BRRRRRRRR

 Look at me smiling. I should be an actress! It was freezing. It started snowing about an hour before. We parked the car for the city's tree lighting and walked three blocks with the wind blowing snow in our faces. Fun times! 

Someone else's photo. My camera was in my pocket as I huddled in a doorway. 

Another great photo from someone else on Facebook. The snow did not deter the crowd. 

I wanted to see the golf cart parade and the high school choir marching and singing. I believe I took this photo from the doorway of a store. 

The choir marched to the gazebo. Not my photo, I am still across the street. 

They posed with some celebrities.  We were actually standing behind a see-through igloo but we couldn't see through it. It turns out the three wise men were inside for photo opps too. 

It really is a great event. Many stores are open with family activities.

Several stores and organizations manned these tables in the streets and made hot cocoa and s'mores. (not my photo) There was cookie decorating at a church. The old rec center was set up for a sensory Santa experience so that all the children could enjoy the event. 

You could cage your children in a snow globe. (not my photo) There was a Santa train and giant inflatable slides (that was interesting in the snow) and the sleigh ride. We are just sissies. There was a portable ice skating rink. 

Yeah, this was what it was like walking the three blocks to my doorway. (not my photo)

These poor horses. (not my photo) The line for the sleigh ride was very very long because we are very very crazy in my town. There were also long lines at the food truck because we like to season our food with snow. 

We lit the tree. 

Hundreds and hundreds of people came and I got to meet the big guy! I told him I am nice and he fell for it. Am I really that puffy or is it the 3 layers I have on under my coat?

Memory Monday 4: The Twins

The story starts with a foggy memory from when I was maybe 10 or 12. My maternal gramma was cleaning out her attic and putting "junk" out for trash pickup. Mom took me over and we picked up trash bags that missed the first round. Mom told me there was a copy of a book that was self published by twins that served in the civil war and it was missing. We did not find the book. When the internet was invented and when I was working somewhere with good internet, I researched on line and found the possible existence of the book at a historical library somewhere. I made notes and lost them over the years. Working on genealogy reminded me of the lost book.

I searched the internet and found the book. There was a copy in the "closed stacks" of an historical library in a big city in my state. I was still working and was trying to figure out when I could take a trip during the hours they were open. I was afraid that I would have to wear gloves and copying would not be permitted.

I live closer to a presidential library that specializes in state genealogy and visited there on a weekend, but they did not have a copy. They did locate one in a library that preferred not to share their location and one in our state capitol.

Then I joined our local genealogy organization. One meeting involved a tour of the local reference room. When we got to the last bookcase, one of the volunteered explained that this was donated family histories that had not been cataloged yet. I knew the book was small because one of these libraries listed size and number of pages. I randomly pulled a book out of that photo at the top - AND IT WAS THE BOOK.

Edmund and his brother Edwin are my first cousins, 4 generations removed. As I explained before, I come from a family of "stayers", except for Edwin who I will talk about later. The Snyder family all remained close and most lived in the same county where I still live.

The twins moved here from Montgomery County, NY in 1841 when they were a year old with their mom and dad and stayed with relatives while their dad cleared the land and built a log cabin. They attended a small rural school and worked on the isolated farm. The twins, along with cousins and neighbors, enlisted in the 123rd regiment of Ohio Volunteers for a "period of three years or the duration of the war".

I find this part very interesting. I was researching during the Covid shutdown and isolation of their lives and the lack of vaccinations played a big part in Edmund's service. The twins suffered many illnesses such as measles and chicken pox and even typhoid. At one point Edmund was sent home to recover, but returned to service. Immediately after rejoining his unit, Edmund was shot in the groin and taken to a nearby home of southern minister who nursed him to health but then turned him over as a prisoner and he was sent first to Libby Prison and then on to Andersonville.

His brother Edwin received a gunshot wound and was briefly hospitalized and rejoined his unit three days before the end of the war when they were then captured. He marched with Lee's army for those three days until the surrender at Appomattox.

I guess I should add here that Edmund's autobiography is not a "Little House on the Prairie" story. He describes all the hardships as a child such as waking in bed in the attic of the log cabin with his brother and both of them covered in snow coming in from the cracks of the roof. The heartbreaking losses of childhood friends and playmates during the war. And details of the death and devastation at Andersonville.

A photo taken after they both returned from war. I believe this is the first photograph of the twins. Aren't they handsome?

Edmund remained in my town, he and his wife actually built their home about 3 blocks from where I live and the house is still standing in the historical district of my town and is in very good condition. This is his family. Edmund became a banker and was very active in community service and politics.

Edwin married in Ohio in 1868 and was living in Kansas with his wife and two children by 1870. He served in the Kansas legislature and was "active in civic affairs", his census entries say he is a farmer and I found he was an agent with the Farmers Alliance. I found a news article that Edwin visited here in 1891, again in 1898 when "the resemblance to each other is so strong that it is confusing to their friends" and there is a news article in the Leavenworth Times that Edmund and his wife had come to visit Edwin and his wife in 1908.

I believe this photograph may have been taken during one of those visits.

Edwin died at age 75 and Edmund lived to be 89! Our local society allowed me to photocopy the book. I only wish my mom was still here to see it.

Thanksgiving Memories

I already shared our family's biggest Thanksgiving memory - my parent's wedding on Thanksgiving morning 1955. 

One of my favorite memories (no photos) I can share now that my mom has passed would be in 1974. My boyfriend and I had already been guests at two Thanksgiving dinners and my mom (not really a cook) had scheduled hers for 6 pm.  We waddled in the house, I helped with last minute table setting and she pulled out the turkey. Which was raw because she never turned the oven on. By the next Thanksgiving I was married and Thanksgiving became my problem. Since I invited both families, it also meant only one dinner. 

Thanksgiving 1993. My brothers and there families came from out of state for Thanksgiving. My mother hired a photographer to take family pictures on Thanksgiving day. It was below freezing with high winds. There is one photo with our hair straight up in the air. 

This thanksgiving was maybe around 1997. We have a tiny house. In order to seat everyone, including extended family who all have larger houses than ours, we would move all our furniture into the garage and set up in the living room. To get to the kitchen you went out the front door (above) walked around the house and went in the kitchen door. Basically I stood in the kitchen doorway and handed things to someone at a table. 

2019, the cutest little turkey granddaughter. 

Zoom Thanksgiving 2020. The guy in the photo with the fanta bottle is our governor spying on us. We all agreed it was the best Thanksgiving because no one had to clean their house or drive. But did we learn? No.

2001.  I couldn't bake one pie or two pies or three pies. I made individual pies for everyone to enjoy. 

It's not just Thanksgiving, it is the day my teenage tech support comes to visit. 

My youngest daughter and her husband purchased a large home with an open floor plan a few years ago. She has three rooms full of tables that all flow into her huge island for serving. She has been crowned Queen of Thanksgiving. This year I am showing up with a ham, oyster dressing and ice cream pies. 

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

*Update - this was the seating set up at my daughter's house for the football game. I hope they are joking, lol. 

How I am Assisting in the Bathroom Remodel

(written on Monday) I hope you don't mind that this post is out of chronological order.  We are living in chaos over here, you know! 

Today they need to get into my closet where they removed pieces of the drywall in the back of the closet to add additional pieces of wood as support for the shower grab bars and other items we needed to screw into walls.  This meant I had to take every single item in my closet and pile it on the bed. 

Yes, I know I am a clothes hoarder. Time is meaningless to me and I find it shocking that clothing that I paid good money for in 1985 is now FORTY years old. That is impossible.  I worked in offices when people in offices wore professional clothing. I took good care of my clothes . . . Forty years? Of course my 90's clothes are only, gulp 30 years old, and my millenial wardrobe . . .  

But it was hidden in the closet! Out of sight, out of mind. In addition to too many clothes, I carry several size ranges of clothes.  Someday I might be able to wear a smaller size. And I guess instead of buying new clothes I will choose to wear ancient clothing in out of date styles? 

I did sort an entire garbage bag of dresses (dresses, lol) that I will never wear again.  I found the plastic shoe boxes with my high heels - like I could balance in heels - like new, barely worn. 

All of that is going to the clothing bank tomorrow. I barely made a dent.  AND to make it more fun, they just re-drywalled the back of the closet and I can't put any clothes back until tomorrow. So I had to carry this mess to another room to sleep tonight. 

The first day of demolition I went out of town to a craft store.  Halloween was 70-80% off on clearance and I guess I felt the need for another doll house.  

I am slowly painting the house and have decided it will stay as is for now as I move to another dollhouse.  

I bought this one last year and was thinking of doing it as a second Christmas doll house. Please ignore the wrong furniture in the wrong house.

The problem is that this material just drinks paint.  I am running out of paint after two coats and I am not sure if it will be safe to enter another craft store. 

And, one of the dishes I am taking to our families Thanksgiving is my grandmother's and my mother's oyster dressing.  The best part of this recipe is that a woman I never heard of published my grandmother's recipe in this cookbook in 1999. This way I can find my recipe every year.  My guess is that her grandmother and my grandmother found the recipe in the same magazine or newspaper. 

Thank you Alice King of Nevada, Ohio. 

I got my shelf stable whipping cream on my field trip to Trader Joe's along with six boxes of the Trader Joe's Chocolate Peppermint bread mix.  I need to make a return trip, we already had one loaf this morning with the grandkids. 

And I found petit fours! I did not check the date and they expire tomorrow so we ate one box as after school snack today and I guess we will have another tea party after school tomorrow.  That was not my original plan, lol. 

Memory Monday 3

If you were here last Monday, I introduced you to myself Mary, my Aunt Mary, my Great Grandmother Mary, plus an Anne and two Sarahs. This week we are looking back at my paternal grandmothers. 

My dad's paternal family came here from Germany in 1870, his maternal family came here from Germany in the 1850's.  Both sides settled in the county to the west of us. More "stayers".  

My grandfather's family has kept up with the relatives in this country and in Germany to this day and actually has organized the family as a 501c3. Under that they have incorporated the family home, which is now a bed and breakfast, and the little church across the street which is used for family weddings. There is a reunion every summer, a quarterly newsletter, every other year there is a trip to Germany, the off year German relatives come here.  The family history has been published as a two volume set.  I am not joking.  

However my grandfather's father died when he was an infant and he was raised by his maternal grandmother. He never had any family photos of his dad's side of the family and was not active with the cousins, etc.  

My grandmother was part of a big farm family on the far side of the other county. When I joined ancestry I found that the big extended family all took DNA tests and there are very detailed family trees for everyone.  

Here are the photos, lol. 

This is my grandmother Mary (yes, another Mary) posing with my father. He was over a decade younger than his brothers who were in business with his dad. He was very close to his mother.  She passed away the year I was born. 

Here is another photo of my grandmother which was unmarked. 

This is great grandfather's mother who came here from Germany and her name is Johannette Katrina Christiana but was sometimes called . . . Mary! 

My grandfather's mother was widowed when he was 18 months old.  She and her father both died in the influenza epidemic and he was raised by his maternal grandmother Isabell.  Here is a family photo after his father's death, my great-great grandparents Isabell, and Jacob, my grandfather and my great grandmother Maud. Isabell's Mennonite family came to Ohio from Pennsylvania. 

And here is the only photo I have of my great grandmother Mary, mother of my paternal grandmother Mary.  I texted a member of the family who had done all the DNA testing to see if anyone had a photo (because photos are my favorite) and this was the only one they shared. 

This Mary's mother was Amelia Mary and her husband's mother was Maria, which counts as another Mary to me, lol. 

I don't have many photos from my dad's side of the family, but I will end with a funny one that I have shared before. It's my paternal grandfather with his two wives. 

His brother in-law Charles is on the left, my grandfather, my grandmother Mary and Charles's wife Helen on the right.  Charles died of cancer about two years before Mary died of a heart condition and about two years after that my widowed grandfather married his widowed sister in-law Helen. 

Skip this - it's sad.

 

It was a normal weeknight. I opened my computer to Facebook and saw the posts "pray for these babies", "oh, sweet jesus pray".  I knew it was bad. I had no idea how bad.

A young lady was in an abusive situation. Her husband told her he was working out of town. She made arrangements with the father of her seven year old to help move her new baby, the little boy and herself out of the house. 

He did not go out of town. He came to the house where he shot and killed her first husband, shot his own baby three times in the head, shot the seven year old three times, and despite the pleas of the mother to just shot her, shot himself in the head.  The little boy was rushed to the hospital where he died. 

The community is devastated. Everyone has a connection to the family. My youngest daughter used to teach with the little boy's grandmother. She told me she is a mimi like me; was always planning activities with all her grandchildren. 

The young man that was killed was her son. He was lauded by all former classmates and co-workers. He was always willing to help anyone and coached all the teams that his little boy belonged to.  

And the baby. How could someone shoot their baby? 

Then last night was the Christmas parade in a nearby village. The parade started and the last few participants were getting ready to go. A truck went to pull forward and the brakes went out. He was able to steer away from hitting a float of children head-on but did hit the corner, then careened into another vehicle also pulling a float. A woman was caught in between vehicles and was life-flighted. One woman was transported with an arm injury. At least 15 children were evaluated at the scene, but were just "shaken up". The driver of the original truck is devastated; the state patrol have stated that preliminary investigation is showing a malfunction of the truck. 

The parade was cancelled, they did still have Santa available for children and lit the village tree. And said a prayer for everyone affected in this accident.  

It's been a rough week in these parts. 

Meanwhile

I promise I will stop posting just memories soon. I am still overwhelmed by the bathroom project. We started ordering and purchasing a year ago and I had such a vision. And, as with most home improvement projects, there have been challenges. I also have an OCD/ADHD brain so the distribution of the project to every room in my house, the boxes and tools and stuff, the proliferation of people all over the place, and a problem at every turn is making my brain hurt.

The bathroom is fine. I am obsessing on details. It is not going to be exactly as I pictured. There are going to be things I wanted to be slightly different. It is a bathroom. It is not a palace. It is a bathroom. I just need to take a deep breath.

Yesterday I was supposed to go to a luncheon at the Board of Elections. I didn't.

Today, to get my mind off the project, I was joining a group of senior resistors in holding up banners from a bridge over a highway near my house. I do have a shower but I can't use it because they are working on a sink cabinet. It's cold, I get dizzy with heights (is that enough excuses?). I texted I couldn't make it and they told me that they had to move the location due to some rules or law or something. Whew.

Tomorrow I AM leaving the house. My former glass class members are doing the road trip to Trader Joe's and I AM going.

Meanwhile.

Wishing my parents an early Happy 70th Wedding Anniversary in heaven. They were married on November 24, 1955 (which was Thanksgiving morning) at St Paul Catholic Church and a breakfast reception at the country club followed. Thanksgiving was a compromise because my grandfather did not want to close his jewelry store on a Saturday so close to Christmas. Forever my dad thought his anniversary was Thanksgiving day regardless of the date.

I Might Have a Problem

It's been very disorganized and chaotic around here with the bathroom reconstruction project.  I have been trying to stay out of the way.

Last week I took a friend I met in fifth grade out for a monumental birthday lunch. She picked Red Lobster. 

They have special Christmas cocktails and we chose the Snowball Sangria. Delicious!

I shared this photo of the cocktail on Facebook. 

Then I was planning a lunch date with two friends from junior high. They voted to go to Red Lobster. 

And of course we ordered the Sangria Snowglobe. 

One of my friends was sorting paperwork and came across this old clipping of me! That was several decades ago. 

How many more Sangria Snowglobes might it take until this bathroom is finished? 

Memory Monday 2

Before I start with new memory photo, I want to share how I know so many details about my veterans. And the rest of my family.

I come from a family of "stayers". Other than my Revolutionary War sixth great grandfather, everyone lived in my county and was buried here, either by immigration or migration.  It makes researching your family history so much easier when all the records are 1.5 miles away at the county courthouse. I also have access to a library that has all the newspapers from my county beginning in 1834 available online to search.  I feel like a cheater compared to most family history researchers. 

Now to my second group of memories. Photo memories are my favorite. I think it is because two of my grandparents were orphaned as children and they didn't have any family photos to pass down. 

The second night of my first genealogy class we were learning how to use Ancestry dot com.  I put in the name of my 2nd great grandmother and this photo came up. 

I said, well this is wrong, that is my grandmother. I don't know if you can see the resemblance in the photo below, but my grandmother really resembled her grandmother in real life. 

This is a photo of my mother, my oldest daughter, me holding my youngest daughter and my grandmother who was in her 90's.  The photo would have been taken in the mid 1980's. 

The only photo of my grandmother's mother was this family photo I found on Ancestry. I was not sure which of the six sisters was my great grandmother. She died when my grandmother was about 10 years old. 

Our local Facebook page had people post photos of old houses around town. A local resident posted a photo of a house from about 1930 with a woman she identified by name on the porch as her grandmother. I commented that I think your grandmother was my grandmother's sister! 

This lead to her coming to my house with a rubbermaid tub of family photos. Unfortunately this is the only one we can identify for sure as my great grandmother.  Her copy of this photo had names on the back! 

My great grandmother is the first daughter seated on the left side of the photo. This photo was taken in the year before she died and I think she looks much older than her siblings. I believe she was ill and they wanted a family photo before she died.

And to take a further step backwards, this is the first woman's mother - my 3rd great grandmother! She was born in New York in 1816 and was living in my county with her family by the time her brother was born in 1824. They were one of the "First Families" of my county.

Now you have meet me, Mary, my mom (whose sister was Mary), my grandmother Ann, my great grandmother Mary, my 2nd great grandmother Sarah and my 3rd great grandmother Sarah. 

I come from a family who likes to share names and live in one location.