Travel Tuesday: Postcards from Mexico, Part 4: Tracing Phil and Benita's Footsteps through Mexico

Benita (McGinnis) McCormick (1889 - 1984)
Phillip C. McCormick (1892 - 1981)

Three basket weavers smile obligingly at the photographer in "Tipos
Mexicanos," or "Mexican People."  Photographer and location
unknown, circa mid-1930s.  From Benita (McGinnis) McCormick's
scrapbook.

The black and white photographic postcards my great uncle and great aunt, Phil and Benita ("Aunt Detty") McCormick purchased during their 1937 vacation to Mexico are so many and so artistic that they seemed worthy of their own series here. 

In the absence of a written itinerary of Phil and Benita's travels throughout that country, these postcards have provided us fascinating clues to where they went and the places that were special to them.

Map shows Aunt Detty and Uncle Phil's travels, as
indicated by the postcards they bought.

Man and burro, location unknown.  Mexico, 1930s.
From Benita (McGinnis) McCormick's scrapbook.

And what about the back of the postcards, you might wonder.  Do they contain any writing?  Were they ever sent to anyone, or were they simply kept as artistic souvenirs?  Oh, the stories they might yield, if only...

Ah, yes, if only.  Well, dear reader, for now they will remain unanswered questions - due in part to my own action, or lack thereof.

"Charro and China Poblana" depicts
couple in the typical dress of Puebla.
Location unknown; Mexico, 1930s.
From Benita (McGinnis) McCormick's
scrapbook.

You see, some years ago, Uncle Phil and Aunt Detty's daughter, Jane (McCormick) Olson (my first cousin once removed), loaned me the scrapbook of her mother's memories. Aunt Detty had obtained the book, originally a large salesman's sample album of Christmas cards, from my parents, who sold advertising specialties at the time.  She repurposed the book into a scrapbook in 1982, removing the samples and gluing her photographs, postcards, and memorabilia onto the pages.

Over time, the glue began to disintegrate, loosening some of the items (thankfully for archival purposes) from the pages.  One of the postcards was among the loose items, and I was able to pull it back slightly to examine it further. 

It turned out to be a postcard Aunt Detty had sent to her two children, Phillip "Buddy" and Jane, both of them 10 years old at the time.  On it, she wrote briefly and tenderly that Mother and Dad were having a great time but were looking forward to seeing their darlings soon.

There may have been more correspondence on the back of the postcards. However, out of a combination of respect for Jane's property and a fear of damaging the items in the scrapbook, I resisted the urge to peel back or remove anything else.  Instead, I took photographs of the contents, which we see here. Thank goodness for cameras!

Woman selling clay pots.  "Tipos Mexicanos," or "Mexican People,"
location and photographer unknown, Mexico, 1930s.  From Benita
(McGinnis) McCormick's scrapbook.

The scenes in these miscellaneous postcards could have taken place anywhere in Mexico.  The general descriptions on some of them refer to the subjects as "Tipos Mexicanos," or "Mexican People," but on the face of the photographs there is no other information as to their location.  The exception is the postcard below, captioned "Jefatura de Operaciones, S.L.P.," or the  the operations center of the state capital city of San Luis Potosí.  The north-central city's famed colonial architecture may have been the reason Aunt Detty and Uncle Phil visited there.

Operations Center, City of San Luis Potosí, Mexico,
1930s.  From Benita (McGinnis) McCormick's scrapbook.

To read the other installments in this series, please click on the links below:

Part One: Postcards from Mexico

Part Two:  Taxco

Part Three:  TheArtistry of Taxco

Part Five:  The Floating Gardens of Xochimilco

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Copyright ©  2014  Linda Huesca Tully

Friday's Faces from the Past: Meeting John and Mary Coates

John Coates
Mary (?) Coates

Benita (McGinnis) McCormick (1889 - 1984)
Phillip C. McCormick (1892 - 1981)


Fun-loving John and Mary Coates, just who were you?

Caption reads, "John and lovely Mary Coates."  1937,
Mexico.  Exact location unknown; possibly Taxco, Guerrero?
From Benita (McGinnis) McCormick's scrapbook.

These photographs, from my great-aunt Benita's scrapbook, tell us you were in Mexico in 1937.  You either already knew my great-uncle and great-aunt, Phil and Benita McCormick, before you traveled there, or you met them while south of the border. 

Mary Coates, 1937, Mexico.  From
Benita (McGinnis) McCormick's
scrapbook.

I have tried to learn more about you, searching the usual genealogy sources, such as Ancestry.com, FamilySearch.org, and Mocavo.com, but the time frames and names don't match up.  Still, I have a few theories about you, so please bear with me as I share them here.

Based on the note my great-aunt wrote under a photograph in which all of you were seated at a park fountain, you were American, but where were you from? If you knew the McCormicks before your trip, you might have come from either Illinois, Ohio, or Minnesota; otherwise, it's anybody's guess.  Or maybe you were simply expats, living in Mexico.

Whatever the case, it seems you and my relatives enjoyed one another immensely and spent a lot of time together.  You even hired a guide to take you to various places, including the great Aztec pyramids of Teotihuacán, about 30 miles northeast of Mexico's capital city.

As I look at the picture of you and my relatives, I'd guess you were slightly younger than Phil and Benita McCormick.  That would mean you were born sometime after 1900.  

 

John Coates, hamming it up on a park fountain.
 1937, Mexico, exact location unknown. From
Benita (McGinnis) McCormick's scrapbook.

John, you had the looks of a Hollywood movie star, with the character of a successful, self-assured, charismatic, and gregarious man who viewed life as a big adventure.  

Mary, Aunt Detty described you as "lovely," and you must have been that way inside and out. If a picture tells a thousand words, I think these photographs would say you were the counterpoint to your husband's gregariousness. You seem outgoing, yet you also appear to be calm and poised and sweet.  

I'm sure Aunt Detty loved spending time with you, sharing insights and impressions of your sightseeing excursions, and discussing your families back home.

Did you have children?  If so, maybe they or someone else who knew and loved you will find you here one day and enjoy these snippets of happy times shared so many years ago.  Maybe they will even share more with us, about you and your life together.

In any case, if they do find you here, I hope they will be happy to know that your friendship with my wonderful relatives, whether brief or long-lived, was treasured and remembered and treasured long after those serendipitous days south of the border.  

Here's to you, John and Mary Coates.  Whoever you were, you were special to my great-aunt and uncle.  And for now, that's good enough for me.

Left to right: John and Mary Coates, unidentified tour guide,
and Benita and Phil McCormick. Caption reads, "4 Americans & Guide."
1937, Mexico, exact location unknown.
From Benita (McGinnis) McCormick's scrapbook.

Left to right:  John and Mary Coates and Benita and Phil  McCormick.
1937, Teotihuacán, Mexico. From Benita (McGinnis) McCormick's scrapbook.

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Copyright ©  2014  Linda Huesca Tully

Those Places Thursday: Postcards from Mexico, Part 3: The Artistry of Taxco

Benita (McGinnis) McCormick (1889 - 1984)
Phillip C. McCormick (1892 - 1981)

Phillip and Benita McCormick, Mexico, 1937.
From the scrapbook of Benita (McGinnis) McCormick.

As we trace my great uncle and aunt, Phil and Benita (McGinnis) McCormick's 1937 visit to Mexico, let's return to the colonial hilltop village of Taxco, in the eastern state of Guerrero.  They were fascinated by this charming place, aptly dubbed the "magical town."

Cathedral of Santa Prisca, Taxco, Guerrero,
about 1937.  Postcard; photographer
unknown. From the scrapbook of 
Benita (McGinnis) McCormick.

From the postcards Uncle Phil and Aunt Detty purchased here, it would seem at first glance that Taxco's mountain setting and colonial architecture attracted a fair share of artists and photographers.

Having visited there myself on two occasions, I found it to be a memorable destination, adorned by striking white stucco houses with red tile roofs, hilly cobblestone streets, and exotic flowers and plants. Its zócalo, or main square, is crowned by a splendid Churrigueresque cathedral and is bordered by artisan silver shops bustling with tourists from all over the world.

But Taxco wasn't always bustling.  An ancient town that dates back to Aztec times, at one time it was surrounded by silver mines that fattened the coffers of several prospectors and facilitated the building of Santa Prisca Cathedral by its most prosperous miner.  Sadly, many of the mines were destroyed during the 1810 War for Independence from Spain, while other mines were depleted of their precious metal. The events precipitated the decline of the town's economy and eventually, its population, by the mid-nineteenth century.

Taxco, Guerrero, about 1937.
Postcard, photographer unknown.
From the scrapbook of
Benita (McGinnis) McCormick.

It was not until the early 1930s that Taxco was reborn, thanks to the arrival of an American artist named William Spratling. He established a silver design workshop featuring pre-Columbian motifs that he designed and trained local artisans to create.  Spratling's techniques and creations attracted worldwide attention, establishing Taxco as an artistic and cultural center and silver capital of the world and earning him the honorary moniker as the "father of Mexican silver."  

A few short years later, visitors began flocking to this remote town.  It was not an easy place to reach; travelers had to endure narrow, steep, and twisting roads to get there.  But the effort was well worth it, and artists, photographers, and tourists alike were inspired to record the rewarding sights with their cameras, paint brushes, and pens.

Aunt Detty and Uncle Phil probably spent a few days here, exploring the winding streets and filling their senses with the many sights, sounds, and smells..  If there was an artists' class here, Aunt Detty, her blue eyes twinkling, would have been the first to sign up for it. Uncle Phil, in his trademark tweed jacket and beret, would have grinningly stepped into a small shop, Spanish phrasebook in hand, eager to practice his Spanish with the local residents.  

The McCormicks' own striking presence would have turned the heads of many a Taxquenian. Despite the increase of tourism in this part of Mexico in 1937, foreign tourists (Americans were referred to as güeros, or "fair-skinned") still were not seen frequently but were regarded with open and mild curiosity.  My aunt and uncle did not mind at all.  They viewed the attention as an avenue toward new friendships and discoveries.  

Women and children at communal baths, Taxco, Guerrero, Mexico,
about 1937.  Postcard; photographer unknown.  From the scrapbook of
Benita (McGinnis) McCormick.

Of all the postcards Aunt Detty and Uncle Phil brought back from Taxco, this last one is my favorite. It depicts a group of indigenous women and children washing clothes in a communal pool.  Their expressions suggest mild surprise at the (unknown) photographer's presence, maybe even puzzlement over his choice of them as his subjects. His skillful composition draws us into the center of the  scene.  He juxtaposes the simple and lightweight dress of the women against the stark worn walls of the buildings, the wavy pattern of the tile roofs, and the passive waters of the pool.  The effect turns this otherwise routine act on a languid day into something very special, inviting us to take part in the ritual.  

Aunt Detty, who lived anything but a routine life, would have loved the raw beauty in this scene.  I don't remember that she ever painted anything quite like this, but some of the female subjects in her later paintings bore expressions that were reminiscent of the purity and simplicity of the women in this picture postcard.  I have no doubt that she was moved by the beauty of Taxco and its people, as well as by the resurgence of artistic expression during the town's rebirth. 

To experience the "Magical Town" of Taxco and its surroundings, as as it looks today, you can view this promotional 2012 video.  It was directed by Claudio Giovenzana and edited by Luca Sabbioni and Claudio Giovenzana, for the municipality of Taxco.

To read the other installments in this series, please click on the links below:

Part One: Postcards from Mexico

Part Two:  Taxco

Part Four:  Tracing Phil and Benita's Footsteps through Mexico

Part Five:  The Floating Gardens of Xochimilco

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Copyright ©  2014  Linda Huesca Tully

Those Places Thursday: Postcards from Mexico, Part 2: Taxco

Benita (McGinnis) McCormick (1889 - 1984)
Phillip C. McCormick (1892 - 1981)

Cactus prickly pear vendor, possibly from
Taxco, 1937. From Benita McCormick's scrapbook.

Without having them here to share their itinerary with us today, we must rely on the postcards my great aunt and great uncle, Benita and Phillip McCormick, saved in their scrapbook from their 1937 vacation in Mexico to show us where they went and what they saw.

Benita we called her "Aunt Detty" - an artist in her own right, had a keen eye for composition, and she chose her postcards carefully.  Each one in this collection is itself a  photographic work of art, giving us a glimpse into the much simpler life in some of the more rural areas of Mexico in the mid-1930s.  

Street view of church, Taxco, 1937.  From
Benita McCormick's scrapbook.

These postcards are of the mountaintop town of Taxco, in the southwestern state of Guerrero.  




Located about 100 miles southwest of Mexico City, Taxco is world-renowned for its silver mines and exquisite silver jewelry.  

Artists flock to the area to paint its picturesque colonial buildings, red tile roofs, and steep narrow cobblestone streets.  It is easy to imagine Aunt Detty, sitting at an easel with a palette of watercolors in the town square, or zócalo, while Uncle Phil strolls up and down the hilly lanes of the town. 

Street market, Taxco, 1937.
From Benita McCormick's scrapbook.

To read the other installments in this series, please click on the links below:

Part One: Postcards from Mexico

Part Three:  TheArtistry of Taxco

Part Four:  Tracing Phil and Benita's Footsteps through Mexico

Part Five:  The Floating Gardens of Xochimilco

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Copyright ©  2014  Linda Huesca Tully

Wordless Wednesday: Postcards from Mexico, Part 1

Benita (McGinnis) McCormick (1889 - 1984)
Phillip C. McCormick (1892 - 1981)

"Tipos Mexicanos," or "Mexicans," reads the
caption at the bottom.  1937; from Benita
(McGinnis) McCormick's scrapbook.

My great aunt and great uncle, Benita and Phillip McCormick, were enamored of Mexico and bought quite a few postcards during their visit there, mailing a number of them to their son and daughter, Phillip "Bud" and Jane.  These first two samples begin a series of their artistic and historic collection.

Taxco, Mexico.  1937; from Benita (McGinnis) McCormick's scrapbook.

To read the other installments in this series, please click on the links below:

Part Two:  Taxco

Part Three:  TheArtistry of Taxco

Part Four:  Tracing Phil and Benita's Footsteps through Mexico

Part Five:  The Floating Gardens of Xochimilco

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Copyright ©  2014  Linda Huesca Tully

Travel Tuesday: Vacationing in Mexico, 1937

Benita (McGinnis) McCormick (1889 - 1984)
Phillip C. McCormick (1892 - 1981)

Caption by Benita reads, "Phil

& I at Fountain."  Mexico, 1937;

exact location unknown. From

her scrapbook.

In the summer of 1937, my great uncle and great aunt, Phil and Benita McCormick, traveled from Chicago to Mexico for several weeks, leaving their eight-year old son and daughter, Bud and Jane, in the able care of close relatives back home. 

As the freight service manager for the Baltimore and Ohio (B & O) Railroad in Chicago, Uncle Phil enjoyed the enviable benefit of free rail travel for himself and his family.  Though we do not know the route they traveled, they might have taken one of the B & O's "streamliner" trains, such as the Abraham Lincoln, from Chicago to Saint Louis.  From there, they most likely changed trains once or twice before arriving at their destination on one of the trains of the National Railways of Mexico. 

Timetable Brochure,
National Railways of Mexico,
July 20, 1937.  From Benita
(McGinnis) McCormick's
 scrapbook. 

During their Mexican sojourn, Phil and Benita visited not only the capital, Mexico City, but also many Mexican villages. They fell in love with the country, and Benita took several art classes while there.

They traveled the country with a tour group, a safe way to travel in 1937 for those who spoke little or no Spanish.  Uncle Phil probably had some working knowledge of the language; when I was young, I remember he was always studying Spanish!  

In the photograph above and below, Benita and Phil sit contentedly in front of a lovely unidentified fountain.   The next photo shows them in front of the same fountain with their tour guide and a couple they met on their trip, John and Mary Coates. 

Caption reads, "4 Americans & Guide."  From left to right:
John and Mary Coates, unnamed tour guide, and Benita
(McGinnis) and Phil McCormick.  Location unknown.
Mexico, 1937.  From Benita McCormick's scrapbook.

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Copyright ©  2014  Linda Huesca Tully

Motivation Monday: Eight Years of Blogging - and Here's to Many More!

Eight years...can it really be that long?

My trusty Underwood typewriter, its ribbon now worn,
keeps  me company as I write.  A gift from my great-aunt
 Detty, it once belonged to my great-grandfather Thomas
McGinnis, who used it to write an autobiography
of his adventures at sea.

Actually, it's eight years and two days...171 posts, and 30,959 page views.

That's right. According to Google statistics for this blog, Many Branches, One Tree has had 30,959 page views since it debuted on June 21, 2006.

I remember my first post, a "welcome" message to my new readers and a hesitant dip into the world of family history writing.  For as long as it took to get started, it was a good thing I wrote that piece on the longest day of the year.

To be sure, 171 posts over eight years pale next to the number of posts written by some of my more prolific family history colleagues who impressively post a story (or more) every day.  By comparison, 171 posts works out to more like 21 stories per year, or almost two posts per month.  

At this rate, I won't break any records.  On the other hand, despite the urgency I feel to write about the lives of the people who have paved the way for us, I also struggle to fit it into the balance of family time, work, and play. 

So I write what I can, the best way I can, as often as I can.  And it comes down to this:  if you, dear reader, not only learn the facts about the people who appear in this blog but you also can picture yourself in their shoes, in their predicaments, in their journeys; if you can feel the air about them and hear the rhythm of their hearts through their words and actions, then I have done my job.

Don't ask me to pick a favorite blog post.  That's like asking which of my three children I love the most. The answer is that each post is different, yet I feel attached to all of them.  Whatever I am writing becomes my "favorite" at that moment.

It's easier to look ahead. My future plans are to explore my husband's family, the Tullys, Barons, Hoppins, Makepeaces, Fays, and Rineys. It's only fair that our children know more about my husband's side of the family, a fascinating group of people with an amazing history.  Eventually, I will come back to my ancestors, as the McGinnises, Huescas, Perrotins, and O'Gradys still beckon for attention.  

Is there a book in here somewhere?  Some have suggested there is and have encouraged me to write one.  It is a tempting thought.

Lastly, my own children have asked me to write autobiographical pieces, so they will know their own mother's stories.  I want to do this for them but am somewhat reluctant to do it here. We will have to explore the options.

Here are some fun statistics about this blog.

According to Blogger, the five most popular blog posts of all time:

1.  Family Recipe Friday:  Arroz con Leche, the story of my Abuelita (Grandmother) Catalina (Perrotin) Huesca's comfort food, Mexican Rice Pudding, wins the prize for most views at 1,194.  If only there were a prize - I suppose it would have to be a dish of the real thing.

2.  Madness Monday:  Cold War Mania, about my family's experience during the Cuban Missile Crisis and my parents' decision to move us to Mexico.  That story has been viewed 505 times.  It was not viewed much when it appeared a year ago, but every day it seems to attract more readers.  I can't figure out why.

3.  Remembering Mary Jane and Elizabeth Gaffney garnered 410 views. My best guess is that people liked my mother's first-person childhood memories of her grandmother and great-aunt, who raised her during the Great Depression.

4.  Family Recipe Friday:  Abuelita's Mexican Rice.  This was another story about my grandmother's cooking.  Well, she was known for her culinary talents and her warm way of making people feel loved. Whether it was cooking for my grandfather, their 11 children, her mother and sister, or the family's guests at their hotels and restaurants in 1920s Mexico, her most important ingredient was the love she put into it - and that made it memorable.  363 views.

5.  Patricia Ann Fay, a biography of my delightful mother-in-law, was viewed 284 times.  I only wish she were still alive to see that, but at least my darling husband can enjoy the thought that his mother has touched many people's lives.

Those readers, and more, come from all over the world.  Sitemeter, a visitor counter, counts the top ten countries, along with the number of readers in each:

United States     17,948

Russia                   5,099

Mexico                     794

Canada                     732

Germany                  637

France                      527

United Kingdom     511

Poland                      315

Ukraine                    210

China                       208

Readers are split almost evenly among the sexes, with 46% females and 54% males.  Though many are referred here by other blogs and websites (most of them genealogy-related), the majority come from Google searches, Pinterest pages, and the Geneabloggers website.  Some of the most popular phrases in Google searches have been:

cold war

many branches one tree

Schiavon

Conneaut Ohio

Nickel Plate Railroad Conneaut

Hyde Park

origin of Huesca name

Orizaba

Gaffney

It has been a joy to memorialize family members (and occasionally, close family friends) on this blog and to hear your own insights.  Sometimes you offer thoughtful speculations and  share new revelations.  Sometimes you discover a common ancestor, or something our ancestors had in common with us.  The best times are when you rediscover family  you either thought you knew or never knew - or we discover each other.  It sends a chill down my spine every time.  You make this blog worthwhile.

I am pleased and honored that you have taken the time to share your own memories and insights.    Sometimes, I have even had the thrill of meeting "new" cousins, from near and far.  What blessings you are!

Many thanks to all of you.  Whether we share a common ancestor or simply a common love of family, tradition, and a good story, I am grateful to you for reading, commenting, and even sharing this blog.  

Now, let's get back to those stories.


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Copyright ©  2014  Linda Huesca Tully

Not-So-Wordless Wednesday: It's All Relative

Phillip Eugene "Bud" McCormick (1927 - 2004)
Benita Jane "Janie" (McCormick) Olson 
                                                          (1927 - 2011)
Joan (Schiavon) Huesca (1928 - 1987)

My great-aunt "Detty," or Benita (McGinnis) McCormick, and her younger sister (my grandmother, Alice (McGinnis) Schiavon), lived several blocks apart on the South side of Chicago, both from each other and from their mother, Mary Jane (Gaffney) McGinnis.  Their children - my mother, Joan Schiavon, her brother Tom (Thomas Schiavon), and Jane and Buddy McCormick, played together happily most days.  

Usually, my uncle Tom, ever the bookworm, kept to his inventions and scientific experiments, while my mother, Joan, was a tomboy and usually played outdoors with Buddy and his best friend, Jack O'Brien.   Jane, on the other hand, was more ladylike, preferring books and dolls to climbing trees and catching bugs.  They also acted in a children's play, Darby and Joan, at the Medinah Chidren's Theater in downtown Chicago.  

This photograph, taken in about 1931, during the height of the Great Depression, must have brought many a smile to Benita, Alice; their husbands Phil McCormick and Ralph Schiavon; and their extended families. Jane and Bud look to be about five or six years old here, while my mother would have been about four.  

Nothing is cuter than small children, except maybe small children with small animals. One can easily imagine people who desperately needed to make money to feed their own children, bringing their domestic animals up and down residential streets, perhaps borrowing cameras, and offering souvenir snapshots to those who answered the door.  

My mother, Joan Schiavon, and her cousins Jane and Bud McCormick, pose
on a billy goat and cart.  Chicago, Illinois, circa 1931.

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Copyright ©  2014  Linda Huesca Tully

Matrilineal Monday: Two Little Bundles of Love

Benita Elizabeth (McGinnis) McCormick (1889 - 1984)
Phillip Columbus McCormick (1892 - 1981)
Phillip Eugene "Bud" McCormick (1927 - 2004)
Benita Jane "Janie" (McCormick) Olson (1927 - 2011)

Christmas 1927 brought a very special gift to my great-aunt and great-uncle, Benita and Phil McCormick.  

These two little cherubs, "Buddy and Jane," or Phillip Eugene and Benita Jane 
McCormick, were named after their adoptive parents, Phillip Columbus and Benita 
Elizabeth (McGinnis) McCormick.  Chicago, Illinois, December 1927.

Make that two special gifts.  

Unable to have children of their own, Benita and Phil adopted two infants, a boy and a girl.  Given their adoptive parents' first names and the respective baptism (middle) names of their uncle Eugene McGinnis and grandmother Mary Jane (Gaffney) McGinnis, Phillip Eugene and Benita Jane were nicknamed  "Buddy" (later "Bud") and "Janie," names that stuck with them all their lives.  

 Adoption announcement card, designed by Benita
(McGinnis) McCormick, whimsically depicts two
young babes in diapers knocking on the door of the
McCormick home.  

Though the blond, blue-eyed babies were referred to as "the twins," the newest little McCormicks may have been about the same age but in fact were not related by blood to each other at all. Bud was born on February 26, 1927, presumably in Illinois.  Benita Jane, called "Janie," was born Shirley Ann Althaus on May 20, 1927, in Iowa, to a young German-American farm girl named Bernice Althaus.  

Benita designed a whimsical adoption announcement heralding the new additions to the McCormick family. The pen and ink illustration on the card depicts two young babes in diapers, clutching small suitcases.  Standing on a welcome mat, they rap confidently on the front door of their new home.  The "8032" on the door was the street number of the family's residence at 8032 Vernon Avenue, on Chicago's South Side. 

The idea of Benita and Phil ringing in the New Year by inviting friends and family to join them in welcoming two little cherubs into their world was typical of a couple who enjoyed celebrating life and loved ones.

Inside of adoption
announcement and invitation
to meet Buddy and Jane McCormick
on New Year's Day, 1928.

Mr and Mrs. Phillip C. McCormick,

8052 Vernon Avenue, announce the 

adoption of Benita Jane and Phillip

Eugene, December 18, 1927, and request

the pleasure of your company on

New Year's Day to meet their

son and daughter.

From 8:30 p.m. to 12 o'clock    R.S.V.P.

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Copyright ©  2014  Linda Huesca Tully