One family dress, seven girls, and a century full of pictures

EVANSVILLE, IN -- Tears welled up in sisters Jann Cissna's and Teresa Hatfield's eyes as they watched Summer Hatfield, 2, wear a dress they wore in 1951 and 1962, respectively.

All of the girls in the family take a picture in the dress, which was purchased at deJong's in Evansville some 90 years ago, before they turn 3. With Summer, the dress has now been worn by seven females in the family, spanning four generations.

"It all started with my mom," Cissna, 68, said. "It's just something that's been handed down since then."

The dress, at the time of purchase, was $25 at deJong's.

"I wish there was a way to get in touch with the deJong family," Cissna said. "We've been holding onto this dress for so long."

The family scheduled a photo shoot for late July, when Summer wore the faded pink and white vintage dress and sat for pictures.

"The pink used to be really pink, and the lace that's yellow now was a white white," Cissna said. "Nobody's worn it other than to take the pictures."

She said there was doubt for a while if there were going to be any more girls in the family until Summer, her great-niece, came along.

"It could be my last time seeing it," Cissna said. "It's tradition. It's special."

The adults at the shoot kept busy distracting Summer from the camera and keeping her from crying. Each girl is photographed in the same position, with one leg crossed under the other.

"There was only one other girl that was crying like this during her shoot," Cissna said with a laugh. "I promised her everything; I told her I'd buy her Lic's ice cream afterwards."

Teresa Hatfield, Summer's grandmother, was the third girl to wear the dress in 1963. She spent the photo shoot entertaining Summer and getting her to smile for the camera.

"Our family has just always been such a core group of females," Hatfield said. "Family's important to us, and I don't think all families have that."

Hatfield said the tradition is incredibly meaningful to her and the entire family.

"Whether it's good times of bad times, we never give up on each other," she said. "We always come back to each other."

The family said they'd keep the tradition going as long as the dress doesn't fall apart.

"It reminds me of my mother," she said. "We miss her very much and wish she could have been here. No, I do believe she was here. I believe she was watching."

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