Grandma's Camera

The Good Old Days | Collection by Designed by Soco and Pink Reptile Designs

During the Summer of 1966 we took a family vacation to Minnesota to visit with my Grandma as well as Mom & Dad's extended family. It was a very big deal because we were driving from Los Angeles to Saint Paul in our old Rambler station wagon. We didn't see Grandma L very often because she lived so far away so we were all very excited for this trip. There were so many people to meet and places to explore, enough to keep three elementary school aged girls entertained. And Grandma loved her sweets, so she delighted in giving us cake or ice cream at any time of the day.But what I remember most was her camera: A Kodak Duaflex III Single Lens Reflex with a viewfinder on top that you looked down on to see the photo you were taking. She's holding it in the photo with my parents. I thought it was so cool that I would look through it every chance I could get. At the time my camera was my mom's old Brownie that I didn't think was very cool at all. Nope. Then one day I was out mowing her lawn, and she came out to take a picture of me. I asked if I could take her photo, which is the black and white photo above. Then the most amazing thing happened - she gave the camera to me! I couldn't believe it! I treasured that camera. I brought it with me everywhere I went, taking all the photos that my allowance would allow. That's a photo of me at Disneyland with it four years later. My was Dad pushing me in the wheelchair because I was recovering from being sick. Grandma was visiting so we'd share rides in it all day long. She also took that photo on her Kodak Instamatic that she bought after giving me the camera. I used the camera until I received a Kodak Instamatic for my 12th birthday, but I couldn't part with the Duaflex. I still have it - as you can see - and when I see it I remember that summer vacation I spent with Grandma and how she made me the happiest girl in the world.