1953 and pregnant

I'm in this picture, but you can't see me because my mom is just two months pregnant.

Back in 1953, only a lab test using a live rabbit could confirm pregnancy. "The rabbit died" was a slang way of saying the test was positive. In truth, the rabbit always died since discovering the test result required an autopsy of the hapless hare.

But I digress. This photo was taken in front of the house in St. Bernard in which my mom and dad lived after they were married in 1952. My dad's father helped them purchase the $15,000 home by giving them money for a down-payment as a wedding gift.

In this photo are my Aunt Susan, my mom (and me), my dad, my grandpa Nelson, grandmother Jeanette and my Aunt Judy. This picture was taken in June of 1953 under my grandpa's supervision--he's in the picture, so he must have pressed a neighbor into service to actually snap the photo.