Sepia Saturday – And Now Your Favorite Flying Cowboy …

Could it be? Sky King? The flying cowboy?

Morales, Martin Mooney Abt 2-3, cowboy with lasso and sheep cropped

Looks like he has this case tied up. That wooly bandit was up to no good, but his criminal ways have been put to an end!

Well, okay … it’s not really Sky King since Sky King didn’t hit the airwaves until 1946 and this photo was taken about 1930. But maybe, just maybe, the radio and television shows were based on the childhood exploits of my father-in-law, Martin Morales. Here’s a day in his life – his 2nd birthday seems like a good guess to me.

Martin was a busy cowboy that day. He arrived in a blur in his speedy airplane.

Morales, Martin Mooney Abt 2-3, cowboy in airplane

His cowgirl cousin met him at the ranch. They were ready for anything.
Morales, Martin Mooney Abt 2-3, cowboy and ?First there were chores to do out in the pasture.
Morales, Martin Mooney Abt 2-3, cowboy cutting grass 2

The horses needed to be lassoed and tended to.Morales, Martin Mooney Abt 2-3, cowboy with ponyWait! Who is this bad guy and what kind of mischief is he up to?
Morales, Martin Mooney Abt 2-3, cowboy and ? with sheep“I’ve got him covered. Call the sheriff!”
Morales, Martin Mooney Abt 2-3, cowboy with lasso and sheep croppedLet’s head into town for some sarsaparilla. I could use a stiff drink!
Morales, Martin Mooney Abt 2-3, cowboy and ? on back of car

sepia sat 6 dec 2014Golly, Friends, head on over to Sepia Saturday and see what the other kids are up to today!

Fellows and girls, you can watch an episode of Sky King right here!

 

 

 

Sepia Saturday – A Day at the Beach

 

Sepia Saturday provides bloggers with an opportunity to share their history through the medium of photographs. Historical photographs of any age or kind (they don’t have to be sepia) become the launchpad for explorations of family history, local history and social history in fact or fiction, poetry or prose, words or further images.

The prompt image is from the collection of Alan Burnett, and that is his Auntie Miriam enjoying the seaside sands. The style of Auntie Miriam’s swimsuit reminded me of a swimsuit in a collection of pictures from my husband’s family.

The youngster featured in these photos is my husband’s father, Martin. I think the man in the car is Martin’s father, Simone Morales.

Martin is looking a little camera shy below. I’m guessing he was about three years old. What do you think? That would date the photo around 1928.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I thought this was a picture of Martin enjoying the water. But once I saw it blown up, I wasn’t sure.

Fun at last!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And I have to add one more… just so you can see that he had hair under that swim cap.

Everyone tells me that Martin’s mother “dyed his hair” when he was young. Pictures of him as a little boy show him with blonde curls. As an older boy and man, Martin had very dark hair – true to his Sicilian roots.

I asked my mother-in-law about the picture above and she couldn’t identify the little girl. She said that Lena Morales Maida (Martin’s aunt – sister of Simone) had a bay house on Bolivar (Bolivar Peninsula, Texas) and this was the likely location for these photographs. The last picture was probably taken on a separate trip to the beach.

Bolivar Peninsula - Photo Credit: Dan M.S. | U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Digital Visual Library

The Bolivar Peninsula was hit hard by Hurricane Ike in 2008. I was going to include a photo of the destruction, but decided to leave us with thoughts of a beautiful sunny day at the beach.

For more sunny beaches, swim over to Sepia Saturday to see what others have created for today’s prompt.