It has definitely been awhile. I must get back to keeping this going! Tonight there is a challenge from Linda Stufflebean who sent in an update to her "December Meme" from last year to Genea-Musings by Randy Seaver.

 Here are the 20 Questions:

1.  What is one genea-accomplishment in 2023 of which you are proud? Participating in the premier of the MyHeritage Wiki by providing a page on lineage societies. I am now proof-reading and editing other pages that are ready to post.

2.  Which (realistic) genea-gift would you most appreciate this year? Finding the ancestors of my my 2nd great-grandfather, John H. Kilmer

3.  What item on your not-so-realistic wish list for Santa would you most appreciate this year Finding more information on my Werner/Sprengle lines from East Prussia.

4.  Have you written any genea-books (with mostly text) to give as holiday gifts? No, but I am working on one.

5.  Have you created any photo family history books to give as holiday gifts? Not this year, but I have made family calendars for both my family lines and my late husband's lines.

6.  What is your favorite holiday main course food? Ham and potato salad

7.   What is your favorite holiday dessert? All of them but particularly fond of my black cherry jello and fruit bowl. Or pecan pie.

8.  Which food do you eat too much during the holidays? Always cookies

9.  Share a favorite holiday memory. My husband played Santa Claus for our children when they were younger. He made a personal visit on Christmas morning to 3 sleepy children. As they came down the stairs, they saw Santa putting presents under the tree. Santa was able to stay for pictures but had to finish his route. As the children were in the dining room finding other presents, Santa would leave by the front door with a Ho-Ho-Ho - Merry Christmas and jingle his bells. Shortly after dad would come downstairs to see what was all the noise about It was always - Dad, You missed Santa again! My girls were 12 and 13 before they realized who Santa was. It was the best of times.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohmiHEWXOrw

 

10.  Have you continued any ethnic food or cultural activities that have been passed down through the family? We had no particular activities. We created our own by always closing our pocket doors on Christmas Eve and lighting candles with the soft glow of the Christmas tree. A time of peace and quiet.

11.  Do you prefer warm sunshine or snow on Christmas Day? A light coating of snow.

12.  Did you break through any brick walls in 2023? Yes! I found the correct maiden name of my 2nd great-grandmother who married John H Kilmer. Her maiden name was Sarah Raught.

13.  Do you have a 2023 genea-goal which could have been accomplished, but over which you’ve procrastinated or from which you’ve been distracted? Working on my book about the Werner family

14.  Have you ever gone holiday caroling? Yes

15.  Do you have any favorite holiday decorations? I have a nice collection of Santa Claus. I also like musical decorations. I just divided our early ornaments from 1960 to my 3 children.

16.  Who is the singer you most enjoy listening to during the holiday season? I don't know that I have a favorite singer - I prefer the instrumentals.

17.  Have there been any Christmas Day calamities that you remember? Not that I remember

18.  If Santa invited you to hitch a ride in his sleigh, where would you like him to drop you off? Prescott, AZ to see my sister and other family there.

19.  If you had to choose right this minute – which ancestor would you most like to meet? Choose an ancestor about whom you’ve researched in 2023. My maternal great-grandmother, Augusta Sprengel who came to America from East Prussia with a 2 year old and a 2 week old! She suffered greatly on the voyage over, but survived with the help of other passengers.

20.  Share one of your 2024 genealogy goals. To finish my book on my Werner/Sprengel family.

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks - Week 2 - Challenge

Not quite sure what direction to take with this prompt. All of our genealogical research is a challenge. Of course, there are more extreme challenges with some of our ancestors than with others. One of my greater challenges was in finding the sister of my great-great grandfather Karl Wilhelm (Charles William) Pfeiffer.

The family story was that Charles and a sister, Barbara, came to the United States from Germany. The problem was, nobody knew anything else about Barbara!

In the summer of 2003, Ancestry.com had been adding newspapers to their databases.  It was accessible by paid subscription and I had access to this information as part of my subscription.  One day, while searching for anything related to the name of Pfeiffer, I ran across the obituary for Charles William Pfeiffer from 1907 in The Elyria Republican from Lorain County, OH.  The clues in the obituary sent me out on a whirlwind internet trail to find his sister, Barbara.

Clue Number 1:  The Obituary 

From The Elyria Republican, Elyria, OH 2 May 1907:

Charles William Pfeifer was born in Wurtemburg, Germany, August 13, 1832.  He, with his sister, Barbara, came to this country at the age of eighteen and landed in Cleveland, where he made his home for several years.  He was married to Sophia Rugger of Grafton, Ohio, May 28, 1859.  To them were born nine children and thirty grandchildren.  One son and grandson died in infancy; one granddaughter at the age of ten.  He moved to Grafton Ohio in March 1863, where he lived on his farm for forty-four years.  In the fall of 1896, he lost everything by fire and since then began to fail in health.  He was a member of the Belden Methodist Episcopal church for thirty years where he joined by letter.  He leaves a wife, six sons and two daughters and twenty-eight grandchildren, by whom he will always be missed.  A peculiar coincidence is to mention the death of his sister, Barbara March 14, and who was buried on the day of his death, March 16, 1907.  The funeral services were held in the M E church conducted by his pastor Rev. Thistle.

At the urging of my ever-present guiding forces, I went to the Cleveland Necrology Files at  http://www.cpl.org/LinksLibrary.  Having used this website before, it was only a hope and a prayer that I would find anything.  I only knew her first name – I had no clue what her last name was.  So, I entered the name Barbara.  Of course, there were many Barbara’s that came up.  The website allows you to sort by date, so I proceeded to do that.  Well, that certainly helped – only two Barbara’s came up for March of 1907.  One lived in Cleveland and one lived in Louisville, KY

Id#: 0041543

Name: Bucher, Barbara Ann

Date: March 12, 1907

Source: Source unknown;  Cleveland Necrology File, Reel #011.

Notes: Bucher-Barbara Ann, widow of the late Theodore and sister of Mrs. Frank Mack, entered into rest after a lingering illness, Saturday afternoon, aged 71 years. Funeral from her late residence, 7508 Carnegie ave. (416 E. Prospect, old no.), Tuesday at 10:30 a. m. Friends invited. Burial private. Canton and Akron papers please copy.

This Barbara’s ages does not match the time frames involved, nor are any of the names familiar.

Id#: 0177936

Name: Kerbel, Barbara

Date: March 20, 1907

Source: Source unknown; Cleveland Necrology File, Reel #044.

Notes: Kerbel-Barbara, entered into rest Thursday, March 14, 1907, at 4 a. m., aged 80 years, at son's residence, 404-1/2 E. Chestnut St., Louisville, Ky. Funeral Saturday morning from residence. Burial private. No Flowers.

Aha, a BARBARA aged 80 – well the age is right. Now that name, Kerbel  - where have I seen that name? It is so very familiar to me.

Clue Number 2:  An old photo

A few years ago, a cousin, Janice Pfeiffer Sprenkle, gave me a scrapbook of pictures and other information from her side of the family.  I had copied all the information and made my own scrapbook from that information.  There was a picture in that scrapbook of two people, in KY and on the back it said “cousins”.  I had no clue who these people were or where they belonged, or if they indeed were “cousins”.  But, as all genealogists know, no clue is too small or too big.

I got out the copy of the scrapbook and found the picture of LIZZIE AND CARL KERBEL of Louisville, KY.  Oh my gosh!  Can this be related to the Barbara in the obituary?  Is it possible I may have found her after 150 years?   Don’t let yourself get too excited; you have a lot to prove yet, I said to myself.

(On the back of this picture is written)

Cousin Lizzie Kerbel & son Carl

At their home in Louisville, KY  Sept 4, 1937

During the flood, water was 5-½ ft deep on street – government boats went up and down the street and took people supplies.  Was shut in for about 2 weeks.

My aunt, Norma Werner Kraps, had often said that her grandfather, my great-grandfather, Henry Pfeiffer, son of Charles William, made several trips to Kentucky to visit relatives in the 1930’s.  He would take the train, but she never knew whom he went to see or where he went.  I have seen pictures of Pfeiffers in a quarry type picture from Kentucky, but there was no identification otherwise to the picture.

Additional clues from the Internet:

I went to Ancestry.com to see what I could find on the surname of KERBEL.

1. Ancestry.com has a database of Kentucky death records.  In checking that out.  I found:

Kerbel, Carl F (This may be Barbara’s grandson), Volume: 61,Certificate:30421,

Death Date: 8 November 1971, Death Place: Jefferson, Age: 85. Residence: Jefferson

Kerbel, Charles J (Is this the son of Barbara), Volume: 5. Certificate: 2461

 January, 1929, Death Place: Jefferson, Age: 67, Residence: Jefferson

Kerbel, Elizabeth M (Is this Lizzie-Carl J’s wife?), Volume: 37, Certificate:18341

Death Date: 20 August, 1943, Death Place: Jefferson, Age: 082, Residence: Jefferson

Kerbel, Margaret   (Is this Carl F’s wife?), Volume: 18, Certificate: 8528, Death Date: 9 April, 1971

Death Place: Jefferson, Age: 67, Residence: Jefferson  

2.  In a family tree submitted to www.genealogy.com, there is a Carl Kerbel born about 1884, that married a Margaret Zurfluh and appeared to have married in Louisville, KY.  If I go back to the Kentucky Death Records, we see that a Margaret Kerbel died in 1971.

3.   Going back to the Cleveland Necrology files, I found:

Id#: 0177937 Name: Kerbel, C. Joseph

Date: Jan 23 1929

Source: Source unknown;  Cleveland Necrology File, Reel #044.

Notes: Kerbel-C. Joseph, at the residence, 1322 1st Street, Louisville, Ky., 10:15 Tuesday, morning, age 67years. Services at the chapel of Mass Bros., Louisville, Ky., Thursday, Jan 24, at 2 p. m.

This is definitely looking promising at this point.  Now, let me see if I can find a marriage license in Cuyahoga County for Barbara Pfeiffer. Many Probate Courts are adding information to their websites, and I knew that Cuyahoga County had an index of old marriages.

4.  By going to the Cuyahoga County Probate Court records (http://probate.cuyahogacounty.us/ml/pa.urd/mliw1000.display), I found the following:

PFEIFFER, BARBARA (Bride)     HINDERER, HEINREICH(Groom)

Vol. 9, Page 189, Line 44

This says that Barbara Pfeiffer and Heinreich Hinderer were married between 1810 and 1960.  Does this mean that Barbara was married to somebody else first? Another possible  mystery to solve?

Looking under the surname KERBEL, I found:

KERBEL, JOSEPH(Groom)         BRESSMAN, MARIA T(Bride)            Vol. 9, Page 189, Line 55

Since neither of these two marriage records showed the spouse that I was looking for, was I to believe that perhaps there was a second marriage for both?  Or perhaps, were the records not transcribed properly, as we note that both marriages are in the same volume and on the same page, only lines apart from each other.

5.  Meanwhile, in the LDS records at www.familysearch.org, I found:

KERBLE, Joseph married Barbara PFEIFFER on December 5, 1858 in Cuyahoga County.  This record is documented with  Batch No M514233 and   Source Call No 0877914 V. 6-9.  This record has been microfilmed from the original source.  Now, this seems more reliable.

6.  Now, on to the Census Records.

In looking at the 1860 Census for Ohio, in Cuyahoga Co.,  I found:  Charles Pfeifer age 28 – no occupation – born in Wuerttemburg, with Sophia age 24 also born in Wuerttemburg, and Frederick 3 months old born in Ohio.  But, I find no Barbara Pfeiffer or Barbara Kerbel.

I cannot locate Barbara’s family on the 1870 Census.

   

On the 1880 Census in Cuyahoga County we find:  KERPEL, Joseph, 54 Husband-Married-Laborer, born in Holland; his wife, Barbara age 53, born in Holland; son, Joseph age 19 born in OH; and son Frederick age 16 born in OH.

Now, the only problem with this is that it shows Barbara as being born in Holland as were her parents.  This is an error if this is the right family – and I am sure that it is.  It would also indicate that they were most likely living in Ohio up to this time.

On the 1900 Census from New York, New York County I found:

KERBEL, Charles J – Head , born April 1861 in OH, parents both born in Germany; Elizabeth, wife, born February 1861 Isle of Guernsey-as were her parents; son, Carl born Dec. 1885 in OH; daughter, Madaline born April 1888 in OH. Again, no Barbara Kerble is found        

Charles is a Stationary Engineer.  Elizabeth immigrated to the US in 1870 and has lived in the US for 30 years.  They rent a house at 677 E. 134^th St.

In the 1920 Kentucky Census I found:  Kerbel, C. Joseph , Age:  58, Birthplace:  OH, County:  JEFFERSON, Locale:  6-WD; LOUISVILLE; 37-PCT;  Living at 1322 First – Louisville, KY;  KERBEL, C. Joseph – 58,       Mary E age 58 and Carl age 33.

The information from the 1900 Census matches as to birth locations.  It states that Carl at 33 is single.  It also states that Mary E immigrated in 1869 and is a Naturalized Citizen.  C. Joseph is an officer for a Consumer Co., and Carl is a foreman in a machine shop.

To this point, my internet search has taken about 2 hours.

7.  The next step would be to order copies of the death certificates from the Commonwealth of Kentucky.  I put off ordering the death certificates for various reasons until early in 2005.  I ordered the death certificates of Barbara’s son, Charles Joseph; Carl, his son; and Elizabeth Kerbel.

After speculating for almost 2 years, and waiting another 8 weeks for the death certificates, upon receipt of the death certificates, it indeed verified that Barbara Pfeiffer was the mother of Charles Joseph Kerbel.

Barbara was no longer lost to the family.  After 150 years, she was found. 

The next confirmation of this was from a book of records from the Emmanuel E & R Church in Valley City, Ohio compiled by Paul Hartman.  This church was established in 1838 and the index is for the years 1847-1920.  In 1869, this church was re-constructed and among the 40 members supporting this was Karl Pfeifer.

In looking through the index of this church record, I found that in 1860, the first son of Karl Wilhelm and Sophie Pfeiffer, Frederick, was born and baptized.  Barbara and Joseph Kerbl were the second and third godparents.  Sophia’s sister, Friederike, was the 4^th godparent.  Sophie’s uncle, Paul Reutter (Ruegger) was the first godparent.  Another confirmation that Barbara married a Kerbl  (Kerbel) and was still in northeast Ohio.

As yet another confirmation that this is the correct Barbara Pfeiffer, in September, 2005 I found the following newspaper article from The Elyria Chronicle of March 20, 1907:

Mr. Will Pfeifer’s father died Saturday morning.  He and his sister came to this country from Germany some years ago and she lived in Louisville, KY.  She was buried Saturday, the date of his death.

There are still pieces of the puzzle missing, however.  What happened to Barbara’s grand-daughter, Madaline that appears on the 1900 Census?  What happened to Frederick Kerpel from the 1880 Census?  Where are Barbara and her family on other census records?  Those are still puzzles to solve another day.

So, never discard a photo, read the obituaries, scour the internet and have lots of patience!  You never know what you will find or where you will find it.  Perhaps even you can solve your family mysteries.

Margaret Lance Cheney

Originally written 17 September 2005

 

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge: Week 1 - FIRST

I have had an interest in my family's history since I was in high school. My mother's sister had created an outline of their side of the family on their mother's side. It was mostly names and dates, but listed great-grandparents down to my generation. On my father's side, there had been a rough outline made that went back to my dad's great-great grandfather.

Through the years, my dad's parents always said they were probably 5th or 6th cousins. In 1998, I decided to find out exactly what that relationship was. In taking that step, it created many, many firsts for me.

My paternal grandparents, Flossie Elizabeth Wallington and Vernon Lance

I went to the Medina Library to start my research. I had no clue what I was looking for or even where to look for it. My grandparents were both born in Medina County so I felt that was the obvious place to look. I did find some books written by Sharon Kraynek Beachy that were newspapers snippits from different years. I was busily taking notes. I did not have a cell phone to take pictures. After awhile, a lady came in to the genealogy room and started pulling microfilm rolls. She knew what she was doing! Of course, we got to talking, and I told her I was researching the Lance and Halliwill/Halliwell names. She said, "Oh, there's lots of those around!" She gave me the names of 3 or 4 people to contact while we were talking. Before she left, she gave me her business card - she was Sharon Kraynek Beachy! I went home and started calling the names she had given me. Each one of them said, "But, you need to talk to the lady in Michigan." So, I called the lady in Michigan. Her husband was a Lance. She knew immediately who I was talking about and inquiring about. She asked if she could call me back in a few minutes because she had to get her 4 inch thick book. I said certainly.

Before she called me back, I knew back to my great-great grandparents on my dad's side. There was some uncertainty about my 2nd great grandmother's maiden name as she was listed as Sarah Lance in everyone's records. When Rosemary Lance called me back, within a very few minutes, she had me back to my 4th great-grandfather! I was in heaven. She then offered to send me the pages of the book that pertained to my family. And, within a few days they arrived in the mail. I was getting hooked in this thing called genealogy!

 One find lead to another find. Was I destined to be the next family historian? Information and pictures and other things seemed to flow to me. Within the first year, I obtained so many things that I felt like I needed to put an addition on the house for a museum.

My mother's grandmother's wedding nightgown

I finally decided that I needed to join a group that was involved in genealogy. I found the Lorain County Chapter of the Ohio Genealogical Society which was local to me. I joined the group wanting to know that I was doing my genealogy the right way and to learn more about how to do it. Within the first year with this chapter, I was asked to be president. Hey, wait a minute - I'm new to this stuff, what do I know about being a president? After giving it some thought, I agreed. The first year was a real challenge for me. I did not like public speaking, my knees shook when I was in charge of the meetings, I could not eat on the day of a meeting. I had to make sure everything was just right. I served 2 terms (4 years) as president. By the end of that time, I could eat and even take a nap the afternoon before the meeting! I went on to serve another term as president and have served as their treasurer, and am currently their webmaster.

Meanwhile, I started working on my family in earnest. I had also become a member of the Medina Genealogical Society, in Medina, Ohio. They were just starting their lineage societies. I worked on my paperwork to be accepted. There were a few things I still had to learn. Donna Gruber was the lineage chair for the society. She was a certified genealogist and very detailed in what she expected. My main shortfall was a lack of source citations. I didn't know about them! Remember, I was still new to this. But, I sure learned in a hurry! I had the documents, but not necessarily the source information and I did a lot of backtracking to obtain that very information. It is now my priority to source anything I find so it saves me from the backtracking I had to do before.

Being involved with the Medina Genealogical Society, I was asked to be their president. I accepted. For awhile, I was president of both Lorain and Medina at the same time. Both chapters grew and prospered.

At the time I became president of the Lorain County Chapter, there was a representative from the Ohio Genealogical Society called a District Trustee. She was in charge of the Cleveland District encompassing 5 counties: Lorain, Medina, Cuyahoga, Ashtabula, and Lake. Her name was Jean Barnes. Jean was there from the beginning. She always said she thought she was going to have to scoop me off the floor during my very first meeting of being in charge. I think it came close.

As my friendship developed with Jean, she took me under her wing. Little did I know what she was actually grooming me for. She took me to other meetings within the Cleveland District. I learned so much from that experience. I met new people, I learned new things. Always learning. Ultimately, Jean was grooming me to replace her as the Cleveland District Trustee. The first step was become a Trustee for the Ohio Genealogical Society. Now, it is getting serious. Upon election as a trustee, I also was asked to be Membership Chair for the society. I agreed, but have to admit, I didn't accomplish much in that position. I changed to Education Chair. Much better. I joined other committees. My biggest joy was being on the planning committee for the building of the new Samuel D. Isaly Library of the Ohio Genealogical Society. How totally gratifying to see everything come together to create one of the finest genealogical libraries around. Eventually, I ran for first vice-president of OGS. I debated long and hard about running for president. I finally felt the time was right to do so and in 2014 I was sworn in to the office of president by Jean Barnes. It has been a humbling and gratifying experience. The horizons expanded beyond my expectations.

Another member of the board when I first joined was Susan Zacharias. Susan encouraged me to go to a FGS conference with her. We went to Springfield, IL for that illuminating experience. She introduced me to many of the national speakers and others involved in FGS. It was at this conference I met for the first time, George G. Morgan and Drew Smith. They ended up having supper with Sue and I one night and a life-long friendship has resulted.

George G. Morgan was the chair of the membership committee for FGS at that time. He asked me to serve. I did serve for about a year and a half. Thank you, George, for that opportunity.

I am currently the lineage chair for Lorain County. I am also the lineage chair for First Families of Ohio, where applicants have to prove their family was in Ohio prior to 1820. I created Century Families of Ohio for the Ohio Genealogical Society. For Lorain County, our family is the only family currently with 4 generations in their lineage groups. A very proud accomplishment.

But wait, let's go back to the beginning of this story. I wanted to find out the true relationship of my dad's parents, remember? It turns out that they were full 3rd cousins. The Lances and the Halliwills/Halliwells intertwined from the time of my 3rd great-grandparents. Each set of 4th great-grandparents had 12 children. They were neighbors. I actually have 3 sets of great-great grandparents that were 1st cousins. My 2nd great-grandfather, John Lance married his 1st cousin, Sarah Lance. So, her maiden name was her married name.

When I started on this journey, I said that I was on a path and I did not know where it was going to take me, but I was going to enjoy the journey. I have so enjoyed this journey. And, I have to really thank everyone that has a part in making it happen. I couldn't have done it without you! I am still following the path.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DEAR SISTER

My sister, Gloria was born when I was one year, one month and one day old. My parents were living in a very small trailer and my dad was working 3rd shift. My dad was 29 and my mom was 23. 

When we were 2 and 3, my parents bought a home in Elyria, OH that we lived in until we got married. In 1961 my parents sold their home to my mother's sister and her family and they still own the home. In 1945 another sister joined the family and in 1956 our brother joined the family. In 1961 our parents moved to Prescott, Arizona for new adventures. But, that's another story.

Being the "middle" child after 1945, there were times that Gloria and my younger sister sided together, and there were times that Gloria and I sided together. Rarely was it all 3 girls on the same page!

We attended Ely School which was one block from our house. Back in "those" days, we got an hour and a half for lunch and we could go home for lunch. Often, one of our teachers joined us as they were also friends of the family.                                                                      

Gloria learned to play the violin, the flute, and the piano. Gloria was an avid reader. In high school she was in band, and so was I. Oh the fun we had. Summer band camp was held at the grade school at the end of our street. It was easy for us to get to. Gloria also loved art and art projects. Of course, our mother was a creative person and she always encouraged our endeavors. Mom just didn't teach us how to cook or sew - those were her domains!

There are many memories of family vacations in our homemade camping trailer. Favorite destinations were Arizona and Colorado, but we saw a great deal of the United States from the Smokey Mountains to New England (somehow missed Washington, D.C.); from Niagra Falls to the Minnesota iron ranges; from the Dakotas to the Ozarks.

In the summer of  1961, Gloria married her high school sweetheart. They had two sons together. The family lived in Lorain, Ohio - Elyria, Ohio - and Prescott, Arizona.In 1971 her husband was killed while walking late at night. In 1977, their oldest son was killed in a tragic motorcycle accident in Prescott, Arizona.

As a single mother, she did the best she could do for her sons. She bought a home and held different jobs from waitressing to home care.

To create a fresh start, she moved to California. She certainly had new adventures while she was there. She eventually found a great job working with children who were physically and mentally challenged. She lived in Orange County and not that far from the Pacific Ocean. My husband and I visited her and certainly enjoyed the area.

When our mother suddenly died in 1999, new choices were once again presented. Gloria ended up buying mom's mobile home and property from the estate. She moved a new modular home on to the lot and has spent a great deal of time and love in making it a beautiful place to live.

She is now closer to her youngest son and his family -   3 granddaughters, and 4 great-granddaughters. She is a nanny for a young professional family and those kids are her second family.

Happy 74th Birthday to my sister, Gloria!

My Dad - Wayne Lance

 January 2, 2017 - Today, my dad would have been 103 - Jiminy Cricket wanted to live to be 103 - so did my dad! Dad died in 2012 at the age of 98+. My dad shared his birthday with his father, who was 28 at the time dad was born. My dad was 28 when I was born.

Wayne Lance born 2 January 1914

 

Born in Homerville, Ohio, his parents were older when he was born. He remained an only child until he was 14 years old and his parents adopted a baby girl they named Mildred.

 Wayne Lance High School graduation picture

 Four generations - Margaret being held by great-grandmother Carrie Lance, with grandfather, Vernon Lance and dad, Wayne Lance about 1943

 Wayne Lance

I have mentioned before that dad was a musician for most of his life. He played various instruments including the trumpet, guitar, ukulele, harmonica, piano and organ. After he graduated from high school, he went to Chicago to attend the Sherwood Music School. His dream was to be a music teacher in the public schools. After a year at Sherwood, it became financially impossible for him to continue. He returned to Ohio and found factory work. He maintained his musical ambitions to a point by playing in small dance bands and for private affairs. He became a church organist for several churches during his life. At the age of 95 he was playing his organ at a local coffee shop in Prescott, AZ.

Dad was 25 when he married my mother, Allene. He was 7 years older than she was. They had met at a school musical function. My parents were married for 39 years before they divorced. They had 4 children; me, Gloria, Janet and when I was 14, my brother, David, was born.

Dad worked at a foundry in Spencer, OH when I was born. He had worked at Eagle Rubber in Ashland, OH making balloons. My dad had no sense of smell. But he said he could smell the ammonia fumes from the large vats the balloons were dipped in to. By 1945 my parents were living in Elyria, OH and bought a home on Lafayette St. Dad was working for Romec Pump - later Lear-Seigler - as a tool and die machinist.

 

When I was 5, my dad started teaching me how to play the piano. I continued to play and take lessons until I graduated from high school. I can remember sitting at the piano that was sitting in the middle of the room, as they were removing wallpaper in the living room. Dad tried teaching my sisters, but they weren't as in to it. We all played other instruments, though. I played clarinet and bassoon, Gloria played flute and violin, Janet played trumpet and violin, and our brother David learned piano/keyboard and guitar. (My mother had played the violin and piano as well).

From the late 1940's to the late 1950's our summer vacations were marvelous adventures.

Dad built our camping trailer from a blueprints he ordered from a magazine. I have the original blueprints. This camping outfit took us to the Smokey Mountains, to New England in to Canada. To upper Michigan, down through Wisconsin and the Wisconsin Dells, to Minnesota and the iron-ore ranges; to North and South Dakota. We saw Mt. Rushmore and the new sculpture of Chief Crazy Horse that was just starting to be made. Many of our trips were to the southwest and to Colorado. We all loved Colorado. We rode the Durango-Silverton Railroad; we climbed the ladders and trails in Mesa Verde. We crossed the bridge at the Royal Gorge and rode the little train with signs that said "Deadwood Ahead". Sure enough, there was a pile of dead wood! We rode the incline at the Royal Gorge. We went to the top of Pike's Peak. We camped at Dinosaur National Park. We camped at the Grand Canyon and saw the canyon in the light of the full moon. We took a jeep tour of Monument Valley and it touched our hearts as to the life of the Navajos that lived there. They were just starting to build water tanks for water supplies in the mid-1950's. We went to White Sands, New Mexico and to Santa Fe and Albuquerque. We went to Tucson, Phoenix, Sedona and Prescott in Arizona. It was a magical time and we saw so much. Dad loved to travel and see new things.

 

 

In 1961, my dad decided his family was moving to Prescott, Arizona. He left his job at Lear Seigler, 3 years short of full retirement; sold their home to my mother's sister; packed up and headed west. My brother David and my sister Janet went with them. Gloria and I were both married.

Dad never really found a steady job after going to Arizona. He delivered newspapers, he worked as custodian at the local theater, he found playing jobs, he sold organs and pianos, he taught music, he became organist for the First Congregational Church. After my parents divorced, he moved to Cottonwood, Arizona and bought a music store there, but it didn't work out for him.

Dad was married and divorced two more times. My mom never remarried.

Dad was a technical person. He loved new gadgets. He learned to develop his own pictures and had a darkroom in the basement. The little room beside the furnace also was his "radio shack" where he was a ham radio operator K7LRN (lizards, rattlesnacks, navajo). When the computer became affordable, he loved it. He never mastered it, but he could instant message with me from Arizona to Ohio twice a day. When I asked him once what he thought the greatest invention was in his lifetime, he said without hesitation - the computer!

 

I miss our conversations.

 

Happy birthday, Dad!

Lunch with an Ancestor

Fearless Females: 31 Blogging Prompts to Celebrate Women’s History Month.
March 16 — If you could have lunch with any female family member (living or dead) or any famous female who would it be and why? Where would you go? What would you eat?

I know I'm a couple of days late with this one. It took a little thought.

I would go to lunch with my cousin, Lela Carson Johnson Burge. Lela was my dad's half first cousin. Lela's mother and my grandmother were half sisters. Growing up, Lela always told us we were "distantly" related. Hah! She was a special person in our lives and in mine particularly. Lela was also the storyteller in the family circle. We hung on her every word. She lived through the depression. She lived in Colorado and California as well as in Ohio. She lost her only son in a WWII flight training accident. She was a music teacher. She was a grand lady standing not quite 5 foot tall, if that.

I would love to have lunch with her - again - and talk about our family to learn even more. She had insisted that her grandmother had not divorced her first husband to marry a second time. (That is a whole different story). Yet, I did find the divorce record. I would want to know more about her grandmother and her second husband (and the first husband, too) I would love to tell her how much I have learned about our family - the good and the bad. She might be a bit appalled that I found the divorce record, though.

I always thought of her as a third grandma. An overnight at her place was always an experience. Lela lived to be almost 106 years of age. She had a lifetime of stories of her own to tell.

We would go on a picnic in a park with a river or water flowing neaerby. Sandwiches and lemonade with plenty of pickles on the side. Cookies for dessert.

Newsmakers

Fearless Females: 31 Blogging Prompts to Celebrate Women’s History Month.
March 14 — Newsmakers? Did you have a female ancestor who made the news? Why? Was she famous or notorious? Did she appear in the social column?

My mother's sister, Norma Werner Kraps, was an avid bird watcher. When my sisters and I were young, we would go hiking in the local park with the Audubon group to seek out our feathered friends. We learned the calls of the birds, and the colorings and markings of the birds. My aunt could tell from the song she heard what was in the area. She worked with scouting groups and was a guide to many.

In 1958 the Elyria Audobon Society was formed (Ohio) and in 2008, Norma was among a handful of members being recognized for their long-time association with the organization. Norma held all offices in the society.

Her special bird watching apparel was a pink hat and her binoculars. As her eyesight deteriorated due to macular degeneration, she got stronger binoculars until she could only recognize the songs of her feathered friends telling of their presence.

She traveled the United States always alert for new sightings and new adventures.

Thanks, my dear Aunt Norma, for the love of your feathered friends.

Norma Werner Kraps in 2008