by Frank Dunnigan

This month, in honor of Mother’s Day, we take a look back at some San Francisco Moms over time.

Earthquake and fire refugee camp, Jefferson Square, 1906. (wnp27.2600; photo by Miles Bros / Courtesy of a Private Collector)

1906—A group of women and children getting on with the activities of daily life on a spring day shortly after the 1906 earthquake in the Jefferson Square camp. Living in a makeshift community after having lost their homes, possessions, and maybe even some loved ones, likely resulted in some “collective” mothering in the camps. Army-issued tents served their housing needs at this point before refugee shacks were built that fall in advance of the rainy season.

Pioneer Mother statue at the Panama Pacific International Exposition, Palace of Fine Arts, 1916. (wnp70.1285; Marilyn Blaisdell Collection / Courtesy of Molly Blaisdell)

1916—The “Pioneer Mother” statue at the Palace of Fine Arts during the Panama Pacific International Exhibition. Created by Charles Grafly, the statue is intended to honor California’s earliest Euro-American settlers. It languished after the fair, was later restored and displayed at the Golden Gate International Exposition in 1939-40, and was then moved to its current home in Golden Gate Park near Blue Heron Lake.

Presidio Blvd in the Presidio of San Francisco, circa 1926. (wnp14.0314; Courtesy of a Private Collector)

1926—Irene (Canby) LeRoy and her daughter Peggy enjoy a sunny day at the Presidio in 1926, with the Palace of Fine Arts in the background. Irene was the daughter of Colonel James Canby, who was the Presidio’s post paymaster. Learn more about the Canby family in this article by Nicole Meldahl.

Backyard of 368 Highland, near Andover, May 28, 1937. (wnp27.0318; courtesy of a Private Collector)

1937—Bill and Bud Del Torre pose with their mother, Alice (Stumke) Del Torre, in the backyard of the Stumke family home at 368 Highland Avenue, near Holly Park. Various combinations of parents, siblings, and cousins in the tight-knit Stumke family lived in the house over the years.

Inner Sunset, 1938. (wnp26.1261; courtesy of a Private Collector)

1938—Norma (Ball) Norwood holds her son Robert somewhere in the Inner Sunset, where they lived. Norma grew up in Corona Heights but moved to the Sunset after she married Jack Norwood, and remained in the neighborhood until her death in 2007, just shy of 100 years old. Learn more about Norma’s incredibly San Francisco life in this article.

Backyard of 755 Monterey, 1940s. (wnp14.0337; courtesy of a Private Collector)

1940s—Alvine Salerno and her son John, and Shirley Strohmaier and her children Ginger and Jim in the sunny backyard of 755 Monterey Blvd. in the 1940s.

Parade on Grove Street, circa 1942. (wnp27.7683; courtesy of a Private Collector)

Circa 1942—Mother’s Day was commemorated with a float in a parade that went down Grove Street around 1942. The exact date of this photo has not been confirmed, but it is thought to be from a parade that was held on May 10, 1942 to kick off American Citizenship Week, which coincided with Mother’s Day that year. Only about five months after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the parade had a strong patriotic and militaristic flavor, and in particular honored Gold Star Mothers.

Market near Powell, circa 1944. (wnp27.3073; courtesy of a Private Collector)

1944—Two women and two children bundled up for a day of downtown shopping at Market and Powell Streets in 1944.