Grandma Mason's Dress

Nancy Opal Watkins was born on March 2, 1888, in Fulton County Ohio. Some time during her first year she was given a red dress with a white lace collar. She's pictured in the center of the photo above, with sister Ethel and brother Earl, probably late in 1888 or early 1889.

In 1913 she married George Mason, and gave birth to two sons and four daughters. Some time around 1932, when the youngest daughter was about four, someone came up with the idea of photographing the daughter wearing her mother's dress (the other girls were too old to fit by this time).

Eventually six of Opal's seven granddaughters, as well as many great granddaughters and great great granddaughters posed in the dress, mostly when they were too young to resist and still the right age to wear a "baby" dress.

The dress has been worn by a pair of twins (Patti & Mary), and by the two female members of a set of triplets (Marcy and Melody). Pictures have been taken everywhere from Ohio to Michigan to California to Oregon and probably other states. 

After a century and more of travel across country, the dress has become too fragile for extensive handling, and it's questionable whether the tradition can be extended to another generation. At the very least, the girls will have to travel to the dress, instead of the other way around.

In 2018 granddaughter Nancy Drefke Teets framed the dress and hung it above her fireplace. (See photo link at bottom of page.)

(We're still trying to track down photos of several members of later generations.)

--Dick Estel, January 2008

From top: June, Opal, Nancy, Linda, Patti, Mary, Katie, Teri, Jennifer, Diane