Category: Benita (McGinnis) McCormick

Sentimental Sunday: Loving and Letting Go

Benita Elizabeth (McGinnis) McCormick     (1889 – 1984) Phillip Columbus McCormick (1892 – 1981) Phillip Eugene “Bud” McCormick (1927 – 2004) Benita Jane “Janie” (McCormick) Olson     (1927 – 2011) Elson “Ole” Olson (1924 – 1994)   Benita Jane McCormick, known as “Jane,” circa 1960. As happens eventually to parents everywhere, Phil and Benita McCormick must have wondered … Continue reading "Sentimental Sunday: Loving and Letting Go"

Talented Tuesday: Lady in Winter

Benita (McGinnis) McCormick (1889 – 1984) Benita (McCormick) McGinnis drew this untitled chalk rendering in Chicago, possibly in 1931.   With winter snow and rain storms in full force across the world this week, it seems appropriate to post this chalk drawing by my great-aunt “Detty,” Benita McCormick. The back of this portrait contains no information to … Continue reading "Talented Tuesday: Lady in Winter"

Friday’s Faces from the Past: McGinnis Family Portrait

Mary Jane (Gaffney) McGinnis (1858 – 1940) Benita (McGinnis) McCormick (1889 – 1984) Francis Eugene McGinnis (1891 – 1961) John Charles McGinnis (1894 – 1944) Alice Gaffney (McGinnis) Schiavon (1895 – 1963) Some time during the late 1930s, the now-adult McGinnis children: Benita, Alice (my maternal grandmother), Gene, and John, gathered at the family home at 8336 Drexel … Continue reading "Friday’s Faces from the Past: McGinnis Family Portrait"

Treasure Chest Thursday: There Was an App for That

Phillip C. McCormick (1892 – 1981) Benita (McGinnis) McCormick (1889 – 1984)   Phillip Columbus McCormick, circa 1914. From the scrapbook of Benita (McGinnis) McCormick.   My great-uncle, Phillip Columbus McCormick, who always loved the Spanish language, must been smitten with it during the trip that he and my great-aunt Detty, Benita (McGinnis) McCormick, took to Mexico … Continue reading "Treasure Chest Thursday: There Was an App for That"

Those Places Thursday: Postcards from Mexico, Part 5: The Floating Gardens of Xochimilco

Benita (McGinnis) McCormick (1889 – 1984) Phillip C. McCormick (1892 – 1981) We wrap up our postcard series by visiting one of the loveliest stopovers Phil and Benita made during their 1937 vacation, the famed floating Gardens of Xochimilco, in the southern region of the Federal District (Distrito Federal), about 40 minutes from downtown Mexico City.   … Continue reading "Those Places Thursday: Postcards from Mexico, Part 5: The Floating Gardens of Xochimilco"

Travel Tuesday: Postcards from Mexico, Part 4: Tracing Phil and Benita’s Footsteps through Mexico

Benita (McGinnis) McCormick (1889 – 1984) Phillip C. McCormick (1892 – 1981) Three basket weavers smile obligingly at the photographer in “Tipos Mexicanos,” or “Mexican People.”  Photographer and location unknown, circa mid-1930s.  From Benita (McGinnis) McCormick’s scrapbook. The black and white photographic postcards my great uncle and great aunt, Phil and Benita (“Aunt Detty”) McCormick purchased during … Continue reading "Travel Tuesday: Postcards from Mexico, Part 4: Tracing Phil and Benita’s Footsteps through Mexico"

Friday’s Faces from the Past: Meeting John and Mary Coates

John Coates Mary (?) Coates Benita (McGinnis) McCormick (1889 – 1984) Phillip C. McCormick (1892 – 1981) Fun-loving John and Mary Coates, just who were you? Caption reads, “John and lovely Mary Coates.”  1937, Mexico.  Exact location unknown; possibly Taxco, Guerrero?  From Benita (McGinnis) McCormick’s scrapbook.   These photographs, from my great-aunt Benita’s scrapbook, tell us you were in … Continue reading "Friday’s Faces from the Past: Meeting John and Mary Coates"