A Rare Beauty
As soon as I saw the subject for this carnival I knew there was only one picture I needed. To the best of my recollection I never saw my mother, Lois Orand Cheek, in a swimsuit. The only evidence to the contrary is this photo. As you can see she was not even Dad’s major interest in this shot and could easily have been cropped out. She did not particularly like the water and was never again photographed in a swimsuit.
I am the younger boy in the picture, two-three years old, and do not remember this day at the beach. I don’t know if my big brother James remembers anything about that day or not. I’ll give him a chance to comment on this after it is posted.
The beach is in the Philippines and was taken around 1947. Dad, an Army major, was transferred to the Philippines shortly after WW2 and we joined him there in 1946. I do have a few other shots taken that day, but none that actually show the swimsuit. The jeep in the background was our regular transportation.
Unfortunately, I have very few memories of our time in the Philippines, most of my Army brat memories came after this. But I do have most of the slides and pictures that Dad took to help me connect to that time in our life. And fortunately, Dad was a prolific photographer.
The Cheek That Doth Not Fade 
Jasia
4 June 2009 at 1:19 pm
Great swim suit picture! Perfect for the COG!
You’re so lucky to have had a father who liked to take pictures. How I wish I had more pictures of my family when I was growing up.
Every picture tells a story and you have a wonderful story to tell of your family’s time in the Philippines. Thanks for sharing!
Bill West
18 June 2009 at 12:38 pm
Great picture. My Mom used to wear one of those caps after she switched to a shorter hairstyle.
jeanbduncan
19 June 2009 at 12:33 pm
My mom never went swimming either, only wading, and we were lucky to spend summers on a lake. I could never understand why she didn’t love being in the water like us kids did! Love your photo!
margaret
21 June 2009 at 3:41 pm
What a great photo. Isn’t it funny those pictures that exist for memories which we DON’T have? I’ve got a few of those as well. Thanks for sharing.
cheekfam
22 June 2009 at 10:09 am
Thanks, all of you. This really is one of my favorite pictures of my mother and one that she didn’t like at all. I’m kind of surprised she hadn’t made Dad get rid of it.
evelynyvonnetheriault
4 July 2009 at 5:45 am
What a coincidence – I’m just rereading the book “They Were Expendable” about a group of Americans trying to hold on to a section of it.
They were definitely not enjoying the beaches as you were!
Evelyn in Montreal
cheekfam
7 July 2009 at 11:04 am
That book and the movie were always family favorites. What doesn’t show in this picture is that the bay was still filled with the wreckage of Japanese and American ships.