A Couple of Swells

One of my favorite musical numbers from the movies is performed by Judy Garland and Fred Astaire in Easter Parade (1948). If you haven’t seen that wonderful flick, just imagine the sophisticated Astaire and lovely Garland dressed in ultra-shabby tuxedoes and top hats singing Irving Berlin lyrics that go something like this:

We’re a couple of swells.
We stop at the best hotels.
But we prefer the country
Far away from the city smells.

Wall Street bankers are we
with plenty of currency.
We’d open up the vault,
but we forgot where we left the key.

And so forth.

Both talented performers look like they are having so much fun doing this amusing routine! And I never tire of watching them. In fact the entire movie is worth seeing over and over again. Happily, it’s available on DVD – and “A Couple of Swells” can also be viewed on YouTube.

Remembering Grandma Mayer

Although my beloved Grandma Mayer passed away in 1971, memories of her fill my mind this month. Her birthday falls during the first week of April, but that’s not the main reason I’ve been thinking about her so much lately. I recently re-discovered a manuscript she wrote about early Colorado history and am eager to see it published.

Edna Irene Mayer (maiden name: Brown) taught for many years at Undercliff, a one-room schoolhouse in Colorado’s Pueblo County. Married to prominent rancher Rudy G. Mayer, she also helped with ranch duties in addition to her teaching assignment, which included working with students in all grades and subjects. Because of her interest in early Colorado history, Grandma Mayer researched the subject thoroughly, then recorded her findings in EARLY HISTORY OF THE HUERFANO RIVER VALLEY TERRITORY and INTERESTING ARTICLES ON EARLY COLORADO.

I think Grandma Mayer’s manuscript deserves to be available for readers who want to know more about the history of Colorado, so here’s hoping I’ll find a publisher interested in this important project!

(Edna Irene Mayer was born on April 7, 1885, and passed away on November 16, 1971, at the age of 86.)