The Teen Years

Cousin Vera and Ruth rest against a possible Plymouth. The roofline and windows of the open garage do not appear to be at the Southern Ave house. This was likely in NY.

Pat and his youngest brother Frank on the side driveway at the Southern Ave house. Frank was a car adjuster who assessed damaged cars and found ones that were salvageable. Pat bought all his cars from Frank. This was probably a Chrysler.

Ruth with cousins Vera & Marie & an unknown dog with the car their father (Frank) brought for Pat.

“Tippi” a close friend of Uncle Frank, Frank, Pat & Angelo in the front yard of the Southern Ave house with the side of 4104 in the background.

Aunt Victoria’s husband Giuseppe (Joseph) “Pino” (right) and their eldest son Joe. Joe became a medical doctor, an impressive feat for a second generation Italian immigrant—one Victoria was forever fond of reminding family!

Ruth in the living room at Christmas time of “Uncle” George and “Aunt” Annie’s row house (probably Mildred’s aunt) behind the old Memorial Stadium. “Aunt” Annie taught Ruth to swim, could proudly touch her toes, & was quite pleased with her tall, slim figure. She was known to regift presents & fond of wine.

Her parents & brother Paul sit for a photo together in George & Annie’s house.

Memorial Stadium (900 E. 33rd St, Baltimore)—the iconic home of the NFL's Colts (1953–1983) and MLB's Orioles (1954–1991). The field was set up for both football and baseball games. Known as "The Old Gray Lady" & "The World's Largest Outdoor Insane Asylum" due to raucous crowds, the stadium hosted three World Series and the 1959 NFL Championship. It was demolished in 2001–2002..

Ruth the ballarina.

Ruth (front row, fourth from left). perhaps a Mayday festival at Gardenville Elementary School (about 0.7 mile away at 5300 Belair Rd; the original building replaced by new one). Ruth’s friend Sandy Miller sits to her right and Emily Walton (née Dorsch) to her left. Lois Hash sits at the far right.

Ruth in her Mayday outfit standing outside the school. Ruth believes Grandma Husted made this costume for her.

Ruth & her father stand near the base of the steps called Jacob’s Ladder, below the upper park entrance at Watkins Glen State Park in western NY—likely captured during a trip to Niagara Falls. Overhead rises the massive iron and steel trestle of the NY Central Railroad.

Family photo, possibly captured near the main entrance of Watkins Glen State Park in western NY State, & likely on a different day than the photo with Ruth & Pat.

Ruth’s mother Mildred & Aunt Millie (Uncle Frank’s wife & mother to Vera & Marie).

An adorable Ruth in front of an unknown house.

Ruth (left) with neighborhood girls Sue Libowitz (Ruth’s age), Carol Libowitz (2 years older than Sue & Ruth) & Donna Feiler.

≈1953—A rate glimpse inside the Southern Ave house. Friends gathered in the living room for Ruth’s (likely) 6th grade birthday party. Ruth is second from left in the back row. Her good friend Emily Walton née Dorsch is standing next to her.

≈1953—Ruth & her mom at Gettysburg.

≈1953—Ruth at Gettysburg

≈1953—Ruth at Gettysburg

Ruth in church choir robe at the corner of the driveway & back walkway.

Jun 1954?—Ruth with her brothers Paul and Pat in the front yard. Paul’s white coat may indicate this was his high school graduation.

Jun 1954?—The whole family on the same occasion. Mildred always wore a hat to church & on special occasions.

Summer 1954?—Ruth at Cypress Gardens near Winter Haven, Florida.

Summer 1954?—Ruth on a family trip to Florida.

Summer 1954?—Ruth on the same family trip.

Ruth & Aunt Mary (Pat’s wife) at Baltimore’s Sherwood Gardens.

Cousin Bobby (Aunt Victoria’s third child) as a newly enlisted sailor, with Ruth & her father next to the garage in the back corner of the Southern Ave house. The beautiful tree from other photos is gone.

Between church and Girl Scouts, Ruth had many memorial camp experiences, including Camp Nawakwa, a Lutheran camp in PA; Camp Whippoorwill, a Girl Scouts camp in Lake Shore MD; & Camp Hiawatha, a Voyagers Lutheran Ministry in MN. Despite its unique formation and the older age of the attendees, Ruth could not recall the camp where this photo was taken.

Ruth at Maryland Beach, located at the extreme north end of Ocean City, Maryland, near the Delaware state line.

In Sep 2019, Ruth revisited a camp favorite from her teens: Mar-Lu-Ridge, a Lutheran camp in the beautiful mountains of central MD.

The camp name Mar-Lu-Ridge is an amalgamation of Maryland Lutheran and a reference to the camp’s elevated position in the Catoctin Mountains.

Ruth graduated from high school in Jan 1959 and worked in Baltimore that winter & spring. That summer, before starting college, she served as a counselor at Mar-Lu-Ridge Camp. Ruth is pictured behind the campers. She has zero memories of moving from Southern Ave to Kingsville, so the move may have occurred while she was at camp.

Ruth’s paternal grandfather Angelo (photo possibly taken in NY).

Cousin Marie (Uncle Frank), grandfather Angelo (who brought the family from Italy to America) & Ruth at back corner of the Southern Ave property.

Feb 1954-Jan 1956 Middle School—With a Jan birthday, Ruth was a “mid-year” student who followed a Feb-Jan track. Her middle school, Public School No. 49, unfortunately also known as Robert E Lee Junior High School, was an accelerated junior high school for gifted children. Located at 1205-1207 Cathedral St, the building has since been repurposed.

Middle School—Ruth’s middle school included Grades 7-9, but Ruth was part of an accelerated program that allowed her to complete all coursework in only 2 years! The photo was taken during that time, at the corner of the backyard, perhaps in the same spot as the photo with Cousin Marie and Grandpa Angelo above.

1955—Ruth’s Confirmation at Jerusalem Evangelical Lutheran Church, probably at 13 years of age.

1955—Ruth with her parents outside the church at her Confirmation.

1955—Ruth & her parents in the backyard on the day of her Confirmation.

Summer 1955?—Ruth in Montreal on a trip with her parents.

Feb 1956-Jan 1959—Ruth attended Eastern High School, a historic all-female, public high school. EHS moved several times during its long history since 1844. Its final campus at 1101 E 33rd St was where Ruth attended. Middle school was 7-9, so high school was only 10-12. Ruth graduated a semester early in Jan 1959, at the age of 17. The building sat directly across from the old Memorial Stadium, near the home of her “Uncle” George & “Aunt” Annie.

Eastern High School closed in 1986 and is now used for administrative offices by Johns Hopkins Medicine. This is Ruth during her Mar 2022 visit to the site with Dave. Eastern’s sister school—Western High School—remains open and is the oldest public all-female high school remaining in the US.

Baltimore City College—known colloquially as City, City College & BCC—is affectionately known as The Castle on the Hill due to its prominent position on Collegian Hill and its Collegiate Gothic architecture, featuring a prominent 150-foot stone tower, arched windows & a crenellated roofline. Ruth’s brother attended BCC, which sat directly adjacent to her Eastern High School campus.

≈1956—Ruth in the driveway of the Southern Ave house (right) holding baby Donald born Mar 8, 1956 (her older brother Pat’s first child).

≈1957—Ruth possibly holding Gail Husted, the daughter of Uncle Alvin & Aunt Betty, born in Jan 1957.

≈1957—Ruth in Jamestown

≈1957—Ruth at an unknown location.

≈1957—Mildred & Ruth in big trouble!

≈1958—Ruth as a "Candy Striper" at Maryland General Hospital (now University of Maryland Medical Center Midtown Campus). She was 15-1/2 to 16.The term came from the traditional red-and-white striped uniforms of the teenaged hospital volunteers. They provided non-clinical support, although Ruth says hospital staff allowed them to assist in procedures that would never be allowed in modern times.

≈1958—Candy Stripers became common in the US in the 1950s. Ruth with “Aunt” Annie, who was exceedingly proud of Ruth, especially her work at the hospital.

Ruth on a date with Joe Sheckells at Gettysburg. Joe was the first boy she kissed. Check out her saddle shoes. In this era, it was common to go on formal dates with many different people to get to know them better.

Ruth on a date with Roy VonNordeck.

Ruth on a date with Frank Daily.

Ruth’s brother Paul and his date Ann Weidermire, Vera, & Ruth & Frank Daily In front of the arbor

Joanne Talbot lived 4102 Southern Ave. Her husband was a firefighter who got pneumonia and died. Because her parents lived in NY, Mildred looked after her. Joanne would later invite Ruth to visit her parents, who did live in NY, but in the Hamptons. Ruth recalls catching blowfish and throwing them at each other and learning to waterski from Joanne’s uncle. Joanne was the only person to call Ruth “Peggy”—a common nickname for Margaret.

Ruth at a high school Prom with Billy Yutzy. Ruth dated him into college.

Billy Yutzy??

≈1959—A glamorous Ruth in a final photo before the lovely arbor at the Southern Ave house, perhaps at Easter. After nearly two decades living in the Southern Ave house, the family sold up and moved to Kingsville.

≈1959—Ruth at the driveway & back walkway, her final picture at Southern Ave.

Jan 1959—Ruth’s formal high school graduation photo, which coincided with her 17th birthday.