Place and Time

Like most women of her generation, Lillian always wanted to look her best, but Depression-era Ohio didn’t exactly produce many movie starlets. She was always a little sensitive about her looks. This is probably never clearer than in this photo, taken in the early 1940s in Ohio, of Lillian sitting on the front stoop of a friend’s house. The amused half-smile was probably her favorite expression, especially when someone tried to make a fuss over her. This photo was inscribed to John with the message, “Just call me ‘Cheesecake Lil.’” The name stuck, and the “Cheesecake Lil” photo stayed in the family for years to come.