That’s how my mom referred to Diane, Elizabeth and Ruth Ellen. They were “The Walker Girls”, the three children of Mom’s youngest uncle, Jack Walker, and his wife, Emma. Mom’s mother, Margaret, was the oldest of the clan. She was born in 1899. Jack’s given name was John, but everyone called him Jack. He was thirteen years younger than Margaret.
Diane is six years older than me, Elizabeth is four, and Ruth Ellen is two. I thought they were three of the prettiest girls that I had ever seen. When I knew the Walker girls would be at a family gathering, I was all in. This picture features a plaid skirted Ruth Ellen, and a stack of three girls led by my doll holding sister, Sharron, followed by Elizabeth and Diane. I’m the lone googly-eyed lad.
See what I mean about the girls. Very pretty.
The Walker Girls are my cousins. When I started to understand our relationship, I did the math and determined we were second cousins. When I was about eighteen, getting ready to go to college, Ruth Ellen, the youngest of the girls told me that we were “first cousins once removed”. I never heard of anything like that before. She was a college girl so I figured she must be right. The chart below confirms her assertion.
Margaret was my grandmother, and Uncle Jack was my granduncle. Following the chart, first cousin once removed (The Walker Girls) aligns perfectly with me (YOU).
My first memory of the girls was when they lived in Washington Township, Michigan. I recall the large backyard, not because its seared in my brain, but because I saw it several times on a family film taken there. It’s a pre-1950 film featuring the Walker family, aunts, uncles, cousins, the works.
All of the couples lined up with their children and paraded through a family movie shoot. Think of the runway during a beauty competition. About a dozen families stepped forward, one group at a time, paused, smiled, turned right or left, and the next family followed. Uncle Jack probably shot the film because it was his yard. I’m very sure he owned it because he’s the guy who showed it to me. I’d love to see it again. If I’m correct, all of the participants have passed with the exception of my cousin, Ruth Ann, who is six months my junior, The Walker Girls, and me.
If I was to hazard a guess, I believe the last time I viewed the film was 1967. I’ll explain my observation later. I believe it was shot pre-1950 because my sister, Sharron, was born in April of that year and she didn’t appear in the film. If she was around during the shoot, Mom and Dad must have left her sitting in the car.
During one of our trips for a family visit with the Walkers, my Aunt Ruth and Uncle Harry met with our family at a rendezvous site in the country. We arrived first. We walked a bit while waiting, and Dad discovered a black cherry tree full of cherries. I picked up the cherries that had already fallen while Mom and Dad picked from the tree. Once Aunt Ruth, Uncle Harry, and my cousins, Gene and Ruth Ann arrived, they joined in “the pick”. We shared our treasure with the Walker clan.
It’s funny what you recall when you dust off the cobwebs.
TBC
Thanks for the memories.