Welcome to The Pink Geranium!

Welcome to the Pink Geranium!

In honor of the original Pink Geranium, I will need to share  some information regarding the lady who owned it,  Gloria my mother.

She was born in 1923 in St Paul, Minnesota. She married my dad right before the war and proceeded to be like most of the women during the war, she did her part for the war effort while he did his in the Army Air Corps.

Once the war ended their lives took off. He became a successful business man in the typewriter industry, and she was a stay at home wife with a handful of kids.

 We moved many times as my fathers career advanced, from Minnesota to Iowa, to Michigan and then to Washington.

  

As you can see, we were her little tribe, and certainly kept her on her toes! I am in the chair on the far right, covering my eyes.

She kept herself busy even when we were young, for example as a volunteer with Welcome Wagon.

Welcome Wagon...anyone remember that? They were an organization that had members who would bring a basket full of coupons and welcome material from local business to new people in the community.

She wanted to work and get out of the house, and when the last of us was old enough, she got her realtors license and it was no looking back. This job was perfect for her, as they ending up owning a string of rentals, and were not intimidated by the title landlord!

She also opened a consignment/secondhand store in Issaquah Washington, since they had an empty storefront property available on Main Street in Issaquah. 

That was the original Pink Geranium.  

I remember going into her little store and seeing her glass showcase full of interesting old jewelry and things, many she had found at different garage or estate sales. She was a master of the find of old treasures, which she would then sell in her store. She was only about 40 some years ahead of what we are doing now with Etsy, etc!


Gloria had a great eye for vintage jewelry and furniture, and the clothing she sold were usually items people had brought in for her to sell on consignment.

Later when she closed the store, my father and mother had multiple garage sales per year at their house. This gave Gloria an ongoing outlet to do what she loved.


Gloria was a classy lady. From the day she was born to the day she died, she was classy. She traveled the world, she loved "bling",  and loved vintage jewelry and accessories, antiques and Asian collectibles as well.

She loved life... and even after 2 years, is missed by those who love her as if she just left us yesterday.

So this new blog honors Gloria's original Pink Geranium store, and is dedicated to Gloria and her love of old things. 

Linking up this post with:
 The Ivy Cottage Cowgirl Link Up party