I can pinpoint the date that this picture was taken: October 29, 1953, on the occasion of my 4th birthday. Larry, my 17-month-old brother, looks on, probably wondering as I am, "Where are the presents?"
The slide mount identifies the woman on the right (below) as Mrs. Charlene Gullings. The name doesn't ring a bell. Perhaps she was a member of First English, or a family friend passing through town. The latter scenario seems highly unlikely considering Great Falls' isolated geography. (Dad's hometown is Rockford, Illinois. Mom's from Springfield, Massachusetts. In other words, both of my parents lived a long way from their respective homes at this time. Also on the couch, from left to right, is Mom, me (cut off at the chin -- thanks Dad!) and an unidentified girl who looks to be a year or two older than I. Charlene's daughter?
In 1953, many families bought their first television set, but this purchase was still two years off for the Nelson family. And for good reason. During the five years we lived there, Great Falls had just two TV stations, which didn't start broadcasting until the late afternoon. I was listening to the "The Lone Ranger" on the radio at this time in my life. Here I stand -- Dad's still struggling with framing his shots -- next to our new stereo phonograph/radio, which I suspect might have been a "family" Christmas gift. (I would love to know what record was playing.)
There seems to be some doubt about when this picture was taken -- 1953 or 4 is written on the mount -- which makes me think that the captions were added after the fact.
Looks as though Mom and Dad dressed up their two sons for a Christmas portrait. Note how our hair has grown out since my birthday picture. And so neatly combed!
A solo portrait of Larry. Perhaps there was also one of me. It's clear from the numbers on the mounts that as many as 50% of the slides from each roll of film are missing.
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