Your Painting Title Oh How We Loved You, Glenn Miller

Your NameKathy Leuck


MediumAcrylic

Your ProfileI am a North Carolina artist with a long history of patriotic people in my family who have served in the armed forces. These include my grandfather, father, father-in-law, husband, uncles, granddaughter and grandson.

The Story Behind Your PaintingMy mom and dad came of age during the Depression and the years that followed. That event and World War II forever changed their outlook on life. My dad, a handsome sailor, shipped off to the to the South Pacific on a small aircraft carrier named The Natoma Bay. He stayed with that ship for three and a half years. Before he left, my parents drove 100 miles from the sleepy farmland of Northwest Indiana to the big city of Chicago to dance the night away at the Aragon Ballroom. One of their favorite band leaders was Glenn Miller. "He was the cat's meow," my mother would say when she reminisced about those days. She was the dark haired beauty on the sailor's arm; they must have turned heads, the two of them. She described the ceiling in the ballroom and said it looked just like the sky with the clouds moving across the stars. Sadly, Glenn Miller and his band went down in a cargo plane that left from Paris. They had done several performances for the troops and were headed home. The date was December 15, 1944. My parents were married in 1945 and farmed a small farm; times were not always easy raising 5 children on a farmer's income. As I look back on their lives, I am glad they had those few glamorous events and sweet memories to carry them through the uncertain times of the 50's. My painting is a tribute to my parents who never quit dancing and to all the "Big Band" musicians who made life a little easier for my parents and their generation.