Gladys Helen Cleage, the sixth of the seven children of Albert B. and Pearl (Reed) Cleage, was born on September 29, 1922 at home on Scotten. Gladys attended Wingert Elementary School with her siblings when she turned six in 1928. She was eight years old when the decade ended.
My Aunt Gladys and I used to walk a mile in the evenings when we both lived in Idlewild in the 1980s. She told me that one year she had been sick so much that her father decided she would stay home the following school year. She was looking forward to it, but over the summer her health improved and she had to go to school after all.
Gladys also told me that she liked to play with dolls but neither of her sisters really cared for dolls so she would have to beg them to play, which happened rarely.
Gladys with paternal grandma Celia 
Henry, Albert Jr & Sr, Gladys 
Barbara and Gladys 
Hugh, Anna, Gladys and Barbara Cleage
Such an adorable baby! 🙂
The Multicolored Diary
And so much hair.
She looks like a sweetie in the baby pictures, but when she’s a bit older she seems like she knows her mind. ?
Tasha ?
Virginia’s Parlour – The Manor (Adult concepts – nothing explicit in posts)
Tasha’s Thinkings – Vampire Drabbles
The whole family was famous for knowing their own minds.
That first photo is pure cuteness overload! I’m wondering if you inherited any of the dolls.
No. There were no toys from the past at that house. They moved when I was two from the house on Scotten so maybe all the toys got tossed since there were no children in the house. Or maybe her daughter has one. I will have to ask.
I remember once my grandmother was telling me about the wonderful dollhouse she had when she was growing up and I asked her why she didn’t save it for me. She laughed and said she didn’t know there would be a me.
Poor Gladys…thinking of how disappointing ‘getting better over the summer’ must’ve been for her.
It was very disappointing.
Your grandma looks like a kind lady. When you say Idlewild, do you mean the community in/near Baldwin, MI? I’ve driven through there a few times over the years.
Yes! Idlewild in Lake county. I lived in Idlewild over 20 years and raised my children there. At one point quite a few of my Cleage aunts and uncles had homes there too. I miss it.
My grandmother was kind, but she could also be very firm.
It’s a beautiful area there. I live southwest of there, down by Grand Haven, but I used to have to drive to Hersey for work. Sometimes we’d take 37 instead of 131 and take a ride through Idlewild. I watched a documentary on it when it was in its heyday. It looked like it was a fancy resort. Nice place to raise a family!
The nightclub acts were fancy, but the cottages were pretty basic. It is beautiful. Right in the Manistee National Forest.
My favourite photo still has to be the four of them on the footpath. I am glad your aunt got better.
How nice that you use to be able to walk with her in the evenings when you lived in the same town. Weekends In Maine
It was wonderful. At that time several of my uncles and Gladys lived nearby and lots of stories were shared. I wish I had written/recorded all of them!
What great family photographs used to tell the story.
I just took a look at your blog – I don’t know why I haven’t been keeping up with you! You have some wonderful family photos and stories yourself.
Kristin, I love your answers in the comment as much as your posts. Why don’t you include some of those memories in the posts?
@JazzFeathers
The Old Shelter – Living the Twenties
Usually I don’t think of them until someone makes a comment that triggers the memory.