The Many Loves of Charlotte

A number of years ago (I'm starting to lose track), I was at the estate sale of a family friend.  Actually, it was the estate sale of his wife Charlotte whom he had married in later years, he himself having passed on several years prior to that.  The only thing I found that day was a scrapbook for $1, but a quick glance through showed it was well worth the dollar.

Inside was a snapshot of Charlotte's early years dating back to the late '20's through about 1945.  Among its pages were her childhood Valentine's.  She attended Oakville School, which at the time, based on her report cards, was  located in Jefferson Barracks, Missouri, and these were the Valentine's she and her classmates exchanged.  Written on the backs of the Valentine's are names familiar to long time residents of Oakville -- Heimos, Earley, Winheim, and others.  It reminded me of how innocently "love" used to be tossed around, boy to girl, girl to girl, boy to boy, teacher to student, student to teacher and it made me smile and remember.

Charlotte graduated from Hancock High School in 1935 and, sometime not too long after that, married Gene Weyler, known to her as Darling Gene, while she was known to him as "Shorty" and "Horseyfoot."  One can only imagine.  Gene ran an auto shop that still operates as such at Lucas & Hunt at St. Louis Avenue.  Gene received a deferment in WWII and worked for Robertson Aircraft Corporation, the company for whom Charles Lindbergh flew as an Air Mail pilot.  The memories in the scrapbook dry up around the late '40's.  I don't know what became of Gene.  I will detail more of the scrapbook in a later post, but for now, enjoy the Valentines.

The butterfly detaches from this one.  A miracle it remained with it.

This one's eyes move back and forth:

The little girl on the bus waves her hanky:

This piece pops out to become a standee.  Again, a miracle it stayed intact:

The boat rocks on the water:

Based on what I've been able to glean from the album, Billy and Betty Applegate were either young neighbors or relatives to Charlotte and their Valentines date from the 40's after Charlotte had married.

To Darling Gene from his Char (Shorty):

Lovingly, Gene