Greetings family and friends! In today's episode of "Ralph Family Photo Album"  we recall fond memories of our dear mom, Connie Ralph. 

Mom, Constance Velma Ralph (Connie) was born on October 14, 1913 in Berkeley, California, daughter and 4 th child of Barton and Annie Swinnock. The Swinnock’s had lived in Reno where their first three children were born before moving the family to 2214 Grant Street . Mom’s father was an engraver for a San Francisco jewelry company and her mom was busy raising 5 kids. Connie grew up with her siblings Gladys, Florence and Bart Jr., and her younger sister Eldine came along a few years later. The kids attended grammar school and high school in Berkeley. She met our dad, William Henry Ralph (Bill), a teenager that lived over the hill in Castro Valley.

According to family lore, Dad and Joe Gross were driving along Redwood Road and spotted this pretty girl sitting on the porch of a house near the Boulevard....and the rest is “history”. Mom and Dad were married in Reno on September 8, 1933. She was 20 years old and dad was 22. They lived in an apartment in San Leandro near mom’s parents house on Durant Avenue and dad was an apprentice machinist at nearby Caterpillar Tractor Company. They were able to purchase a parcel of land in rural Castro Valley in the late 1930’s and with the help of family, friends and a loan from Castro Valley Lumber Company, dad designed and built our family home on Forest Avenue.

I was born in 1942, Jim came along two years later, and Debi followed us by 13 years. Mom ran the house working to make ends meet on dad’s post war income and side jobs building a couple “spec” houses in Castro Valley, cement jobs and some professional photography with moms assistance colorizing portraits. 

Once Jim and I were in school mom got involved in community activities including serving as Marshall School PTA president, cub scout den mother and working in the Marshall School cafeteria. We have memories of her trying to make ends meet in the early years by stretching milk by adding powdered milk (ugh!), stewed tomatoes over bread and plenty of casseroles. In the early days we would often meet Dad at work on payday for lunch in our car and for mom to pick-up his pay check. Later Debi remembers Tuesday paydays and dad coming home from work, changing and going to Safeway to cash the check and do the weekly shopping. Mom looked forward to getting together for lunch with her mom and with with her sisters while Jim and I enjoyed playing with our cousins. She adored her brother Bart, however he had already moved to the Northern California Redwoods and his visits back to the Bay Area were short and far between. 

We didn’t eat out very often in those days, however when mom threatened to serve creamed peas on toast we usually were treated to a restaurant meal! In later years and after my dad’s passing in 1982 we had the opportunity to get to spend 11 years looking forward to taking her to lunch on Sunday afternoons and for rides around “Robin Hood’s Barn”. One of her favorites was having lunch outdoors at the Cheese Factory in Pleasanton and we got to know lunch spots in Castro Valley, Danville and Dublin. 

Mom enjoyed day trips with long time friend Gladys Gross and visiting with our neighbor Elsie Lorentzen. Mom saved her nickles and always looked forward to trip’s to Jim and Gail’s beautiful home in Gold Country and them accompanying her to Stateline Lake Tahoe to play the slots. Jim remembers serving her goats milk purchased from a local neighbor knowing that she wouldn’t drink it if she knew it’s source. However “she loved it and raved about it, then we told her!” recalls Jim. Late in life mom spent many hours on the phone with sister Glady recalling their childhood memories and worrying about their kids and grandkids. Mom passed in 1993, one week shy of her 80 th birthday.

Bill, Jim, and Debi 7/10/20