In honor of Memorial Day, we want to show you two wonderful color slides taken on Memorial Day in 1957. The ceremony was held in Fulton Park, and in the photograph below you can see the World War II memorial with its list of those who died in service. This memorial had been dedicated exactly ten years previously, on Memorial Day of 1947. There is a note in our records suggesting that the monument was designed by sculptor John Donnelly Jr., but we don’t know for sure. The plaque from the monument was later reinstalled in Memorial Park, in front of the V.F.W. building.
Do you recognize anyone in the photographs? The slides are not the best quality, but perhaps a few of the people can be identified. The Girl Scout and Boy Scout uniforms are easy to spot, but who are the ladies in the white shirts? And does anyone happen to know if Jack Donnelly was responsible for the monument?
If you don’t know, but are curious about the answers, come back and check this post. We’ll attach comments with any information we receive.
Bob Russell, our society sleuth, identifies the ladies in the blue skirts and white blouses as the American Legion auxiliary, and the ones in the tan outfits as the Beatrice Gorman VFW auxiliary or female vets, like the WACs and WAVES.
Our president, Janet Murphy, says: "The solider on the far left (rifle partially covering his face) looks like my uncle, Dick Dunn; the man to the right of the little girl is John Kultzow; next to him is Ann Schnibbe; the vet holding the flag with the silver helmet is Bob Kessner."
Paul Duddy adds that two of the women in uniform (lef of center, wearing sunglasses with purses in their hands)look to him like his great aunts Mary and Katherine Duddy.
Thanks everyone for all the information!
Janet Murphy has corrected my spelling of 'Kesner'! Thanks, Janet!
And Susan Kultzow Kane has identified herself in the bottom photograph — the little girl in the brownie uniform.
"She was 9 years old in this picture," Susan writes. "And I am thrilled to see this as I've never seen it. Such great memories of Memorial Day. Thank you for sharing."
Same here, Susan!