Old Photos

The two nuns wearing the same habits are Sister Mary Anna Klingele and Sister Mary Dionysia Klingele, members of Sisters of the most Precious Blood of O'Fallon, Missouri. The third one and I'm not sure which of one the remaining two it is, was a member of the Holy Spirit missionary Teachers, most likely in St. Louis. The fourth one was Sister Bernardine, not sure of what order but she passed away in 1967 in Edmondton, Canada. The fifth one that isn't a nun was Aunt Ida. They were all raised in Yakima Valley, Washington.The people in this snapshot are my Dad, Bob Lee; my Mom, Mary Louise Bansbach; my Mother's youngest sister, Carole Bansbach; my Grandmother, Eleanor Bansbach; and my Great Aunt, Sister Placida, later known, after the Vatican Council, as Sister Agnes. This photo was taken at the O'Fallon Motherhouse probably in 1946. I am certain my nun aunt knew the nuns in the above photo.

Here's one more: on the back is written: "The Gang", Easter, 1942. I know this a fun gathering--look at the beer bottle in the foreground. This is one of the few photos where everyone is smiling. All the other photos everyone looks so serious. My Grandmother, Eleanor Bansbach-whom we called "Granny", and Grandfather, Alphonse Carl Bansbach--whom we called "Man", are on the right of the photo. Granny is sitting on a kitchen chair, my Grandfather and his brother-in-law, Uncle Charlie Gaus(?), are sitting in a tree swing.

The little girl holding the present is my Mother's younger sister, Evelyn, Aunt Evie, who about this time was running with scissors and fell and put her eye out. The old joke, runs with scissors, wasn't much of a joke in my Mom's family. The kid on the left with his legs askew, is Gene Gaus, he would be about 14 in this picture. He grew up to be a fireman in Webster Groves.