Beavers, stockings and murder

I used to think that I grew up in a Norman Rockwell household. My parents had five kids and our PopPop lived with us after MomMom died.My Mother was a stay-at-home mom, as were most of my friend's mothers. It was all so normal, very Leave it to Beaver-ish. Or, so I thought. Speaking of beavers, here is what I found out one morning after the Philadelphia Sunday Bulletin was delivered.

Splattered across the front page of the magazine section was a likeness of my great aunt's lifeless body.The Bulletin was going out of business and their last issue was devoted to their top ten stories of the past century. This one ranked number five on their list.

I've always heard of great Aunt Maizie. She had been a model back in the early 1900's. I was proud to bring her name up to my grade school friends, whenever the conversation turned to celebrities.

She died young, I was told. Back then a lot of people died young. The part my parents neglected to tell us was that great Aunt Maizie was a so-called lingerie model/high priced call girl. She was strangled to death with her silk stockings after being bludgeoned with a heavy object. Here is the newspaper account of what happened back in 1917.

My daughter Erin was thrilled about the story when I told her. It came just in time to use it for an assignment for her world culture class.They were asked to share an interesting story in their family's geneology. You have to know Erin to understand her flair for the storytelling. She embellished that story up the ying yang. And she had the newspaper article to prove it.

Ah, the joy in that girls face, when she showed me her A.

And, since I don't have a picture of dead Aunt Maizie, I thought I'd show some of the happy, ever-ebullient Erin taken at different times in her life.

Here she's on the Brigantine Beach. What a happy child !!!

Here she is on the day of her wedding.

Colleen and Erin in the digestive tract. Yummy !!!

 

Comments

[lauren]

With Aunt Maizie's demise published and her "modest celebrity in Philadelphia," this qualifies as a Famous Friday post! Wonder what happened to all those love letters?

[Shawn]

Dear Erin's Mom - I can't wait for your updates - and seriously, Famous Friday.
I LOVE your style and continue to laugh when I read your blog. Today's was just great! I just had to click the link to read about your great Aunt Maizie! Thanks for the smiles!

[Shannon]

Is that a pick in Erin's hair ?? Another funny one mom!! Keep it going.

[Maryellen]

Oh, poor Auntie was done in by none other than her pimp, I reckon. Ya can't go screwin' around with the wrong people. Ya know?