Momma as a child
by Alga Washington
Title
Momma as a child
Artist
Alga Washington
Medium
Photograph - Photograph
Description
Preserving the only known picture of my mother as a child.
Momma's hometown was Wasserburg, Germany, a town outside Munich.
Her father I'm told was a man of means whose family said they would disown him should he marry her mother. His name was Josef Lanzinger. Her mother later married a man with 7 children, and they had another son together. One day my mother saw her stepfather in a compromising position with one of his employees and she was quickly wisk away to live with her Grandmother. Everytime my mother would begin a conversation about her grandmother, she would always punctuate it with, "she was a good woman." It often saddened me that my grandmother would raise seven children from another man, but not her own daughter. However, since I am older now I can better understand the times back then were very different.
Her grandmother died when momma was 14, and from that point on, she lived on her own. I don't know about you, but I can't imagine living on my own when I was 14. She told me she stayed in a room that was about the size of a small bathroom.
Later coming into adulthood, she did office work and was doing quite well for herself and was very proud of the tailor made clothing she wore and the nice place she had for herself. She told me the story of how the war was apporaching and they evacuated the area. She could only take what she could carry. One of the items she took with her was the box featured in the work "Gifts Momma Left Me 2' It was a box with the Saggitarius sign on it, it originally came with an entire set of boxes of the zodiac signs and a matching coffee table. Momma grabbed three of her boxes with her suitcases and piled into the back of an open truck in the cold weather.
One day someone visiting me said, "you really like boxes don't you?" I replied, "yes, how did you know?" She replied, "you have them everywhere in your house." I do, big, small, medium, chests made of metal, wood, stone, fabric, anyway, I digress.
I'm missing a part of the story here, I had actually recorded it and was shocked to find after she died and I went to listen to it, my son had recorded himself practicing cursing over her story. I digress again.
Somehow she ended up in Poland working for someone associated with the American army. My father said she was in charge of payroll and had to carry a weapon. Being the smart, strong, determined woman she was, she had a position she was very proud of. She often commented on how she only made a small amount less than her boss, and whenever she went on vacation, before she could settle in, there would be a message telling her she must return right away . . . she was very proud that the office could not function without her.
Uploaded
November 6th, 2011
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Viewed 203 Times - Last Visitor from New York, NY on 03/16/2024 at 11:04 AM
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Comments (10)
Alga Washington
Thank you Bob, she was my hero and a hero to many in the community. I miss her so much, she was mom and best friend!
Bob Orsillo
Impressive story and photograph. Your mother had a remarkable life. She was very special person.
Alga Washington
Hello Leonard. Thank you so much, I am so proud of all the work she did to help others, she was an awesome human being. I know exactly, use to be walking distance to that Kohls in a sub south of Warren off Canton Center that wasn't there when you were. Remember, there used to be a stop sign at Ford and I275 . . . now there is an IKEA and traffic gridlock like New York or something. The locals know though, STAY OFF OF FORD ROAD BY ALL MEANS NECESSARY :) Thanks again for your visit and comment :)
Leonard Lukomski
Alga, Thank you so much for sharing this photo and this story along with it. My relatives came from Poland, and Dad's father lived in Germany for some time. Mom's Mother lived in Russia for a bit, probably the part of Pooland that later became part of Russia. You are living in my hometown of Canton Michigan. The house I actually lived in was on Ford Road between Caton Center and Sheldon Roads. Right where the Kohls department store is today. You are a great protrait artist. Not everyone can paint and draw pictures that actually look like the person. You do it with flair and give each portrait a unique personality. I love your work! Is it a fair assumption to say that It appears that some of your artwork is also self portraits?? I like the use of bright colors and braod brush strokes. You have great style.