My mother said that after a difficult birth, her sister Mary V.’s foot was turned inward.She did not know if this was the fault of the doctor or not, but Mary V. wore a brace for years.
Mary V’s grandson, Ahmad Elkins, posted the pictres below on fb recently. They are his grandmother’s well worn baby shoes, saved through the years. Amhad shared his photographs with me and gave me permission to post them here.
Two other posts about Mary Virginia Graham Elkins are:
Mary Virginia Graham Colorized
Old County Building and Mary V. Elkins
I love those shoes! The age and wear on them makes them a work of art.
It does, doesn’t it? I think some of the wear is due to age, not hard wear that my little aunt gave them.
How wonderful that those shoes have been kept and handed down through the generations.
Mavis! How good to see you. I had never seen those shoes until my cousin shared them. I always wondered how much stuff my grandparents left when they moved because my mother was determined to not take all that stuff.
There is so much character in those little boots and it is great to have such an unusual legacy – the shoes that you aunt wore so many years ago and the photograph to go with them. Mary looked to well wrapped up cocooned in her fur coat.
It must have been getting cold in Detroit.
How wonderful those little shoes have been saved. I remember having brown shoes with that band of little air holes across the toes. I was pigeon-toed when I was little & had to wear special shoes for a while. Strangely, both my daughters had one foot that turned outward & had to wear a brace before they were a year old at night to correct the problem. I felt sorry for them, but they thought the brace – stretched between both feet & holding them straight – was something to play with. Kids! 🙂
That is lucky they thought it was fun though. I hope Mary V. thought so too.
I agree with Andrea. They’re art.
Those shoes are amazing, Kristin! Love the worn spots in the heel — and wonder how they got worn out back there…if they could talk…
I think they are so old they began to peel apart, not so much from wear, but from age.
Mary V’s mama saved those precious shoes not knowing a great grandson would continue to preserve a piece of the family legacy.
My cousin Barbara saved as much of her mother’s stuff as she could and when she died last year her son became the saver. I’m so glad they all saved and shared.
I love those little boots, such a super link with the past.
Look at those beautiful boots. What stories they could tell!
If only they could talk!
Aw so cute. I have often seen baby shoes in antique shops but I much prefer knowing that a family chose to keep them. But I suppose a lot of things are not meaningful to people who never knew the owner.
And even some who did know the owner toss things. I never saved any of my kids baby shoes, I must admit.
Amazing to have history, art and family embodied in a pair of worn little shoes. Evocative.
Those shoes are so emotionally evocative, so haunting and beautiful, the brace, the life long gone, the stories that remain. Those shoes make me want to take out my pencil and sketch again, and it’s been a long time since anything provoked that feeling. Thank you for sharing them.
I think they would be great to sketch too. if I had the actual shoes here, I would.
Great post Kristin! those shoes sure have a story to tell! makes me think of the days when life was simple. If you were lucky, you owned two pairs of shoes. One pair to play in or for school and one pair to wear to church on Sunday.
After this post, I wrote one about her youngest brother, Howard, who died when he was just 3 of scarlet fever. I noticed in photos he is wearing the same sort of shoes and I wondered if maybe they were passed down or if they were actually his shoes because of his early death. Anyway, I’m so glad my cousin shared them. good to see you, Denise!