From Little Annie to Granny Annie
Fashion is one way that we reflect our personalities. As we choose clothes, we select styles that showcase our personalities and the culture of the time. Fashion allows us both to fit in and to distinguish ourselves from others. Our fashion choices change throughout our lifetime.
We’re going to take a journey and see the progression of Little Annie to Granny Annie.
My grandmother, Anna Agnes Anthony, the beloved youngest daughter of a devoted German American family was born on July 25, 1905 in La Crosse, Wisconsin to John Peter Anthony (Antony) and Gertrude Schmidt Anthony. Shortly after her birth, Annie and her family moved to San Bernardino, California. The family settled in and made San Bernardino their home. Annie’s father worked for the railroad in both cities. By 1910, of the 10 children that John and Gertrude had, there were only five surviving children: Peter, Mary, Barbara, Christopher, and Annie.
As a young woman, Annie was quite fashionable. Annie met and married handsome Malcolm McLeod whose family immigrated to San Bernardino from Ontario, Canada when he was two. Annie and Malcolm married in 1923 when Annie was just 18 and Malcolm was 23. Their son, William, was born in 1930 and their daughter, Geraldine (Jerrie), was born in 1938.
Then her marriage tragically fell apart (I discussed this in my blog of July 2, 2021 titled Conflict. https://journeyingwithjacque.com/). Annie then was on her own, raising her children and trying to provide for her family by waitressing.
Annie (Ann) then met Jack Jacobs and her fashion style changed dramatically. Jack was truly a cowboy. Annie discovered that she loved the desert and the western lifestyle. Sometime before 1966, Jack and Ann took jobs at the Grand Canyon. Jack led mule rides down the Grand Canyon and Ann was a waitress at the restaurant. She told me that she found being a waitress gratifying because she relished talking to the customers. She especially enjoyed when she served German tourists at the Grand Canyon because she always surprised them when she spoke German to them.
Annie spent the last several years of her life living in Wendon, Arizona where she was known to the whole community as Granny Annie. She took great pleasure in this.
Annie’s best fashion accessory was her charisma. She loved people and never met a stranger. When I was a teenager I would get embarrassed when we would be shopping and a song came on that she liked and she would sing and dance in the aisle. Of course, everyone else loved it. She really had an oversized personality.
