Our Parents with Dad's Aunt Sparkie, Uncle John and 5 Others Dressed Up at a Table

 

What's the occasion? 

I don't know. 

Who are these people?

Starting from the left John R. Hlavaka standing behind his wife Louise (Sparkie) Hlavaka (Vokoun). To John's right is Myrtle Lilly (Sheber) and her husband George P. Lilly. To his right is Cherie Conlon (Hartman) and her husband Lou Conlon. To the right of Sparkie is Lonna Czlak (Hartman) and her husband Lee. To his right is Bert (Bertha) Hartman (Hlavaka) in the wheel chair.

How are they related?

Sparkie and John are parents of Bert who is the mother of Cherie, and Lonna. Lou is Cherie's husband and Lee is Lonna's husband. George is the son of Florence Lilly (Vokoun), Sparkie's sister, Myrtle his spouse. 

Some Background and Context

John and Sparkie, raised their family, daughters Bert and Lonna above and son George Hlavaka (not pictured). They resided in a house on Oakdale Avenue in Chicago.  Sparlkie's sister Florence raised her son George in the apartment on the second floor along with Sparkie and Florence's mother Bertha Vokoun (Vanderbiest). 

In many ways Bert and George were raised as siblings walking to and from school together and the same age. Hence some confusion among some of George and Myrtle's older children of Bert and Lonna being referred to as their "Aunt" when they were actually George's first cousins, his children's first cousins once removed. (Quite a mouthful for a kid to digest).