Memories and Musings

 This week's Generations Cafe challenge word is POWER. What's the first thing that comes to mind? For me it was CARS. I have pictures of my families cars over the years and there are stories and thoughts about a few of them. I have to say that I may not have the year and model of the old cars correct but I'll be close. Your comments are welcome! The first car in my memory bank is this 1929 Nash. I recall that my Dad and an uncle picked it up for a song and were very proud that they got it running. The car stayed in the family for many years. I remember that when I was about 10 this car got painted red, white, and blue and was in a 4th of July parade. That's my Dad and my Uncle Rick who was just 4 years older than me. This 37 Chevy was our family car for most of my childhood. It probably started out looking pretty good. I think it was gray. But over the years it started to rust so my Dad painted it primer red which is a pretty ugly color. For health reasons the car never...

 Generations Cafe Week 7: Unusual Source My interest in Genealogy probably started with my Mom's desire to keep track of her many siblings and their offspring. She was one of twelve and between them there were 28 cousins who had 46 babies. Mom religiously kept an ongoing record of births and deaths in the family. When my first grandchild was born I realized the value of knowing family history and the desire to pass on this knowledge to the next generations. Computer programs for keeping family records were becoming popular so I started using Family Tree Maker. But I have not been a consistent historian. Every couple of years I get the urge to focus on family history and get lost in the process. I typically look at census and vital records. So, to me, any other source is unusual! This morning I decided to try different sources than the ones found on the Leaf Hints on Ancestry. Newspapers.com is offering free access so I logged in and typed in my Mom's name. Anne Nehls. One of th...

 The Generations 52 week challenge prompt is Valentine. Of course my mind goes to the many, many wonderful and romantic Valentine cards and gifts from my Jim.  But Valentine Day is not always a happy one. That got me to thinking about a favorite movie, Shirley Valentine (1989) so I pulled it up from my movie stock and watched it again. Shirley Valentine-Bradshaw is having a mid-life crisis. She is talking to the wall in her kitchen because her husband and adult children are doing their own thing, taking her for granted and NOT listening to her. When her friend Jane wins a trip for two to Greece and offers the second spot to Shirley she, at first, thinks there's no way she could leave her family to follow her dream of traveling. Then it hits her. They wouldn't miss her anyway! Lessons from Shirley Valentine : Never judge a book by its cover. So true. Shirley meets up with her childhood nemesis, Marjorie Majors who always said she'd be an airline hostess and travel the worl...

  In the kitchen is where the party happens! Our house in Irvine, CA had a large kitchen that opened to a family room so we had a "great" room. The counter in the middle held all the snacks and even though there were many places to sit and visit, inside and out, people always collected in the kitchen around the counter. There were often too many cooks in the kitchen, especially at Thanksgiving. I've been known to take a wooden spoon and chase people out while trying to put the final touches on the turkey and gravy. Then I learned it's best to just give everyone a job! Mash the potatoes, stir the gravy, carve the turkey, whip the cream! Makes life much easier and creates happy memories. While there are a LOT of good cooks in our family I give credit to the 4-H program in Illinois for starting my daughters on the road to good cooking! Two recipes have withstood the tests of time - 4-H Spaghetti Sauce and 4-H Brownies. Daughter Renee has perfected the Spaghetti Sauce whi...

 My Generations Cafe challenge for this week is Favorite Photo. I have thousands of photos! How can I pick one as a favorite? 60 years of photos-35mm, Polaroid, 4 x 6 prints! Lucky me- they are all digitized. When we were living full-time in the RV I spent many long hours scanning slides and pictures. I'm so glad I completed that project. As I think about this collection and about a photo that is meaningful from an ancestry point of view,  my mind keeps coming back to this one. That little girl is me, about 5 years old, and that's my Dad, Jim McDearmid. We lived on a little farmette of 5 acres in Gurnee, Illinois. This was nearing the end of WWII and my parents were striving to provide all they needed for our family following the guidelines  of Five Acres and Independence , a popular book at the time. It was kind of like Noah's Ark with a few of each animal to provide the food we needed, along with a Victory Garden. We had the goats for milk and cheese. I hated goats' m...

 When Otto Edward Weise was born in 1886 his Grandfather, Edward Gottlob Weise, came to see him. Grandpa took one look at the baby and declared, "Otto iss no good name for baby! Ve call him Chim." And thus began the line of Jims (James)  that extends to my Grandson. But wait, maybe that started with my hubby's maternal Great-grandfather born in 1838, and Grandfather, who were both named James Leckie. Of course my husband was named James! And then there is my side. My father, James Gardner McDearmid, was named after his Grandfather, James Gardner, born in 1839. I avoided marrying any Tom, Dick or Harry and found myself a Jim. We married in 1959. Our first baby was a girl so luckily we didn't name her Jamie. But of course we had to honor the ancestors so our son is James Gardner Weise. Not wanting to break with tradition he named his son James Douglas, after two Grandfathers. If old Edward Gottlob were living he would probably say, "Vas dis? Dere iss too miny Chim...

 I thought a lot about who or what would qualify as a family legend for the Generations Challenge. Then I looked up the definition. "A legend is someone who leaves behind an unforgettable impression on others." My maternal Grandmother, Iva Mae Lane Quist, immediately came to my mind. I'm sure my 27 cousins who called her Grandma would agree. Grandma Quist (Iva) was born in Iowa in 1899 to Elmer Lane and Myrtle Lovett Lane (more about her later). The census records say that Iva lived on a General Farm. She was one of 14 children. Lots of farmhands to do chores!  When Iva was 18 she married Carl Quist who was supposed to be watching out for Iva while her boyfriend, Carl's brother John, went off to war. Iva must have been a "hot" gal but but she was also a tough woman.  Carl was a coal miner. As the story goes, Iva was worried about him doing this kind of labor which was dangerous and not steady work. So after the birth of 3 girls she got the family moving to ...