I don’t remember a lot about my grandma from before I was 5, but I definitely remember a few things. Her coming out to visit us in Draper, UT, and taking long walks, often through the cemetery down the road where we’d read the headstones. Driving up to Heber and Park City to eat lunch and shop. She was soft-spoken and loved to read and definitely liked music, but really the only song I really associate with her is “Pretty Woman” by Roy Orbison. I remember her sing-talking the lyrics every time it came on, never really breaking out into song, but stretching out the words along with the tune.
Which is why I absolutely can’t imagine her attending Milwaukee Summerfest, billed as “The World’s Largest Music Festival”, a massive 11-day concert in Wisconsin that pulls in up to 900,000 people a year. But there she is, in front of the Miller Jazz Oasis Stage, carrying a heavy sweater even though it was probably in the 80s in Milwaukee in July. It’s probably sometime between 1978 and 1982 based on the name of the Schlitz Country stage, which changed names in 1982, putting her at almost 60 when the photo was taken.
Photos like these are one of my favorite parts of going through the hundreds of photos I inherited from my grandpa. It gives you such an interesting glimpse into the people my grandparents really were when they weren’t busy being my grandparents.
