My brother Perry and his little red fire truck

Perry, Christine, Nell holding Judy, Sue

I came across this old photo of our only brother, Perry, when he was 2 years old. (He didn't like having his picture made when he was little.)  Santa brought him this red fire truck for Christmas and I think our daddy was more excited than he was on Christmas Day.

Daddy spent many hours repairing this metal toy and painting it. In 1944, you couldn't buy metal toys and he found this one that had been well used, and restored it. It was beautiful and Perry loved the bell that he could ring by pulling a string. We all took turns pushing him around in the fire truck when he got tired of pedaling.

This photo was taken in the front yard of Mama and Papa Wilson's house where we lived with them until the fall of 1944. We moved to a rental house about 1/2 mile away just before our sister Judy (shown here) was born on New Year's Day, 1945.

It was probably Easter 1945 when this photo was made. I'm guessing that we spent the day with Mama and Papa Wilson, even bringing Perry's fire truck so he could ride in in their big yard. 

I had just turned 10 in this picture and remember well the red and white stripe rayon dress I am wearing. Mother made it from a dress my aunt sent from Washington, DC. She would gather up nice clothing from her friends and send it to mother to use to make clothes for us. Fabric was not available due to war shortages. We always had nice clothes to wear because our mother was so creative and a very good seamstress.

My sister Christine is on the left side of the photo, I'm in the middle - holding baby Judy, and on the right side is my sister Susan (Sue). Alice and Carolyn came along later. Perry was the only boy in the family.