiful black coat and had four white paws. Boots came out to explore the apple tree, keep Hal company and made sure every apple was picked.

When my sweetheart came into the house and into the kitchen, he was all smiles. From the cold air outside Hal’s face was red cheeked, a big happy grin on the face, eyes shining with happiness. He put the basket, FULL of apples on the counter and said:

                                       “Apple Pies Please!”

Two Professors, Dr. Stern and Dr. Eckhart

Two very important people in my young life, outside my family. I had talked of these two professors in my short stories before. Both had a big part in who I had become after my education and beyond. In thought they were always by my side, when the job was a challenge, was unknown or at times looked impossible to complete. I received an education that was rigorous, challenging, complete and well rounded. Dr, Stern not only taught us a full curriculum, but also taught us the finer things in life, outside the school. His love of good books, the opera, music and stage plays, all that he exposed us to and made it part of everyday life.

Dr. Eckhart was our English professor. Teaching us English composition, like law briefs, court documents and how to write business letters. English history and English literature. He also stressed the point how important to commerce this language was. I also heard that from my father, quite often.

Both professors were quite different individuals and very interesting men.

As they stepped into the classroom, everyone fell silent. Their presence was, in a dignified way, loud and clear.

Dr. Stern, very dignified, but soft spoken. Always dressed in three-piece suits of great materials and custom tailored, like my Hal’s suits he got from my sister’s husband, his Haberdashery in Germany. Custom made shirts with his monogram embroidered on the French cuffs and always highly polished shoes.

Dr. Eckhart did not wear suits, always beautiful slacks, again great material, like the designer of men’s clothing, Joseph Abood. Sport coats of either leather, suede or tweed. Mostly in brown or rust color. The tweed coats were mostly in two-tone grays.

Both professors were well dressed and well groomed, setting a good example for the young students in class.

The lectures were not only interesting, but they were also mesmerizing and both professors could keep the attention of the student’s alert. Each had  different styles. Professor Stern would stand by his Pult “desk” and had an easy, relaxed way of approaching a student, like it was a conversation one on one, looking at the student over his glasses. Professor Eckhart was walking back and forth in front of his Pult “desk” sometimes gazing out of the windows and then, quickly turning, approaching the student, and asking the question. They were two individuals, different and yet, had a profound teaching method, which influenced every student and had a lasting impression on every one of us.

These two gentlemen, retired quite a while ago, were very wise and had a lifetime of teaching young students while also learning a lot themselves. They were called and appeared to do the job, young teachers could no longer do, due to fighting for their country and so many giving their lives, while these older gentlemen were holding vigilance at home and repeating their lifelong dedication to teaching the young.

What the sad ending is to this wonderous experience is that we lost so many of these great students, they never had the chance to show their stuff, to experience the fruit of their labor, as I did.

But I shall never forget who influenced my life in such a powerful way, other than my father.

It was Dr. Stern and Dr. Eckhart!

Diorissimo Perfume… “Shocking” Perfume by Schiaparelli

Two beautiful perfumes, two beautiful fragrances, I used in my younger years at different times. One was no longer available, when I came to the United States. “Shocking” by Elsa Schiaparelli, the bottle, French Art Deco, inspired by an hourglass, the shape of a female torso or dressmaker dummy, one could occasionally still find in large department stores with a fine perfume counter. Diorissimo is still available today. Both have a heavenly fragrance.

I lost my beloved husband Hal of 64 happy years six years ago and at that time, I moved into a small apartment. I have no room for clutter or filling up the desk drawers with clutter. I was clearing out some cards, notes and pictures, accumulated from previous times. One picture I had not seen for many years but remembered it well. I tried to think where it came from. I remembered taking some pictures out of my Hal’s wallet, since I wanted to give the soft leather wallet to Marcus, my dearest niece’s eldest son, for his birthday.

To my amazement I remembered that picture of me when and where it was taken but did not realize that my Hal had kept one of them for all these years. The picture was taken for a job offer I had as “Photo model” for an advertising company, a French firm, representing Diorissimo and Schiaparelli Perfumes here in Germany where I resided. It was of course before television. Throughout the cities were tall, round pillars for “Reklame” advertising. Large department stores also had, like movie theaters, screens above the entry with moving advertisements. The Fashion House of Schiaparelli in Paris showed the fashions created at that time, in the 1940s and 1950s by Elsa Schiaparelli, Italian fashion designer.

I had no idea that my dearest Hal carried that snapshot of me from the late 1940s. Not ever having a reason, nor would I ever think of looking into my husband’s wallet, therefore I did not know that he so treasured this little photo. I remember well the dress I wore and where the picture was taken. The dress had three parts in a soft, beautiful, light weight Burgundy color wool. A stunning fitted skirt, a slit in the back with French pleats. A bodice, no sleeves, no straps, straight across with beaded embroidery at the top. An “Ike Jacket,” as they were called then, short to the waist only, long sleeves, lapels with beaded embroidery.

I modeled for this Agency a few years and like the fur modeling I called it quits once I met and became friends with Sgt. Halvor LeGrand Cole. It was for me far more important and rewarding to spend my time with my Hal, than fur or perfume modeling.

It was so long ago, but seeing this little picture now brought back to me that time so clearly. It is so nice to relive, but so sad my Hal is no longer here to share the memories and remember them with me.