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.

My mémère, Rose Raymond Soares, on Cape Cod with her sons, Arthur, left, and Raymond, my dad, circa 1940. Ray was born on this day, July 26, in 1929. I am especially touched by the way he is holding his mother's hand, as he was a self-described hellion as a child and an adult. This was probably taken around Onset (in Wareham). I don't believe the Soares went any further than Falmouth in those days. I was probably 12 when I realized my mental map of the Cape (which ended at Falmouth Heights Beach) was seriously askew. Still, I didn't get to P-town until my friends and I could drive there!