Randal and Susan

We were pleasantly surprised at the response to our gentle suggestion that any attire typical of the last 15 decades would be appropriate at the 150th birthday bash for the house.  I don’t know that each of those decades was actually represented, but the variety was spectacular.  Even though the numbers of guests dressed in present-day finery far out-numbered the others, an outsider would have been hard-pressed to explain the disparity in sartorial splendor.

The black and white photograph of Randal Bays and his wife Susan Waters could have come right out of the 1930s.  I felt almost like I was looking at a portrait of my parents’ friends around the time that I was born.  I’ve always thought that the clothing of that period looked a little stodgy but Randal and Susan put a whole new light on that impression.  Stodgy they aren’t!  And now I can look at those old photo albums with brand new eyes and understanding.

Bill and Me

Then there was Bill Grennan who is usually dressed in a natty kilt with all the accompanying regalia.  He walked right up to me in his 1960s Greaser Garb and actually had to speak to me before I recognized him!  I think it was the black wig that did it!  OMG!

Perhaps the most unusual attire was worn by Charlotte Killien (the Cookie Lady and proprietor of the George Johnson House in Ocean Park.)  Charlotte is a member of the Chinook Tribe and she wore a button blanket made by her mother Catherine Troeh.  The blanket is from the Haida tradition Charlotte said “but you have to remember that our traditional Chinookan clothes were made of cedar and other indigenous materials that were not long-lasting.  My mother, an elder in the Chinook Tribe, made many button blankets in her lifetime.”

Charlotte and Her Button Blanket

Bob Duke wore a 1920s trainman uniform.  Tom Krueger came in a natty looking cowboy outfit and his wife wore a lovely bustled skirt.  As sometimes happens, Kitt Fleming arrived in the identical skirt (damn amazon.com anyway!) and someone pointed out to me that the ladies stayed on opposite sides of the lawn for most of the party.  They both looked spectacular!

All-in-all, it was a festive looking group, indeed!  I think this old-lady-house must have been proud of the numbers of friends and family who came to celebrate her longevity and to wish her many more decades of love and laughter, both inside and outside her old walls!