Music • Photography • Writing
Childhood
This is the earliest picture of Marge, born Marjorie Catherine Barnes on February 7, 1920. Her maternal grandfather Carl Anderson is holding her older sister Dorothy ("Dot") and Marge.
Marge and Dot soon had a baby brother Bob, who had a baby carriage similar to the one Bob Bishop had as an infant.
It wasn't long before Bob became a take-charge sort of fellow, which seems to amuse his big sisters. Marge's hair is blonde at this point but it was destined to go through many changes in her life.
The Barnes kids, like most kids in the Windy City, all had hats. Already Marge, right, is showing her life-long fashion sense, with a stylish hat with a decorative dangle, quilted coat, open shoes, and even a purse.
In the warmer months, Marge dabbled in the equestrian sports. She looks a bit more pleased than her steed.
Russell Barnes, the father of these tykes, holds Bob and Marge on his shoulders while Dot, who is already either too old or too big for these things, stands in front holding a purse. Taken before the Great Depression, this is one of the rare pictures of Russell smiling.
Russell Barnes, born June 21, 1893, enlisted in the army and fought in Europe during World War I, where he was struck in the shoulder by a machine gun bullet. He recovered from the wound but the damage to his arm troubled him the rest of his life. After the army he returned to Chicago where he roomed with George Halas, a legendary baseball and football player who helped found the National Football League and the Chicago Bears and went on to coach the Bears for decades during which he won 324 games and eight NFL titles. The Chicago Bears still wear George Hallas's initials (GSH) on their jerseys.
The Andersons, Carrie and Carl, with their daughter Olive Barnes and their grandchildren, Marge, Bob, and Dot, with newborn Ted in his mother's arms. Note the windshield on the car that opens out for ventilation.
In 1927, the Barnes kids (Ted, Bob, Dot, and Marge) were well dressed for the long, cold Chicago winters. Marge wears a beret and a double-breasted coat.
The Barnes family in 1929 (l-r): Russell, Bob, Olive, baby Bruce, Carl Anderson, Dot, [unknown adult], Ted, Marge, Carrie Anderson. This was the year of the Great Crash. Both Carl, who was a developer of printing machinery, and Russell suffered financial losses as a result.
The Barnes family wintered in Florida for several years. Here the kids play on a beach in St. Petersburg. Marge, center, strikes a dramatic pose, revealing a flair that never left her. Note how dark her hair has become.
Marge slides down a bannister at age 11. Dot later wrote: "We were writing about 'three daring and mischievous girls' who had all kinds of adventures. Got about 12 chapters of our 'book' written. This snap was to illustrate us sneaking out the upstairs porch and going over the rail and sliding down. Marge really did it!"
Marge obviously wasn't willing to stay a little girl very long. Here she's wearing her mother's dress, which doesn't yet fit too well.