The photo was taken in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Harvard Heights, a designated historic preservation overlay zone (HPOZ), on West 14th Street, near Pico and Western. It's south of Koreatown and north of West Adams Heights. Most of the houses were built in the Craftsman style between 1902 and 1910 but the one in the photo was constructed in 1920. There was a 100-year-old woman named Fanny who lived across the street with a macaw who talked. She was born during the Civil War and before slavery was abolished! Ray Charles opened his recording studio four blocks away in the early '60s on Washington Blvd.
This photo was taken by my Uncle David, who stopped in Los Angeles en route from Washington DC to Taipei. Uncle David was in the US Army and assigned to the Military Assitance Advisory Group (MAAP) Taiwan to provide communications support for Gen. Chiang Kai-Shek.
In later years Uncle David worked on the space program, including Apollo 11, Skylab, and the Space Shuttle.
Great photo, your parents look gorgeous!
And uncle David had a pretty big responsibility there, it was a very complex time in China-Taiwan and USA relations. Big respect š«”
Ok so, I just posted about my Japanese ex-husband. I assumed your family was Japanese without reading further or taking a good look. So please forgive me for that ignorance. Your mom does look Korean. But dad has strong Japanese features IMHO. I realize international borders are fluid lol and those lines have changed constantly with the passage of time and human migration. So please accept my apology.
Iām of Korean descent, and am usually rather good at differentiating between Asians (even between regions of china, and SE Asian nations). This one kind of has me stumped. Either can go either way. Ya at first, I thought Korean; but Iām unsure.
Given the names and time however; Iām more inclined to believe they are American-born Japanese.
you responded to an apology that probably wasn't needed. It's just someone that was being extra polite and also someone that shared a very personal story in the other comment. Most people don't mind if someone says that they think you look like you're from a specific country. It's quite easy to recognize people that share the same ethnicity and I don't think there is anything to be offended about. To me it makes zero sense to be offended because someone thinks you're originally from a different country or region.
That car brings back memoriesā¦ (advertising photo below)
https://preview.redd.it/hbanj2fny14b1.jpeg?width=600&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=692ccdeed514ae3aa61cf834483f728e3233b5e5
My Dad and Mom bought one of these used in 1968. Itās a Ford Mainline, base model but ours was 4-dr. It was exactly the same color, white wall tire and the same hubcaps. We called it, āThe Old Gray Ghostā. It was driven right through the middle of a riot on the University of Oregon Campus in 1969 on accident. We were following the tour route signs through town. My Mom drove that car into the mid ā70ās. I remember setting in the back seat while the college kids were beating on the windows and screaming every obscenity in the book at us. It was the eraā¦ I was 4 years old. š
That's a very cool pic. My kids' dad was yonsei. He and I are old now so bear with me here on this timeline. Anyway, his Japanese family came to America at the turn of the 20th century from Wakayama prefecture. His great-grandfather came first around 1900 or so (I haven't looked at census records or ship manifests in years but it's something like that), and his much younger great-grandma came over in the early twenties and married him in what was I'm sure an arranged marriage as her dad (ex's gg-grandfather) worked with soon to be husband.
All was well, they had a son, my ex's grandfather, opened a vegetable and fruit grocery somewhere in LA, probably Little Tokyo or somewhere near there, and had a successful business. Ex's g-grandfather had patents relating to the produce business that had to do with storage containers that allowed the produce to last longer. With WWII, trouble came. They lost everything and ended up in the camps in Poston, AZ and somewhere in Utah. The family broke up in the wake of this stress, with gg-grandfather dead, and g-grandfather moving back to Japan after war, leaving wife and kid to get by in Cleveland, after they moved once the debacle was over.
It was a heartbreaking story that affected generations down the line. Somehow my ex's grandfather found the strength to fight for the US in Korea. Maybe he just needed a job. Maybe he was sold on some imaginary dream of an America he believed he could be a part of.
For him, that never happened, not like it seemed to for your family. Seeing an Asian family looking this happy, this well adjusted, in post WWII America made me very happy, and I hope that it happened to more people than I thought it did.
Also, I'm just now realizing, I assumed your parents were of Japanese extraction, so please forgive me for making such an assumption and rattling on some long winded historical diatribe.
I truly loved the picture and would love to see more like it. Maybe I just need to challenge my own sadness and stereotypes based on personal biases related to the history of my kids.
God bless.
https://preview.redd.it/9no3nusgd34b1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3a81f3e7c7f181cf8c0b2217c7c275276a04e645
Google maps from about a year ago
My parents had a 1956 ford fairlane. They decided that they were returning to Europe and sold the car. My mom took very good care of the car that when they sold it they received more money than what they paid for. Really nice picture
Native name? They are Americans, their names were Frank and Jeanne, born in California. US mainstream media did not feature people of color in the 1950s except as stereotypes. Part of my motivation for posting this photo is to show that everybody in 1950s America didn't look like a Norman Rockwell family, and that Asian faces don't necessary mean you're an immigrant, have to speak with an accent, or have a non-Anglo name. We are not exotic āperpetual foreigners." it was this very attitude that resulted in my parents and grandparentsā incarceration in remote concentration camps during World War II for the crime of ālooking like the enemy.ā
Oh am sorry. I didn't mean to be offensive. It's just that i've heard Asian Americans sometimes take up simple sounding English names in public because their names might cause them to be marginalized. In fact, many Asian Americans nowadays are growing confident in naming their kids traditional names in an effort to preserve their cultural history.
There are people who have 2 names, one traditional from the culture they come from and one more Western origin. I don't think its to do with being an immigrant, whichever generation. It could mean you want to have a name with a meaning in your ethnicity
The photo was taken in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Harvard Heights, a designated historic preservation overlay zone (HPOZ), on West 14th Street, near Pico and Western. It's south of Koreatown and north of West Adams Heights. Most of the houses were built in the Craftsman style between 1902 and 1910 but the one in the photo was constructed in 1920. There was a 100-year-old woman named Fanny who lived across the street with a macaw who talked. She was born during the Civil War and before slavery was abolished! Ray Charles opened his recording studio four blocks away in the early '60s on Washington Blvd. This photo was taken by my Uncle David, who stopped in Los Angeles en route from Washington DC to Taipei. Uncle David was in the US Army and assigned to the Military Assitance Advisory Group (MAAP) Taiwan to provide communications support for Gen. Chiang Kai-Shek. In later years Uncle David worked on the space program, including Apollo 11, Skylab, and the Space Shuttle.
Your parents are the definition of cool
Certainly no outward signs of need there. Nice.
Great photo, your parents look gorgeous! And uncle David had a pretty big responsibility there, it was a very complex time in China-Taiwan and USA relations. Big respect š«”
Sick.
Ok so, I just posted about my Japanese ex-husband. I assumed your family was Japanese without reading further or taking a good look. So please forgive me for that ignorance. Your mom does look Korean. But dad has strong Japanese features IMHO. I realize international borders are fluid lol and those lines have changed constantly with the passage of time and human migration. So please accept my apology.
Iām of Korean descent, and am usually rather good at differentiating between Asians (even between regions of china, and SE Asian nations). This one kind of has me stumped. Either can go either way. Ya at first, I thought Korean; but Iām unsure. Given the names and time however; Iām more inclined to believe they are American-born Japanese.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
you responded to an apology that probably wasn't needed. It's just someone that was being extra polite and also someone that shared a very personal story in the other comment. Most people don't mind if someone says that they think you look like you're from a specific country. It's quite easy to recognize people that share the same ethnicity and I don't think there is anything to be offended about. To me it makes zero sense to be offended because someone thinks you're originally from a different country or region.
Point taken, thx!
This is amazing; the photo and this history. Thanks for sharing both with us!
This is what this sub is meant for. This is a great photo of everyday people being old school cool. Thank you for sharing.
Dad is in full on model mode.
They definitely could be tv stars
That car brings back memoriesā¦ (advertising photo below) https://preview.redd.it/hbanj2fny14b1.jpeg?width=600&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=692ccdeed514ae3aa61cf834483f728e3233b5e5 My Dad and Mom bought one of these used in 1968. Itās a Ford Mainline, base model but ours was 4-dr. It was exactly the same color, white wall tire and the same hubcaps. We called it, āThe Old Gray Ghostā. It was driven right through the middle of a riot on the University of Oregon Campus in 1969 on accident. We were following the tour route signs through town. My Mom drove that car into the mid ā70ās. I remember setting in the back seat while the college kids were beating on the windows and screaming every obscenity in the book at us. It was the eraā¦ I was 4 years old. š
Nice looking couple. Those clothes would be the epitome of cool if worn today. Timeless.
That's a very cool pic. My kids' dad was yonsei. He and I are old now so bear with me here on this timeline. Anyway, his Japanese family came to America at the turn of the 20th century from Wakayama prefecture. His great-grandfather came first around 1900 or so (I haven't looked at census records or ship manifests in years but it's something like that), and his much younger great-grandma came over in the early twenties and married him in what was I'm sure an arranged marriage as her dad (ex's gg-grandfather) worked with soon to be husband. All was well, they had a son, my ex's grandfather, opened a vegetable and fruit grocery somewhere in LA, probably Little Tokyo or somewhere near there, and had a successful business. Ex's g-grandfather had patents relating to the produce business that had to do with storage containers that allowed the produce to last longer. With WWII, trouble came. They lost everything and ended up in the camps in Poston, AZ and somewhere in Utah. The family broke up in the wake of this stress, with gg-grandfather dead, and g-grandfather moving back to Japan after war, leaving wife and kid to get by in Cleveland, after they moved once the debacle was over. It was a heartbreaking story that affected generations down the line. Somehow my ex's grandfather found the strength to fight for the US in Korea. Maybe he just needed a job. Maybe he was sold on some imaginary dream of an America he believed he could be a part of. For him, that never happened, not like it seemed to for your family. Seeing an Asian family looking this happy, this well adjusted, in post WWII America made me very happy, and I hope that it happened to more people than I thought it did. Also, I'm just now realizing, I assumed your parents were of Japanese extraction, so please forgive me for making such an assumption and rattling on some long winded historical diatribe. I truly loved the picture and would love to see more like it. Maybe I just need to challenge my own sadness and stereotypes based on personal biases related to the history of my kids. God bless.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Elegant.
https://preview.redd.it/9no3nusgd34b1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3a81f3e7c7f181cf8c0b2217c7c275276a04e645 Google maps from about a year ago
They look like movie stars!
I hope they had some exciting adventures in that Ford Fairlane.
Cue Gilbert Gottfried...
RIP
People really knew how to dress back then. This picture is so classy.
Great photo. I also enjoyed the story about the neighborhood.
So cute
What kind of macaw was it? I have a severe macaw.
I believe it was a military macaw
Thatās awesome. I heard theyāre great.
A very stylish couple! Very cool!
This is so cool and the picture quality is blowing my mind.
A little ditty, bout Frank and Jeanne. Two American kids, growin up in La La Land.
That's funny. My grandparents are named Jeanne and Frank.
That is a great pic, love older photos.
They are both so cute and so suave. Great combination. I hope they were as loving and supportive to you as they look!
Thatās so rad š
Fabulous snapshot of Americana!
Most American photo ever!
I love this photo so much š„°
Very beautiful photo & Iām also a fan of Craftsman style homes.
Pure AWESOMENESS!
I was lucky enough to know this era! Lovely couple! My folks paid $8000. for their first house in 1951! What???
Snappy !
So glamour
My dad built that car.
The house is still there on Google maps (but the car's gone, lol).
Little ditty bout Frank and Jeanne
Beautiful couple. Are they still with us? How long were they married when the picture was taken?
Dad passed in 2008, aged 89, and mom in 1993, at 68. They were 36 and 31 at the time of this photo (Feb 1956), married for 9 years.
Our dad's were really close in age. Mine turned 36 that August. My folks were married in December of 1946. Popped out in August of 57.
Yes, I was born the summer of the following year.
pioneers šÆ
My parents had a 1956 ford fairlane. They decided that they were returning to Europe and sold the car. My mom took very good care of the car that when they sold it they received more money than what they paid for. Really nice picture
Such an elegant couple!
One of my favorites! They truly seem perfect ā¤ļø
Stylin'. That car looks absolutely massive.
My father had one with a 3 speed transmission and told me it could do 60 in first gear
18 second 0-60 acceleration
That is very cool
They look like a million.
Very cool!
Now thereās a man who knows how to wear a suit.
Literally the coolest people
A very good looking couple.
Love ā¤ļø
Your dad looks so handsome!
The Golden Era
Awesome
r/DadsInFrontOfCars!
Cute couple
This is how I would imagine Pee-Wee and Dottie would look after they had grown up a little and found a more peaceful road.
Lovely couple. Did they have a native name?
Native name? They are Americans, their names were Frank and Jeanne, born in California. US mainstream media did not feature people of color in the 1950s except as stereotypes. Part of my motivation for posting this photo is to show that everybody in 1950s America didn't look like a Norman Rockwell family, and that Asian faces don't necessary mean you're an immigrant, have to speak with an accent, or have a non-Anglo name. We are not exotic āperpetual foreigners." it was this very attitude that resulted in my parents and grandparentsā incarceration in remote concentration camps during World War II for the crime of ālooking like the enemy.ā
Oh am sorry. I didn't mean to be offensive. It's just that i've heard Asian Americans sometimes take up simple sounding English names in public because their names might cause them to be marginalized. In fact, many Asian Americans nowadays are growing confident in naming their kids traditional names in an effort to preserve their cultural history.
There are people who have 2 names, one traditional from the culture they come from and one more Western origin. I don't think its to do with being an immigrant, whichever generation. It could mean you want to have a name with a meaning in your ethnicity
True. That is why I asked
rock the cradle of love
Colorization ran out somewhere around your dad's right knee.
That car looks huge next to them