1934 MM Calendar Tells a Story

As Dan and the Norgards visited, he asked if the couple had an extra copy of Lea's calendar that they would sell. At first, the answer was "no". But as they continued visiting, Kay said they did have an extra calendar. Lea added that it was in bad shape and no one would want it. Dan the Collector just laughed.

"I told her anything is better than nothing," he recalls. The Norgards invited Dan over to see the calendar the next day.

"It was not in perfect shape," he says, "but it is legible. Kay had said it was in the basement in a roll, so I expected it to be musty, but it wasn't. It's just a little faded, and well darkened."

He bought the calendar, and got a bonus: an 8x10 of the actual photograph that was used on the calendar, minus the banner, which was added by the art department (to see a copy of the photo, click here).

To some, such memorabilia is little more than paper, a curiosity from another time. For Dan, though, it brings the past to life. Such is the case with his 65-year-old calendar, which tells not just the days of the week in 1934, but also something about the life of a young woman in a time long since past. FC

Cindy Ladage is a freelance writer based in Virden, III.