Those were the days: The Soares clan, with friends & neighbors

Vintage photographs from the 1930s and beyond from the family of Victor Faria Soares, Sr. and Rose Raymond Soares of Somerset, Mass., my grandparents. These were digitized by my uncle, Arthur Faria Soares, who also provided me with many stories about my family and his experiences growing up. The children of Rose and Victor Sr. were: Victor Jr., Beatrice, Raymond (my father), and Arthur.

Today we return to Martha's Vineyard and the happy group that traveled there in 1948 for a Portuguese-American Civic League convention. I love the period bus in this photo; I can't make out all the lettering on the roof, but it appears to say, "Martha's Vineyard Sightseeing Line." The bungalow in the background suggests to me that this is Oak Bluffs. The man in the forefront is named in other photos as "Mr. Ramos," and I get the sense he had quite the personality. You can see my pépère, Victor Faria Soares, Sr., peering over Mr. Ramos' shoulder; then two down to the right is pépère's brother, Manuel (I think), then Victor's daughter, Beatrice, and wife, Rose (in the hat). In the front row are Manuel's daughters Anna, left, and Marilyn, right.