Label Type
Cultural/Historical ContextLabel
JUST KIDS
Susie was born on a ranch near present-day Los Angeles in 1900 and spent her youth camping and learning to ride and shoot in the San Gabriel mountains. She loved open spaces and resolved never to be cooped up. Yet, at age 12, she contracted polio and was told she'd never walk again. Enduring years of operations to restore use of her right leg, she was left with a permanent brace and a limp.
As you look at the photos, watch for a glimpse of the brace on Susie's right leg. In addition to contending with rattlers, scorpions, jumping cholla cactus, flash floods, vehicle breakdowns and searing 120 degree heat, Susie also had to navigate this rough landscape with an impediment to her mobility.
Her cousin, Lula Mae Graves, was ten years younger. With her father deceased and her mother working long hours, Lula grew up running wild on Lookout Mountain--site of a major Civil War battle--in Chattanooga, Tennessee. As she grew into her teen years, she chafed at the restrictions of southern womanhood. Lula also suffered from bad lungs and the standard cure was to go West. In 1929 she moved to Mecca and began assisting her cousin at the post office.