2. August 29, 1935 In 1935, Most preemies did not survive. At birth, Joan Shirley Senn weighed less than three pounds.
3. Miraculously, she grew in spite of her low birth weight. Daughter of Julian Senn and Johnnie McDaniel Senn. Named after movie stars Joan Crawford and Shirley Temple She grew golden ringlets like her namesake
4. Soon she had a beautiful sister named Mary. Mary, left and Shirley, right. Here, they lived in Wattsville near Ford School.
7. “Magic Puppies” One day she found a nest of baby mice in the house. She was so excited! Shirley thought the mice were magic puppies. Of course she believed in magic! Her daddy called her his little princess and she was always making crowns to wear.
9. School Picture, 1944 Shirley did well in school. She was so smart. Of her, Grandmother used to say, “Shirley always was a proper-talking young’un.”
10. On the rocks-Lake Murray Left to right: Shirley, Johnnie and Mary. They had a very rocky relationship with their mother Johnnie McDaniel Senn, known to us as “Grandmother.”
11. Melrose Falls In spite of their rough upbringing, Shirley, left, and Mary, right, grew into smart, beautiful and popular young women.
12. Nurse Shirley Senn Shirley went to nurse’s training at Spartanburg Hospital, with Mary soon following her into the profession. Then, nurse’s training ran for 3 continuous years (no summer breaks). Now, it is a 4 year B.S. program. She earned her R.N. in September 1956
13. She worked at woodruff Hospital, But She would not practice nursing long A young man named Jack Holmes called…
14. Oops, wrong girl! Jack called to ask Mary out But Shirley answered the phone The rest is history.
17. December 16, 1956 There are almost no wedding pictures due to a photography snafu.
18. The Holmes Family Jack and Shirley had one daughter, Jackie, and sons Jeff and Joey, shown together here at Myrtle Beach in the 70’s Left to Right: Jeff, Shirley, Joey, Jack, Jackie
19. The Harper Family Mary married Dr. Herb Harper in March 1958 and they raised three boys, Scott, Mike and Chris in North Augusta, South Carolina. Left to Right: Mike, Chris, Mary, Herb, Scott. Photo taken at Senn’s Florist & home of Julian and Johnnie Senn, Hwy 92, Enoree, SC
20. In front of Senn’s Florist, Highway 92, Enoree, SC Front row: joey, chrisBack row: jeff, scott, jackie, mike
25. School Day Cake Mother-in-law Janette Stoner Holmes’ recipe White sheet cake marbled with fudge
26. Pear Salad – It’s Shirlicious! Pear halves topped with Duke’s mayo, shredded cheddar and a maraschino cherry on a bed of lettuce. Alternately, use peach halves!
28. “Bite or Two”…for many years I thought it was a single German word for bedtime snack. Biedertoo. Velveeta or other processed cheese on Saltines Or Peanut butter crackers Or Peanut butter on vanilla wafers.
29. Bite or Two was often served on a piece of waxed paper.
30. Meals might be served on waxed paper or a paper towel. You could also keep noisy children busy by pressing leaves or flowers with the waxed paper or breaking up bits of crayon and iron them between sheets of waxed paper. And before there were Baggies and later ZipLocs, it was used to wrap food for travel.
32. The Petra Cabot Skotch Kooler was our companion on long trips. Filled with ice and drinks, peanut butter crackers and sandwiches. The top tray safely held the sandwiches wrapped in waxed paper above the waterline, keeping them from becoming soggy. She always had a wet washcloth wrapped in a Baggie to wipe off our dirty or sticky fingers.
33. Wet Ones! Then there was a wonderful innovation and she was able to leave the baggie containing the washcloth at home.
34. The official Shirley Hygiene Kit Now she never leaves home without a few tucked in her purse Wet Ones to go! .
35. Keeping three kids busy on long car trips… The Dictionary The License Plate Game See how many different states you can see!
36. Looks like some of us took the license plate game a little too seriously… But really, little kids and looking up words in a dictionary? For real?
39. Shirlphilanthropy Robert Bell Federation for the Blind Laurens First Baptist Church Good Shepherd Free Medical Clinic Heifer Project International At one time or another, Shirley gave her time or $ to these organizations
40. Her Mission “I’m a cheerleader.” When she can’t “do,” Shirley writes notes of cheer, encouragement or caring to people that she knows.
57. Grandmother didn’t tell Shirley anything about what to expect when she hit puberty. So her first experience with…er, puberty…was a shock. She wanted to be sure other girls didn’t go through what she did!
58. With her own children and sex ed, she did such a great job…
59. She only has two grandchildren!!! We were too scared to have sex!!!!!!!