Handmade dress worn by succession of family members
A blue and white dress that a mother made with loving hands for her daughter 49 years ago is now a treasured family keepsake that’s been shared by all the girls in the family. Mostly navy blue and trimmed with white, the dress was made for Nancy Lohr, 50, by her mother, Ellen June, who is now 79.
“My mother loved to sew. She was an excellent seamstress,’ said Lohr of Connellsville Township. “I have two older brothers, and she was excited when she had a girl. She made me many dresses.’
But this particular dress was Lohr’s favorite. Lohr’s father, Jesse June, was in the Army and the family traveled. Ellen June made the dress when the family was living in Germany.
The Junes eventually had six children and hand-me-downs were a part of life. The children included Jess, Leland, Nancy, Vince, Susan and Cheryl. They are now scattered across the country, with Lohr’s parents living in Evansville, Ind. Lohr moved to Connellsville after marrying her husband in 1975. The Lohrs met when they were both living in Memphis, Tenn. Nancy Lohr was living there with her family after her father had retired from the Army. A native of Connellsville, Darryl Lohr was stationed in Tennessee with the Navy.
Lohr and her sisters eventually had their own children.
The Lohrs had two sons: Jeremy, who lives in Pittsburgh, and Jarrod, who is deceased, as well as daughter Justine, 23, who lives in Mount Pleasant and is engaged to Brian Sommers, also of Mount Pleasant.
Justine has a daughter named Julia Durst, who is 3 years old and has become the latest member of the family to wear the dress.
“I made a collage for my mother eight years ago with pictures of all the girls who have worn the dress,’ said Lohr. “I wore the dress and everything of mine was passed down to my sisters. That’s how the tradition came about. As I was looking back at old photos, I saw how we all had worn the dress.’
The tradition continued when Lohr had her own daughter and her mother sent a box of clothes that included the dress.
Justine Lohr wore it as well as the daughters of Lohr’s sisters. They include Cheryl Harmon’s daughters, Becky, 16, and Shawna, 10, who live in Indiana, and Susan Maryanski’s daughter, Olivia, 7, who lives in Florida.
“It pleased my mom to see all the grandchildren wear it,’ said Lohr. “Mostly they wore it once or twice on a special occasion. Olivia wore it once to have her picture taken. It’s not worn a lot. We try to preserve it.’
Julia wore the dress in December for a Christmas photograph.
“It’s special to me,’ Justine Lohr said of the dress. “Just the fact that it’s gone through all of my cousins and now my daughter. It’s amazing the dress has held up so well. It’s still in nice condition.’
With blonde hair and blue eyes, mother and daughter looked so much alike that some people confused Julia for Justine Lohr in the picture, Lohr said.
So as a special gift for Mother’s Day, Julia recently had her photograph taken in the dress again in a pose similar to that of Justine Lohr when she had her photograph taken in the dress when she was 3 years old. The two photographs were arranged together in a picture frame.
“We had Julia give it to her mommy for Mother’s Day and she was really pleased,’ said Lohr.
“It’s awesome,’ Justine Lohr said of the photograph.
It looks as if the tradition of the dress will continue for a while.
Justine Lohr noted that Julia “likes to wear it and twirl around.’
She also hopes the dress will someday be worn by Julia’s daughter.
The story of the dress has intrigued many people who hear about it.
“People are fascinated because we held onto it and it stayed in good shape,’ said Lohr. “It’s a pretty dress. It looks old-fashioned but on a young girl, it doesn’t matter.’
Justine Lohr also noted the fact it is a child’s dress also adds to the uniqueness of the story.
Asked why she considers it special, Justine Lohr said, “It’s very representative of the times and it was handmade by my grandmother. It’s very pretty and I see a lot of dresses are now going back to this fabric.’
On Mother’s Day, it’s also nice for the family members to remember what the dress has meant to them.
Justine Lohr said, “It’s a gift to my mom and it was so special to her. She was the first one to wear it.’
Lohr commented, “It’s the love and the relationship between mother and daughter that gets passed down through this dress.’