Monday, January 12, 2015

Photo a Day 12 - My Mum

My daily photos have no pattern or purpose. I let my mind wander where it will and something usually crops up. This photo is my favourite photo of my mother, Laura Wilhelmina Hornblower nee Heyne. I have written about her elsewhere.


 Laura was born in 1905 and died in 2003 a few months before her 98th birthday.  I think about her every day - there is always something that brings her to mind.

She was an amazing woman, a teacher for most of her life and a friend to many people,




 Mum's greatest joy was that she  lived long enough to hold her first great grand child who was born 2 years before Mum died.

This photo shows four generations.





In her younger days Laura was always beautifully dressed and I spent many hours sitting on the floor of the local dressmaker playing with fabrics while Mum had fittings.





If I remember rightly this black dress had exquisite beadwork on the bodice. Many of her clothes were made by her mother who was an excellent seamstress.

In her early years she was a bright young thing, teaching in country schools on the Yorke and Eyre Peninsulas. Having come from a strict Lutheran family, she found the freedom as a young country teacher most exhilarating.


Here she is bottom right, dressed for a fancy dress ball or similar. In fact several of these young teachers were rapped over the knuckles and moved because some of the staid locals objected to their having fun.  Mind you this was back in the twenties, so I imagine their fun was pretty harmless.

Liz Needle

3 comments:

  1. Lovely memories of your mother. I'm glad the times have changed and that teachers are now allowed to have fun.

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  2. it is lovely to have these memories and for us to see thee photographs

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  3. What a lovely share! Your Mum reminds me a little of my Aunt Lena who was also a schoolteacher from the 20s to the 60s, I think, and who was always very properly dressed and very organized. She was a fascinating woman, though she never had any children of her own. I bet your Mum was just wonderful and that you could tell many amazing stories about her. I just loved this post!

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