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Joanne a bathing suit model, was born July 14, 1935. Back in 1955 she
made $40 dollars a week working at Winkleman's. She would spend $20 on a
bathing suit without blinking. In 2006 dollars, that translates to
$145.16. She loved fashion. Even though her father died a few years
earlier, fashion was a nice escape from a horrid childhood. While Joanne
and her mother moved from place to place eking out a living, her father
had a love nest and was spending scads of money; just not on his family.
Below is a short bio penned by Joanne.
1942 Moves to Niles Michigan from New Jersey. Lives in a cottage on
Barron Lake. A Spanish style house on the east side of Niles. A farm on
the west side of Niles where her parents keep three riding horses.
Attended two different schools
1943 Moves to Detroit Michigan, living in The Fort Wayne Hotel, The
Royal Palm Hotel, The Eddystone Hotel, and the Clifford Apartments. Goes
to Burton International School. Stays with relatives during the summer
instead of staying in the hotels.
1945 Moves on the eastside of Detroit. Attends Guyton School.
1946 Moves to Anchorville, Michigan to a 40 acre farm where her parents
can house their horses. Her father commutes to the General Motors
building where he has his office. Attend Hathaway Institute in New
Baltimore.
1947 Moves to a pretty house in Rochester, Michigan on John R. Rd, with
3 acres of land and the horses go with them. Attends Brooklin School.
1948 Sells house in Rochester, and moves back to Detroit, this time to
The Seville Apartments. Attends Burton International School for a second
time. Father dies of a stroke in February of that year. They were left
practically penniless. He had been making $20.000 a year, but saved
nothing and had no insurance. Her mother sold the horses, packed up the
dog and Joann, got on the train and headed back to New Jersey to live
with a relative. Stayed there for about a month, where Joanne attended
Seth Boyden School. Got homesick for the old friends in Michigan, and
moved back. Stayed with other relatives. Joanne attends Guyton for a
second time.
1948 Mother applies for a job as a live-in housekeeper and babysitter in
Grosse Pointe. Joanne attends Gabriel Richard School. Leaves job in the
summer. Buys a small trailer for $800. on the river. Joanne goes to
Guyton for a third time. Mother has several jobs over the years. Making
metal signs, working for Winkelman's selling millinary, finally working
in a local drugstore.
1950 Joanne attends Jackson Intermediate School, and goes on to attend
Cass Technical High School, majoring in Fashion Illustration. Drawing,
swimming and ice skating, were her hobbies.
1955 Graduates and gets a job at Winkelman's Stores, Retailing, Fashion
Coordination, and distribution. Setting up Fashion shows, and sometimes
appearing in them.
1959 Gets married.
If you couldn't tell, Joanne's hero was Audrey Hepburn. Many of the bathing
suits in the 1950s were made from wool. From what I understand, they didn't
always itch like a typical wool product but being inside one was a hot affair.
The series of seven photos (012-018) depicting Joanne in the dark bikini with
the stripes on top were taken by photographer who was in madly love with her
(although the photographer was not her husband). They were snapped on Belle
Isle in Detroit. Joanne's bathing suit photos were used for various
publications and catalogs in the 1950s. Scans 019-024 feature Joanne's friend
Pat. Scans 025 and 026 her friend Bobby-Lou. The first image (000) was taken
during a summer at Grand Marais right off of Lake Superior during a summer
vacation. This page is a nice slice of summertime fashion during the 1950s.
It was nice of Joanne to find me these photos for BettieMaePage. She is my
mother-in-law.
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