Seeking the family of prettiest baby of 1928

In the fall of 1928, only weeks before she got her first tooth, little Norma Mozelle Estes of Portales was named the "prize winning baby in the Best-All-Around Baby contest" at the Woman's Club picnic held at Arch.

The memory is captured in a yellowed clipping pasted in a pink leatherette baby book, which arrived in the mail at the Portales Chamber of Commerce last fall.

Chamber Director Karl Terry shared the book with me.

The woman who sent it to Portales said she had acquired it in a box of goods from an antique store in Dallas many years ago. She mailed it here in hopes of reuniting it with Estes' relatives or friends who might still be in our area.

Terry did some online research and found that the couple who became new parents on Oct. 3, 1927, were likely Clem and Ethel Westerman Estes.

Clem died in 1944 and is buried at Mission Garden of Memories in Clovis; Ethel died in 1962 in Clovis and is buried in Vernon, Texas.

Clem and Ethel called their little girl Mozelle. She was their first child.

When Mozelle was born, her baby book notes, she was presented with a bath basket from her maternal grandmother, and a number of other gifts including "a little handmade sacque," "a pink georgette cap," and "a pr. of garters."

In case you, like me, never dressed your baby in a "sacque," Merriam-Webster says it is "an infant's usually short jacket that fastens at the neck."

"Georgette" is a crepe fabric originally made from silk, another item shockingly absent in my wardrobe.

As for baby garters, when I attempted to learn more about those, I found a fascinating article on "The Seven Rules of Raising Baby Garter Snakes," which is exactly the kind of diversion that causes people like me to miss deadlines.

Back to the story.

Terry's research found a Mozelle Estes with the right birth date who died in 1945 in Oklaunion, Texas, only a day after her 18th birthday. She may have had a brother named Bob Harvey Estes.

We know from the baby book that Mozelle had a grandmother here whose last name was Westerman, and an aunt named Myrtle Hammons.

The last page of the baby book is titled "Sweet Memories."

On Mozelle's fourth birthday, the pencil entry says this: "Rode on a big wagon pulled by two big brown horses. What a thrill! Her first ride in a wagon."

She was also honored with "a little birthday party, for the first time" where the children enjoyed ice cream, cake, and "games on the lawn," before "all went to the sandhills."

Her guests - who would presumably be in their mid-90s by now - were Dolly Jean Luna, Louise Lee, Jessie Ruth Osborne, Betty Jean Caperton, Leta Faye Marlow, Keith Westerman, Steve Osborne, and Bud Hall.

If any of these names ring a bell, or you happen to know anything about this family, I would love to hear from you.

This book belongs in the hands of someone who remembers the prettiest baby of 1928.

Betty Williamson is a sucker for a history mystery. Reach her at:

[email protected]