15 More Family Photos I Couldn’t Live Without

Earlier this year, I featured 15 family photos I couldn’t live without. 

The editing process getting it down to 15 was torture. Good thing everyone loves a series!

My mother keeps unearthing photos of Blanchettes and Fords that we spend all night scanning and re-touching. It not only has brought us closer as mother and son, but has put us in contact with relatives all over the country that are eager to share in our discoveries.

In honor of the above, and the family members that are no longer with us, here are 15 more photos that I could never part with.

You wouldn’t know by looking at my Uncle Clifford’s smile in this picture of him as a boy, but he was the embodiment of the Blanchette temper. I was too young to appreciate him while he was alive, but I’m proud to say I’ve carried on a little bit of his temperamental legacy (my mother would say much more than a little bit).

My dapper Uncle Roland posing for a picture. The Blanchette man clean up very well…before someone hands them a drink. 

My mother was born and raised on a farm in upstate Maine. How upstate people ask me? As evident from this massive snow pile my pépère, mother, and Uncle Bobby are standing on, just about as far north as you can go in the continental United States. Across the street is Canada. 

I could write a novel about this photo of my mother. And one day, I probably will. 

This is the photo that could get me murdered. But it is too good not to share. My Tante Peewee (the one who is holding my mother as a baby) after looking at it said: “This picture is why I decided to become a hairdresser.” It will also be the reason she smacks her godchild the next time she sees him. 

 

A great wedding photo of my Aunt Rolande (why yes, we have a plethora of Rolands and Rolandes) and her husband Don. 

Words cannot express the awesomeness of this photograph. My Uncle Bobby and Uncle Roland are wearing aviator shades, my Uncle Jimmy has a shit-eating grin plastered on his face while rocking a bowtie, and my Uncle Pit looks like a 1950s movie star with a cigarette in his hand. These are my uncles and I love each and every one of them whether they are with us or not. 

I challenge anyone to find a sexier picture of their grandparents (and be comfortable writing that sentence). Grandma and Grandpa Ford were lookers. 

My father as a baby. He was adorable. We don’t know what happened. 

The Ford family in the 1950s. Don’t worry, my Aunt Ellen is featured in a photo coming up. 

My father tells me all the kids used to climb all over Papa Bauer and he loved every minute of it. He certainly looks like a man who has everything he wants in life in this picture. My Nana Bauer (who used to call me Frenchie) is flashing quite the smile on the far left. 

My father makes a smorgasbord of funny faces in the trove of Ford family photos we found recently, but this is the only one I feel like subjecting the public to. It also is one of the few that we have that features the whole Ford clan, including my Aunt Ellen. 

This photo of my father as an altar boy can still be found in the Our Lady of Mercy educational center. Maybe the fact he once helped in the blessing of Olm Elementary School will help some of us out at the pearly gates. 

My nephew Jack and the Pink Cowgirls, Katie and Madeline. I kid that since I moved back to Connecticut that my best friend is a 7-year-old, but it’s probably not far from the truth. 

My girlfriend Stephanie may not legally be family yet, but I consider her to be a de facto member of the Ford clan. She’s been a source of inspiration and support since I’ve known her, and dating her has been a refreshing and invigorating experience. Our transition to Boston hasn’t been the easiest, but we haven’t lost our desire, sense of humor, and love for one another. I hope she knows I have no intention of ever losing an ounce of my love for her. 

My mom after showing her this picture: "Could your girlfriend look any sexier?" 

Me: "Hey, what about me?" 

Mom: "I didn't really see you, she's kind of distracting."