There's an old picture of my grandfather. I just dug it out of a box. He's standing outside the walking ring at Hialeah Park sometime during the week of February 21, 1941.
The year Dispose won the Flamingo Stakes, Big Pebble the Widener Handicap and Whirlaway the Triple Crown. Before the U.S was pulled into WWII. Back when men wore shirts and ties to the track.
He was standing with his back to the ring and the old-fashioned win-place-show tote board is over his left shoulder. There's a skinny, crooked palm tree over his right. Lots of men, mostly men, are behind him, wearing fedoras and jackets, and are between him and ring, so I can't see any horses in the photo.
I never knew him. He died in '48. I didn't come along for another 24 years. My grandmother snapped the photo, I'm sure. They were on their honeymoon and on a vacation away from the West Philadelphia winter. On the back of the photo she wrote "Week of 2-21-41".
I doubt that they decided to go to the races as an afterthought. There are so many pictures from that day with him standing at various locations at the park. His new wife, my grandmother, nice enough to play along.
He had binoculars hanging from his neck and a cigarette in his left hand. I'm not sure where his program and form were though. He probably left them on the table like my dad does.
No comments:
Post a Comment