I just got home from a funeral celebrating the life of dear friend Nancy Ford. Born on June 28, 1930 in Allegheny, PA, she was just a few months older than Mom. She died September 19, 2014, following a months long battle with cancer. It was very aggressive, as it was only diagnosed in the spring. After one round of chemotherapy, she chose not to undergo more treatment simply to prolong her life a few more months. Her quality of life was probably better as a result. Her suffering was certainly briefer.
I first met Nancy and her husband Jim in 1998, when I moved in with Mom and began volunteering with Meals on Wheels. They had become friends of Mom and Dad through the organization. When Dad passed away in February 1998, Jim took over as treasurer. Jim subsequently passed away in September 2003, just short of eleven years ahead of Nancy.
Nancy was always a hard worker, whether it was with her bird farm and bird band business, or whether it was volunteering for her bird club, Meals on Wheels or her church. She truly had a servant's heart, and will be truly missed by family, friends and church alike.
That didn't mean she didn't find time for fun. She enjoyed bingo at the senior center, knitting her neverending afghans--many which found their way into "opportunity drawings" at the annual Meals on Wheels dinners--going out to lunch with friends, traveling to Washington and other parts of the country to visit family--although not as much after Jim's death--and many other activities that I'll never know about.
She had a very dry sense of humor, and wasn't shy about sharing it. She had her email list, to which she often sent fun items she received from others or found on the internet. One way another friend realized something was wrong was when she stopped getting those emails. That seems to be the wave of the future for so many deaths in the 21st century.
You will be missed,Nancy.
Sunday, September 28, 2014
Thursday, September 11, 2014
9/11
Thirteen years ago today this nation endured the deadliest terrorist attack in its history. In a coordinated attack by al-Qaeda, four commercial flights originating out of the East Coast were highjacked. The first plane struck the North tower of the World Trade Center's twin towers in NYC, followed 15 minutes later by a second plane going into the South tower. A half hour after that, the third plane crashed into the Pentagon. Only passenger intervention caused the final plane to crash a half hour later into a Pennsylvania field instead of its intended Washington DC target. Nearly 3,000 people died as a direct result of the attacks, the vast majority in the crashes and subsequent collapse of the twin towers.
I left for work that morning barely aware from early radio reports that the first plane had crashed. Mom woke shortly after that to the news, and had the TV on all day as the story unfolded. By the time I got to work, which was a second job that I jobshared between the environmental lab I work for and one of our clients at the time, the other planes had crashed and the country's confusion, fear and anger were reflected in media coverage of unfolding events. Fred and I were riveted by the events being broadcast. Needless to say, not a lot got done in terms of production.
Fred viewed events through a unique perspective. His family had left Iran after the Shah was deposed in 1979. Most ended up in America. Fred had an architectural/banking background before he became an environmental consultant. He had married an America, and had a couple of school age sons by the time I met him. He was horrified by 9/11, and immediately understood the implications of what had happened, both in terms of American response as a nation, and the potential backlash of individuals against members of the Islamic faith--or those perceived to be followers of Islam. He was right about that. There were attacks that happened to people in the days following 9/11, both here and abroad.
Our nation was forever changed by 9/11. People either knew people that died, or knew people who knew other people that died. My niece Brianna was in Kindergarten, One of her classmates had an aunt aboard one of the doomed flights--three of the four flights were headed to LAX. Her class learned a harsh lesson in geopolitics, life and death because of that day. As a nation, we have become very focused on security in public places, particularly airports and other transportation. We have fought wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, and other parts of the world in an attempt to "degrade and destroy" al-Qaeda , the Taliban and other terrorist organizations. We are currently involved in air strikes against ISIS (aka ISIL, IS and the Islamic State).
There is no easy solution to any of this. For every Osama bin Laden that you kill, another radical jihadist springs up. For every dictatatorship you topple, another organization is willing to fill that power vacuum. ISIS has taken over large swaths of Iraq and Syria, and wants to establish a global caliphate. They have killed many Christians, Jews and moderate Muslims, and persecuted many more.
In the meantime, we pause today to remember the victims of 9/11 in ceremonies across the country. The most profound, as always, is at the memorial that has been established at Ground Zero in NYC. Names are read, and bells toll for the times of the crashes and the collapse of the twin towers. At night, twin beams of light cut powerfully into the night sky, representing the site of the twin towers of the World Trade Center.
We will never forget.
I left for work that morning barely aware from early radio reports that the first plane had crashed. Mom woke shortly after that to the news, and had the TV on all day as the story unfolded. By the time I got to work, which was a second job that I jobshared between the environmental lab I work for and one of our clients at the time, the other planes had crashed and the country's confusion, fear and anger were reflected in media coverage of unfolding events. Fred and I were riveted by the events being broadcast. Needless to say, not a lot got done in terms of production.
Fred viewed events through a unique perspective. His family had left Iran after the Shah was deposed in 1979. Most ended up in America. Fred had an architectural/banking background before he became an environmental consultant. He had married an America, and had a couple of school age sons by the time I met him. He was horrified by 9/11, and immediately understood the implications of what had happened, both in terms of American response as a nation, and the potential backlash of individuals against members of the Islamic faith--or those perceived to be followers of Islam. He was right about that. There were attacks that happened to people in the days following 9/11, both here and abroad.
Our nation was forever changed by 9/11. People either knew people that died, or knew people who knew other people that died. My niece Brianna was in Kindergarten, One of her classmates had an aunt aboard one of the doomed flights--three of the four flights were headed to LAX. Her class learned a harsh lesson in geopolitics, life and death because of that day. As a nation, we have become very focused on security in public places, particularly airports and other transportation. We have fought wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, and other parts of the world in an attempt to "degrade and destroy" al-Qaeda , the Taliban and other terrorist organizations. We are currently involved in air strikes against ISIS (aka ISIL, IS and the Islamic State).
There is no easy solution to any of this. For every Osama bin Laden that you kill, another radical jihadist springs up. For every dictatatorship you topple, another organization is willing to fill that power vacuum. ISIS has taken over large swaths of Iraq and Syria, and wants to establish a global caliphate. They have killed many Christians, Jews and moderate Muslims, and persecuted many more.
In the meantime, we pause today to remember the victims of 9/11 in ceremonies across the country. The most profound, as always, is at the memorial that has been established at Ground Zero in NYC. Names are read, and bells toll for the times of the crashes and the collapse of the twin towers. At night, twin beams of light cut powerfully into the night sky, representing the site of the twin towers of the World Trade Center.
We will never forget.
Saturday, August 30, 2014
Finding Clara Barton
Since I began tracing my family tree last July, I have made many interesting discoveries. The first one was the ancestor who enabled one of my sisters and two of my nieces to get into the DAR. John Preston fought in the American Revolution out of Connecticut. His great granddaughter Clemenza Marilla Mills (my 2nd great grandmother) married Daniel Kenney Wright, who not only fought for the Union in the Civil War, but was eventually put in charge of one of the black units out of Michigan. These are only two of many ancestors and cousins who have fought in wars from early colonial days to the present generation.
Some ancestral connections have been fairly easy to trace online over the past year. Others have proved to be surprising to discover, mostly as I have traced generational ancestor and sibling descendants forward on findagrave.com and other websites. I found Salem witches, their accusers and defenders on different branches of my dad's side. Both President Garfield and his wife were descended from different children of Dad's common ancestor. President Truman and I share a common ancestor on Mom's side of the family.
The most recent discovery happened this week. I was tracing one of Dad's lines forward using findagrave. Suddenly I found a marriage with a Barton. Edmund Barton was Clara Barton's great grandfather. This means that Clara was my fifth cousin five generations removed. She was the founder of the American Red Cross, and headed the organization for twenty-two years.
It's not that I am a fame seeker or name dropper. I think all of my ancestors led amazing lives, for good or ill. It is, however, a nice treat to find someone of note in the tree on occasion. It gives a little added spark to the search for family history that continues to spur my interest. Who know what person of interest I will find tomorrow?
Some ancestral connections have been fairly easy to trace online over the past year. Others have proved to be surprising to discover, mostly as I have traced generational ancestor and sibling descendants forward on findagrave.com and other websites. I found Salem witches, their accusers and defenders on different branches of my dad's side. Both President Garfield and his wife were descended from different children of Dad's common ancestor. President Truman and I share a common ancestor on Mom's side of the family.
The most recent discovery happened this week. I was tracing one of Dad's lines forward using findagrave. Suddenly I found a marriage with a Barton. Edmund Barton was Clara Barton's great grandfather. This means that Clara was my fifth cousin five generations removed. She was the founder of the American Red Cross, and headed the organization for twenty-two years.
It's not that I am a fame seeker or name dropper. I think all of my ancestors led amazing lives, for good or ill. It is, however, a nice treat to find someone of note in the tree on occasion. It gives a little added spark to the search for family history that continues to spur my interest. Who know what person of interest I will find tomorrow?
Thursday, August 21, 2014
Dog Days
It's August, and while it's my birth month, it's also one of the hottest months of the year. When the monsoonal flow shifts far enough from Arizona, it's also one of the most humid months of the year. I am soooo not a summer person, so you can imagine how much I hate summer. The only thing worse than the hot sultry days of summer are summer in January days.
It's not all bad. The Dodgers and Angels are fighting the Giants and A's for their respective National and American League divisions, and are both currently leading, but not by much. School is about to start, which means that college football is about to get underway. Go Trojans! Go Bruins!
I checked out the Wikipedia article about dog days. Evidently the term goes back to Greco-Roman times and the preoccupation with Sirius the Dog Star. It was the brightest star, and rose just before the sun, leading the ancients to associate Sirius with the hottest days of the year. Romans even sacrificed red dogs in April in an attempt to appease the gods and keep the summer temperatures down. Good luck with that.
One thing I always liked about summer was that it is also vacation time. I've done a lot of traveling in the summer. Growing up, we spent every other summer traveling to Missouri and Minnesota to visit Mom and Dad's families. Because of the triangular nature of the route, we went by different roads coming and going. As a result, we saw much of the country west of the Mississippi River before I graduated high school. From the major parks like Grand Canyon, Yellowstone and Mount Rushmore to the small oddities on Old Route 66, we experienced a great deal of this great country in various station wagons. Sometimes we stayed in motels, but as the family grew--given that there were five of us kids squeezed into the car--we used tents and sleeping bags. I was twelve or thirteen when we got that tent, and it got a lot more use in the alternate summers when we camped out at the beaches and the California parks.
In Missouri we usually stayed with Grandma and Grandpa Passley in Alba. In Minnesota we generally stayed at the family farm outside Brainerd. We were able to visit around the family in both places, and in Minnesota there were often school and/or family reunions, which drew the family from across the country. I've seen some of the cousins as adults in more recent years. We definitely have changed over the years!
It's not all bad. The Dodgers and Angels are fighting the Giants and A's for their respective National and American League divisions, and are both currently leading, but not by much. School is about to start, which means that college football is about to get underway. Go Trojans! Go Bruins!
I checked out the Wikipedia article about dog days. Evidently the term goes back to Greco-Roman times and the preoccupation with Sirius the Dog Star. It was the brightest star, and rose just before the sun, leading the ancients to associate Sirius with the hottest days of the year. Romans even sacrificed red dogs in April in an attempt to appease the gods and keep the summer temperatures down. Good luck with that.
One thing I always liked about summer was that it is also vacation time. I've done a lot of traveling in the summer. Growing up, we spent every other summer traveling to Missouri and Minnesota to visit Mom and Dad's families. Because of the triangular nature of the route, we went by different roads coming and going. As a result, we saw much of the country west of the Mississippi River before I graduated high school. From the major parks like Grand Canyon, Yellowstone and Mount Rushmore to the small oddities on Old Route 66, we experienced a great deal of this great country in various station wagons. Sometimes we stayed in motels, but as the family grew--given that there were five of us kids squeezed into the car--we used tents and sleeping bags. I was twelve or thirteen when we got that tent, and it got a lot more use in the alternate summers when we camped out at the beaches and the California parks.
In Missouri we usually stayed with Grandma and Grandpa Passley in Alba. In Minnesota we generally stayed at the family farm outside Brainerd. We were able to visit around the family in both places, and in Minnesota there were often school and/or family reunions, which drew the family from across the country. I've seen some of the cousins as adults in more recent years. We definitely have changed over the years!
Friday, August 1, 2014
It's My Birthday!
Another year has come and gone. Where does the time go? I'm getting closer to "retirement", but am keeping busy with Meals on Wheels and my genealogy when I'm not at work. This is actually the majority of my time at present, since I'm currently oncall while the business is so slow. At least I'm able to collect unemployment for the time being.
Yesterday I read a blogpost on the Genealogy With Valerie blog. It was titled "I Thought I'd Have More Time!" She talked about all the time we spend on digging back into our family history, thinking we'll have time "later" to write down our own stories and the stories of our loved ones. That doesn't always happen. Her husband developed a rare form of dementia about five years ago. He's only 51 today. All those stories he told her about his early life--so many times she thought she'd never forget them--are fading fast, and she's now having to reconstruct the stories with the help of her husband's family. Those memories are all buried somewhere in his mind that he--and she by extension--can no longer reach.
This has been a real wakeup call for me. Over the years since Dad's death, I have recorded some of Mom's stories in one of those memory question books that you can buy. I think we're up to October questions. I need to do more in the coming year, because you never know how much time you really have. I certainly can't ask Dad anymore--he died in 1998. Sometimes it seems like forever, sometimes it could have been yesterday, except that I see my eighteen year old niece Brianna sitting across the room from me. She was two when her Grandpa went to heaven.
Maybe it's time to get her recording her life story.
Yesterday I read a blogpost on the Genealogy With Valerie blog. It was titled "I Thought I'd Have More Time!" She talked about all the time we spend on digging back into our family history, thinking we'll have time "later" to write down our own stories and the stories of our loved ones. That doesn't always happen. Her husband developed a rare form of dementia about five years ago. He's only 51 today. All those stories he told her about his early life--so many times she thought she'd never forget them--are fading fast, and she's now having to reconstruct the stories with the help of her husband's family. Those memories are all buried somewhere in his mind that he--and she by extension--can no longer reach.
This has been a real wakeup call for me. Over the years since Dad's death, I have recorded some of Mom's stories in one of those memory question books that you can buy. I think we're up to October questions. I need to do more in the coming year, because you never know how much time you really have. I certainly can't ask Dad anymore--he died in 1998. Sometimes it seems like forever, sometimes it could have been yesterday, except that I see my eighteen year old niece Brianna sitting across the room from me. She was two when her Grandpa went to heaven.
Maybe it's time to get her recording her life story.
Tuesday, July 29, 2014
One Year Ago My Genealogy Journey Began
This week I will celebrate another birthday. On Saturday I will have lunch at my favorite restaurant, Mimi's, with family members who would otherwise not be caught dead there. Not everyone shares my enjoyment of the French-American ambiance.
Time really flies sometimes. It's been a year now since I started my trip down family history lane. What began as an effort to compile information for Sara's DAR application has become a search for the different branches. I've learned a lot about my family. I've also learned a lot about the genealogy industry.
I started out by making a hand drawn family tree with the information I had from Mom going back to my great grandparents on both sides, as well as my maternal great grandmother "Little Grandma" Susan Elizabeth Reed, who married Quinline (aka Quentin) Sullins. Then I installed the free program I got with my Gateway laptop a few years ago. Family Tree Maker 2011 has been a great organizing tool for me. I could, however, do without Ancestry.com's green leafs all over the place, since I'm not a subscriber to them or any other paid provider. I know it could have made things easier, but I prefer to do the searching online without paying someone else. Call me stubborn, but call me persistent. I have found great enjoyment in combing over the Web.
Anyway, getting back to that tree, It has certainly grown. After a year of searching and manual entry into the program, I have added over 4,500 people to my tree so far. I have discovered relationships with two presidents--Garfield on Dad's side, Truman on Mom's side. Side note: my aunt told Mom that she wouldn't have been allowed to marry my mom's brother if the Truman connection had been known, even though the common ancestor goes back 200 years. Go figure. I've found Mormon pioneers. along with Salem witches--AND their accusers AND their defenders--Salem was a small town. I have found ministers and soldiers (and other members of the military) who have fought in every war since before the Revolution. I have discovered and had email relationships with cousins I didn't even know existed before I began this wonderful journey. It has changed me in ways I never conceived a year ago.
And the journey continues...
Time really flies sometimes. It's been a year now since I started my trip down family history lane. What began as an effort to compile information for Sara's DAR application has become a search for the different branches. I've learned a lot about my family. I've also learned a lot about the genealogy industry.
I started out by making a hand drawn family tree with the information I had from Mom going back to my great grandparents on both sides, as well as my maternal great grandmother "Little Grandma" Susan Elizabeth Reed, who married Quinline (aka Quentin) Sullins. Then I installed the free program I got with my Gateway laptop a few years ago. Family Tree Maker 2011 has been a great organizing tool for me. I could, however, do without Ancestry.com's green leafs all over the place, since I'm not a subscriber to them or any other paid provider. I know it could have made things easier, but I prefer to do the searching online without paying someone else. Call me stubborn, but call me persistent. I have found great enjoyment in combing over the Web.
Anyway, getting back to that tree, It has certainly grown. After a year of searching and manual entry into the program, I have added over 4,500 people to my tree so far. I have discovered relationships with two presidents--Garfield on Dad's side, Truman on Mom's side. Side note: my aunt told Mom that she wouldn't have been allowed to marry my mom's brother if the Truman connection had been known, even though the common ancestor goes back 200 years. Go figure. I've found Mormon pioneers. along with Salem witches--AND their accusers AND their defenders--Salem was a small town. I have found ministers and soldiers (and other members of the military) who have fought in every war since before the Revolution. I have discovered and had email relationships with cousins I didn't even know existed before I began this wonderful journey. It has changed me in ways I never conceived a year ago.
And the journey continues...
Tuesday, July 22, 2014
Cars and Public Transportation
Yesterday Sara leased a 2014 Toyota Corolla, with a little help from Mom and Rick. It's a pretty silver car. I think she would have been happier with another color, but the dealer didn't have a wide selection on the lot for her to drive off in, and she needed to turn in her rental car. It doesn't have all the bells and whistles (GPS, etc.), but it does have AC and a deep trunk for Mom's wheelchair, and it's a vast improvement over the money sucking old car that she had been driving.
This has brought to mind the cars I drove over the years before I stopped driving. I never liked driving. I didn't get my license til I was in my early twenties. That was in order for me to drive a company car for the job I had at the time, field checking commercial properties to help determine their fire insurance rates. I don't even remember what kind it was--some kind of sedan. I got to use it off the job, so had the experience of picking up Becky from music camp at snowy Idylwild.
The first car I bought was a used brown Pinto that I bought from my aunt. Next was an ice blue (in other words white) Nissan Sentra, followed by a red Hyundai. My last car was a used car I bought from a newspaper ad in the Nineties. By then I was living in Long Beach. One rainy day I got in a fender bender on the way to work. That's when I decided that public transportation was the way to go. I used the Long Beach buses until I moved back to my childhood home when my dad passed away.
Since I've lived with my mom, I've used dial-a-ride services. It's a lot less stressful than driving, and a lot easier on my wallet.
This has brought to mind the cars I drove over the years before I stopped driving. I never liked driving. I didn't get my license til I was in my early twenties. That was in order for me to drive a company car for the job I had at the time, field checking commercial properties to help determine their fire insurance rates. I don't even remember what kind it was--some kind of sedan. I got to use it off the job, so had the experience of picking up Becky from music camp at snowy Idylwild.
The first car I bought was a used brown Pinto that I bought from my aunt. Next was an ice blue (in other words white) Nissan Sentra, followed by a red Hyundai. My last car was a used car I bought from a newspaper ad in the Nineties. By then I was living in Long Beach. One rainy day I got in a fender bender on the way to work. That's when I decided that public transportation was the way to go. I used the Long Beach buses until I moved back to my childhood home when my dad passed away.
Since I've lived with my mom, I've used dial-a-ride services. It's a lot less stressful than driving, and a lot easier on my wallet.
Friday, July 4, 2014
Happy Independence Day!!!
I'm sitting at home, relaxing after a long day celebrating the Fourth of July. This morning I watched the big parade in Huntington Beach on channel 7. It's still going strong after 110 years, and is said to be the largest one after the one in Washington DC. It still felt like small town America, with the bands, floats, equestrian units, military, and others all celebrating the day.
We didn't have people over this year. Instead, Rick came and took Mom and me to meet Orin for lunch at Coco's. Then we rook him home and saw his refurbished apartment. The entire senior complex has undergone a makeover. Most of the carpet has been replaced by wood pattern vinyl, walls have been repainted different shades of beige, kitchen and bathroom cabinets have been replaced, as have appliances--a good job overall on the individual apartments. The exterior has been repainted, and awnings replaced, There is still work being done on the entry, front office and common areas, but I imagine work will be complete by the end of the month, which will make Orin a happy camper.
After grocery shopping, we came home to watch Kershaw pitch a lovely 9-0 shutout over the Rockies, although Rick left during the middle of the game. Then Mom and I alternated between watching the Angels squeak out a 7-6 victory over Houston, going outside to take in the aerial panorama of fireworks, and watching the professional shows on PBS (Capital 4th in Washington DC) and NBC ( Macy's big New York bash). It was all spectacular in different ways. PBS tend to be a little more traditional, but very creative in the use of color and patterns, while NBC is a littler hipper, and a lot bigger, with their barges and bridges used to launch an amazing amount of fireworks. Now if they could just get rid of the commercials, that would be so much better--as if a commercial broadcast network ever would.
The air is already thick with smoke, so I won't be headed back outside tonight. I remember the sparklers and fireworks lit on the ground when I was a kid, and I saw plenty of those "safe and sane" fireworks around the neighborhood tonight. But every year the "dangerous" illegal fireworks increase in number and sophistication, to the point that you'd think you were watching a professional show, in spite of law enforcement's best--if underfunded--efforts to curtail their use. I guess people are gonna do what they gotta do, when they've been saving all year for their parties, so that they can set off their colorful explosives until the early morning hours.
I just hope there aren't too many serious injuries or fires.
We didn't have people over this year. Instead, Rick came and took Mom and me to meet Orin for lunch at Coco's. Then we rook him home and saw his refurbished apartment. The entire senior complex has undergone a makeover. Most of the carpet has been replaced by wood pattern vinyl, walls have been repainted different shades of beige, kitchen and bathroom cabinets have been replaced, as have appliances--a good job overall on the individual apartments. The exterior has been repainted, and awnings replaced, There is still work being done on the entry, front office and common areas, but I imagine work will be complete by the end of the month, which will make Orin a happy camper.
After grocery shopping, we came home to watch Kershaw pitch a lovely 9-0 shutout over the Rockies, although Rick left during the middle of the game. Then Mom and I alternated between watching the Angels squeak out a 7-6 victory over Houston, going outside to take in the aerial panorama of fireworks, and watching the professional shows on PBS (Capital 4th in Washington DC) and NBC ( Macy's big New York bash). It was all spectacular in different ways. PBS tend to be a little more traditional, but very creative in the use of color and patterns, while NBC is a littler hipper, and a lot bigger, with their barges and bridges used to launch an amazing amount of fireworks. Now if they could just get rid of the commercials, that would be so much better--as if a commercial broadcast network ever would.
The air is already thick with smoke, so I won't be headed back outside tonight. I remember the sparklers and fireworks lit on the ground when I was a kid, and I saw plenty of those "safe and sane" fireworks around the neighborhood tonight. But every year the "dangerous" illegal fireworks increase in number and sophistication, to the point that you'd think you were watching a professional show, in spite of law enforcement's best--if underfunded--efforts to curtail their use. I guess people are gonna do what they gotta do, when they've been saving all year for their parties, so that they can set off their colorful explosives until the early morning hours.
I just hope there aren't too many serious injuries or fires.
Monday, June 30, 2014
You've got mail!
On Saturday I received a package in the mail from Aunt Laurel. The package contained family history related papers which belonged to my late aunt.
Aunt Mamie was a "character". She outlived all of her husbands, ran a cafe for ten years at one point of her life, and was very active in one of the Minnesota chapters of the DAR. She used the info from one of her cousins to get into the lineage-based organization, but also did some of her research via mail and phone, and visits to various government agencies. This was the way things were done in the days before the internet.
I now have her DAR application copy, some of her research notes, and a letter written to her on 9-11-1976. It turns out that the cousin who wrote her is one of the same cousins that I found online earlier this year. Small world, hmm?
Naturally I asked her if she wanted a PDF of the letter, as it was a real blast from the past. She said yes, hoping that it was grammatically correct, and I sent the scanned PDF to her.
We have come a long way in communication technology. We are no longer restricted by snail mail and landlines in this age of email and cell phones. If we need to make onsite copies of documents, there are photocopiers, handheld scanners and cellphone cameras, depending on our needs and available equipment. It is, however, still nice to have that personal communication to bridge the gap between original records and direct knowledge of individuals connected to those records. Records only tell part of the family history.
Aunt Mamie was a "character". She outlived all of her husbands, ran a cafe for ten years at one point of her life, and was very active in one of the Minnesota chapters of the DAR. She used the info from one of her cousins to get into the lineage-based organization, but also did some of her research via mail and phone, and visits to various government agencies. This was the way things were done in the days before the internet.
I now have her DAR application copy, some of her research notes, and a letter written to her on 9-11-1976. It turns out that the cousin who wrote her is one of the same cousins that I found online earlier this year. Small world, hmm?
Naturally I asked her if she wanted a PDF of the letter, as it was a real blast from the past. She said yes, hoping that it was grammatically correct, and I sent the scanned PDF to her.
We have come a long way in communication technology. We are no longer restricted by snail mail and landlines in this age of email and cell phones. If we need to make onsite copies of documents, there are photocopiers, handheld scanners and cellphone cameras, depending on our needs and available equipment. It is, however, still nice to have that personal communication to bridge the gap between original records and direct knowledge of individuals connected to those records. Records only tell part of the family history.
Sunday, June 22, 2014
1989 Olson Reunion Revisited
This morning I found a half dozen packets of photos in my room. When I started to go through them, I realized they were pictures I took 25 years ago when I flew to Minnesota for the last big Olson family reunion before the death of Dad's first sibling Wright. It was the last time all nine siblings were together, along with most of the kids and grandkids alive at that time.
Melanie and her husband couldn't go, but Sara & Becky flew out with their husbands for the weekend after Mom, Dad, Rick and I had flown to Minneapolis on Thursday for the week. We did a little sightseeing (Lumbertown USA anyone?) and a lot of visiting while we were there, with highlights being the Saturday night family dinner at the VFW hall in Deerwood, Sunday family worship at Serpent Park in Crosby, followed by lunch at the family farm--aka Pine Ridge Farm--which is now owned by Norman and Kris.
There were four generations represented:
1. Grandma Olson's sisters Edna & Mamie
2. All 9 Olson siblings
3. Many in my generation
4. Many of our kids
It's amazing how time flies. Next month will mark the 25th anniversary of that reunion. I haven't seen most of the family since that reunion. People are scattered all over the country--as they were then. Some have died--Grandmas's sisters, Dad and three of his siblings--while others in my generation and especially the next generation have had more kids. It is part of the cycle of life, but also a reminder that memories are fleeting, and family history can be lost before you know it.
Melanie and her husband couldn't go, but Sara & Becky flew out with their husbands for the weekend after Mom, Dad, Rick and I had flown to Minneapolis on Thursday for the week. We did a little sightseeing (Lumbertown USA anyone?) and a lot of visiting while we were there, with highlights being the Saturday night family dinner at the VFW hall in Deerwood, Sunday family worship at Serpent Park in Crosby, followed by lunch at the family farm--aka Pine Ridge Farm--which is now owned by Norman and Kris.
There were four generations represented:
1. Grandma Olson's sisters Edna & Mamie
2. All 9 Olson siblings
3. Many in my generation
4. Many of our kids
It's amazing how time flies. Next month will mark the 25th anniversary of that reunion. I haven't seen most of the family since that reunion. People are scattered all over the country--as they were then. Some have died--Grandmas's sisters, Dad and three of his siblings--while others in my generation and especially the next generation have had more kids. It is part of the cycle of life, but also a reminder that memories are fleeting, and family history can be lost before you know it.
Sunday, June 15, 2014
Dad and His Barbecue
Dad enjoyed firing up the old barbecue. He liked turning burgers and hot dogs, and the occasional piece of chicken. I think one of the reasons he built the patio on the side of the house was to have room to eat barbecue in the shade when it got too hot in the summer--which in sunny Southern California could be at any time of the year.
On Father's Day, he preferred to go out for dinner, unless someone else was doing the barbecuing. And because we honor our fathers, we indulged him. When we were young, we more often went home from church, and Mom cooked Sunday dinner. But as adults we took him to dinner at different restaurants, thus sparing Mom having to spend time in the kitchen.
When we were kids, we gave those gifts that dads everywhere admire so much--the handcrafted paperweights that he kept on his desk at work, the ties in a variety of colorful styles, the candy which we "helped" him consume--it didn't matter materially, he knew we were showing our love for him.
It's been over sixteen years since Dad went home to the Lord. Sometimes it seems like forever, other times like it was yesterday. Today is a day for remembrance, whether talking to Mom or this blog. I love you, Dad.
On Father's Day, he preferred to go out for dinner, unless someone else was doing the barbecuing. And because we honor our fathers, we indulged him. When we were young, we more often went home from church, and Mom cooked Sunday dinner. But as adults we took him to dinner at different restaurants, thus sparing Mom having to spend time in the kitchen.
When we were kids, we gave those gifts that dads everywhere admire so much--the handcrafted paperweights that he kept on his desk at work, the ties in a variety of colorful styles, the candy which we "helped" him consume--it didn't matter materially, he knew we were showing our love for him.
It's been over sixteen years since Dad went home to the Lord. Sometimes it seems like forever, other times like it was yesterday. Today is a day for remembrance, whether talking to Mom or this blog. I love you, Dad.
Thursday, June 12, 2014
Graduation Day
Last night I attended my niece's graduation from high school. It was a sizable crowd at the football stadium, as there were over 400 students in the class of 2014--not uncommon for California high schools. The school orchestra played them in with the traditional "Pomp and Circumstance". While I was sitting next to Mom in the handicapped section of the field, and thus closer to the students as they processed down the center from the far side of the field, there were simply too many grads to spot Bri. Turns out she was seated on the opposite side of the field, as I discovered when her row got up to receive their diplomas.
The speakers were all brief and to the point. The principal spoke first, then the ASB president, whose walk down memory lane caused the principal to remark that she had similar memories from her graduation thirty years ago, making her 48 today. As she focused on trends from the Eighties (Big hair! Shoulder pads!), I was thinking about my high school graduation in 1971, and how much has changed since then. There were two valedictorians, and no salutatorians--I guess they both had perfect GPAs. After the students had received their diplomas, the orchestra played "Conquest". How did they choose that? I thought I was at a USC football game! The students then turned their tassels and tossed their caps in the air, the Alma Mater was played (but not sung-evidently nobody knew the words, which were on the back of the program) and the ceremony was over. Their was no actual recessional, although the orchestra did play John Williams' "Olympic Spirit"-to inspire the grads as they move on in their lives? Who knows!--as grads mingled with family and friends on the field.
We eventually found Bri, who had elected not to attend the all night party at one of Southern California's tourist attractions. We ended up down the block at Millies for a quiet family celebration with a few friends. Mom and I were home by 11 PM, and I was asleep soon after.
It was a great night, marred only by nightmare traffic and parking, the inability to see up close without a telephoto lens or binoculars (hindsight can be 20/20 in such things), and an increasingly noisy crowd as the ceremony wore on (All those names! All that cheering--and don't even get me started on the air horns. A few got past the bag check as we entered the stadium. Even from a distance, they were way too loud).
Bri is a bright young woman, and a hard worker. She is already working at her first job for one of the cinema chains. She loves photography and developed her skills on yearbook staff this year. Right now she is looking to become a nurse,partly out of her desire to help people, partly to follow her family's footsteps (Mom is a retired nurse, two of her daughters also went into nursing). Whether she continues in that direction remains to be seen--she is after all a newly minted high school graduate!
The speakers were all brief and to the point. The principal spoke first, then the ASB president, whose walk down memory lane caused the principal to remark that she had similar memories from her graduation thirty years ago, making her 48 today. As she focused on trends from the Eighties (Big hair! Shoulder pads!), I was thinking about my high school graduation in 1971, and how much has changed since then. There were two valedictorians, and no salutatorians--I guess they both had perfect GPAs. After the students had received their diplomas, the orchestra played "Conquest". How did they choose that? I thought I was at a USC football game! The students then turned their tassels and tossed their caps in the air, the Alma Mater was played (but not sung-evidently nobody knew the words, which were on the back of the program) and the ceremony was over. Their was no actual recessional, although the orchestra did play John Williams' "Olympic Spirit"-to inspire the grads as they move on in their lives? Who knows!--as grads mingled with family and friends on the field.
We eventually found Bri, who had elected not to attend the all night party at one of Southern California's tourist attractions. We ended up down the block at Millies for a quiet family celebration with a few friends. Mom and I were home by 11 PM, and I was asleep soon after.
It was a great night, marred only by nightmare traffic and parking, the inability to see up close without a telephoto lens or binoculars (hindsight can be 20/20 in such things), and an increasingly noisy crowd as the ceremony wore on (All those names! All that cheering--and don't even get me started on the air horns. A few got past the bag check as we entered the stadium. Even from a distance, they were way too loud).
Bri is a bright young woman, and a hard worker. She is already working at her first job for one of the cinema chains. She loves photography and developed her skills on yearbook staff this year. Right now she is looking to become a nurse,partly out of her desire to help people, partly to follow her family's footsteps (Mom is a retired nurse, two of her daughters also went into nursing). Whether she continues in that direction remains to be seen--she is after all a newly minted high school graduate!
Sunday, June 8, 2014
SCGS Jamboree 2014
The past few days I've had the pleasure of livestreaming some of the free sessions at this years' Jamboree. This has been a great option for me, as time, transportation and financial constraints have prevented me from attending the genealogy conference. Today is the last day, but so far I've seen:
FR009 Dowered and Bound Out: Widows and Orphans Under the Law by Judy G. Russell
FR018 DNA and the Genealogical Proof Standard by Blaine T. Bettinger
FR027 Manuscript finding Aids: Locating Migrating Family Records by Family Records by Pamela Stuart-Warren
FR034 Proof Arguments How and Why by H. Warren Bittner
SA039 Researching Your Irish Ancestry Online & at Minimal Cost by Maurice Gleeson
SA053 The Internet: A Genealogist's Printing Press by Cyndi Ingle
The speakers have all been interesting, informative and humorous to varying degrees. I've taken lots of notes on their handouts, which I will find useful for researching family history--and for other computing purposes!
I'm just beginning to absorb the online handouts, but so far this morning,courtesy of SU023, which will unfortunately NOT be livestreamed this afternoon, I've found a nifty little timeline website called ourtimelines.com, which can generate timelines for anyone with a few dates and mouseclicks. I just generated the one below by using my name and birth year, although I had to change the year 2012 to 2014 for our current president, since the program hasn't added events since 2012. Nevertheless, the site does have many interesting features, including a peers list of historical figures and the ability to customize lists with added persons and events.
Custom Timeline
Timelines courtesy of ourtimelines.com
www.ourtimelines.com
In less than an hour, the first livestreamed session will start. It looks like I will be watching the 3rd service at ccvsocal.com, since it will be during the lunch break at Jamboree. I thank God that our church livestreams its worship services!
FR009 Dowered and Bound Out: Widows and Orphans Under the Law by Judy G. Russell
FR018 DNA and the Genealogical Proof Standard by Blaine T. Bettinger
FR027 Manuscript finding Aids: Locating Migrating Family Records by Family Records by Pamela Stuart-Warren
FR034 Proof Arguments How and Why by H. Warren Bittner
SA039 Researching Your Irish Ancestry Online & at Minimal Cost by Maurice Gleeson
SA053 The Internet: A Genealogist's Printing Press by Cyndi Ingle
The speakers have all been interesting, informative and humorous to varying degrees. I've taken lots of notes on their handouts, which I will find useful for researching family history--and for other computing purposes!
I'm just beginning to absorb the online handouts, but so far this morning,courtesy of SU023, which will unfortunately NOT be livestreamed this afternoon, I've found a nifty little timeline website called ourtimelines.com, which can generate timelines for anyone with a few dates and mouseclicks. I just generated the one below by using my name and birth year, although I had to change the year 2012 to 2014 for our current president, since the program hasn't added events since 2012. Nevertheless, the site does have many interesting features, including a peers list of historical figures and the ability to customize lists with added persons and events.
Custom Timeline
For Sue Olson
1953 to 2014
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