19 – Bald: Dad part 1

This week's writing prompt is "bald" and next week's is "bearded." Both bring to mind my father. Dad was born May 4, 1926, and he died June 23, 1991 of lung cancer, at the age of 65. Dad had black hair; his older brother Harry was red-headed, and his sister's hair was very dark brown. 

But Dad's real distinguishing feature at birth was a cleft lip and perhaps cleft palate; after whatever operation was available at the time, he was left with a distinctive nose and upper lip. 

His mother, Marie, had a 5-year diary for 1924-28 in which she wrote a few notes every day, typically about visits, occasions, the weather. On the day Dad was born Grandma Marie made no mention of this congenital anomaly: 

May 4, 1926. Tues. At 3 P.M. went to the hospital. Our "Sonny" was born at 10:06 P.M Weight 8 lb 1 1/2 oz. Height 22 inches. 

She refers to him as "baby" for a few days; leaves the hospital after 10 days, and notes: 

May 16, 1926. Sun. Had baby baptized "Laurence Austin" at St. Mary's church. Mabel & Bert as sponsors. 

A few days later she writes: 

May 19, 1926. Wed. Harry, Jack & I went to Dr. Brown's office - then hospital. Stayed all nite at Lillian's.

May 20, 1926. Thurs. Operated "Sonny" at 11 A.M. H. went home at 1 P.M. Stayed all nite at Hospital. 'Sonny' getting along fine.

And then: 

May 24, 1926. Mon. Bright, clear weather to-day! Baby is fine. Fed him myself to-day. Went to bed 8 P.M.

May 27, 1926. Today is warm & sunny. Dr. Brown took Sonny's stitches out to-day.

May 30, 1926. Sun. Holy Rosary Church. Got Baby at 1 P.M. and arrived in Fondy 3:30. Supper at Asylum...

So it seems the operation was done in Milwaukee, and Dad was hospitalized for 10 days. Marie continues to refer to him as "Baby" until August 4: 

August 4, 1926. Wed. "Larry" weighs 13 3/8 lbs. and is 26 inches tall.

A year later it appears that Dad has a new nickname – on his first birthday,  Marie's diary reads: 

May 4, 1927. Wed. "Muggins" is 1 yr. old - and weighs 22 1/4 lbs. 

Dad, with brother Harry, left, Grandma Ida holding him, and two cousins Russel and Donald

Eventually they all called him "Laurence," and at some point that changed into "Lawrence." His nose and upper lip gave him a distinctive appearance, and must have helped shape his personality as other kids reacted to this.

Uncle Harry, Grandpa, Aunt Pat, and Dad (maybe 7 years old)

Dad, about 18 years old

So when Dad's hair started noticeably thinning, it must have been a bit distressing given all that he had already had to suffer from the cleft lip. It probably reinforced his strong personality, and left him thinking that life wasn't exactly fair. 

Dad and Mom's 1951 wedding photo

Almost four years into marriage, and now a family with two children, Dad had taken on the appearance we remember for most of our childhood. Here we are in a June 1955 photo taken at the wedding of his sister Pat:

Dad with Mom, my sister and I, and his grandmother Ida

My mother told me that baldness was passed down along the female line when I asked her if I would "go bald" (as if that were a destination), and her brothers and father had hair on the tops of their heads. Neither of Dad's grandfathers show balding in their photos, but both of his maternal uncles, Jacob and Carl show baldness.

Alice, Dad's Uncle Jacob, and Billy Gerhard

Frances and Dad's Uncle Carl Gerhard and Irish Setter

Harry, Dad's older brother, still had most of his hair, but only lived to age 23. Harry was pretty much better at everything – he was four years older than Dad, and Dad looked up to him; I don't think there was any resentment. Dad's sister Pat passed the genes down to her son. So, from our experience, Mom was right about getting this trait from your mother. 

Harry and wife Kathryn, 1944, months before he died

Dad went through a phase in which he took family movies; then he moved on to slide film which started in 1967. A couple years into slides, he starts sporting a beard in photos, but I'll save that for next week's blog.

Horicon Marsh, Wisconsin, 1967

With his father and mother, 1967

With his Uncle Carl in California, now with a beard, 1970

Genetics

Curious, I searched for some up-to-date information on baldness and genetics. A 2017 paper from an NIH website states that about 80% of men develop male pattern baldness (Androgenetic alopecia) by age 80 (guess I still have some time), and it can be about 80% attributed to genetic factors. The amount of loss of hair also varies widely. Genetics aren't completely understood yet, and quite a few genes are thought to be involved. A 2022 paper in the European Journal of Human Genetics notes that "it still is a long way towards highly accurate genetic prediction of MPB such as already available for eye colour," but the most predictive gene was found on the X chromosome which men get exclusively from their mothers.