The Kellogg's Christmas in FL, Complete with Polaroid Camera

There's a lack of Kelloggs-in-Florida pictures from the early 1970s.  This one is from 1975, showing the family playing cards around the table.  In the picture are Ruth (65), John (72) and grandson Phil, who was 15.  He, his brother, Roger, and  father, Ken, had moved to Florida in June, 1971 after Ken was divorced.

Here's a Christmas entry from Ruth's diary that wasn't in Pieces of a Life.

Christmas Day, 1971 
"A gorgeous, warm, sunny day!  We went for Mom and Jim early and went in for 20 minutes.  Then all drove to Ken's - who took movies of our arrival.  Philip got started fast on gift-giving and soon the living room was cluttered with papers, boxes and games!

In A.M. I opened John's gift - a new Polaroid camera & case!  We studied it for over an hour & decided it was too complicated for the little use it would get.  It's going back!  Also opened all our other gifts here.  List in back of book.

Xmas dinner was FUNNY.  Two places we went to eat were too crowded.  So we ended up with carry-out fried chicken & back to Ken's to eat it & potato salad & Jell-O mold - our Christmas Dinner!  We were hungry enuf to enjoy it - no work!"

"Mom and Jim" were Lottie and Jimmie Meredith, Ruth's mother and brother.  At this point, Jim was living at home with Lottie, medicated for his schizophrenia.  Ruth did write a list of her gifts in the back of the diary. Besides the camera, she got a green nightgown and Hallmark diary from us, a cookbook with some of my recipes in it from the 3 girls, gold scuffs, tennis socks and 2 half-slips from Lottie, a purse and a diary from Jim and a sliver evening purse from "B & K & boys".  That was habit or maybe a hint of the dementia to come - to add Ken's former wife to the list. She was no longer in the picture.

John and Ruth had stopped coming north to Illinois for Christmas by this time.   Back in Palatine, Dan, myself and our 3 little girls (Lynn, Cindy, Katie) were having our first big Christmas dinner in a lovely new house in Hunting Ridge.  A few relatives would have joined us.