Not my grandmother's DAR anymore!

The first post here under the Nut Tree about the DAR, which you can see here, was all about how I came to get interested in the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution, or as everyone usually calls it, the DAR. I was going to now write about the Meet and Greet but first I want to give my impressions of the DAR today. I know that it's early on for me to even have an opinion but sometimes first impressions are more true than not. And I am first to admit that I, along with many others, might have a misconception about the group with out of date images of very proper ladies who always wear white gloves, even to the grocery store, sporting big blue sashes while decked out in, what, maybe hoop skirts. And they never laugh and are always reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. That sure isn't what I found! And I have to say, these ladies laugh. A lot!

Guess I should make it real clear here that I speak for myself alone. This stuff is not approved by anyone, let alone the NSDAR. I'm barely in the door there and my transfer from Member at Large to the local chapter is still working its way through the channels. This is my own deal here and I don't represent anyone or anything. I just think it might be interesting to someone or other what the DAR experience is about for one person. Or maybe not.

And speaking of grandmothers, if my Grandma Kelly would have known about the DAR she would have loved being a part of it. She had, after all, two for-sure Revolutionary War patriots on her own grandmother's side, and that's not counting two more on her grandfather's side that I still need to investigate because they are on the list of DAR's Patriots. So that's potentially four patriots for Grandma Kelly. She would have been so very proud of that. And she would have loved being part of a group of ladies who are interested in their ancestors and work on civic projects. And, she loved to have lunch and listen and talk about history and her community! Yes, she would have just adored the DAR. Sadly, Grandma Kelly didn't know about the DAR and about her ancestors' patriotic past until very late in life but when my Mom told her, she soaked it up!

The question begs asking: can an organization like this be relevant now? I'm thinking that we all believe in the power of people in the community pulling together to help others. We see that within the genealogy community all the time. Here in San Diego, in many ways a military town, there are numerous opportunities to help veterans and their families. But it's just harder to do something really worthwhile for them by yourself except the holiday food drive. And I'm not sure that I would know how to make a difference on my own. I can easily see the greater good in being part of something larger than ones self to help make your community a better place.

So let's float this: is patriotism relevant today? Maybe some people don't have time to even consider this question due to their busy lives. I get that too. But after September 11th, 2001 I never once went back to taking my country for granted. It means something to me. And to be honest, having ancestral lines that go back to the very beginning here feels great. (Not that I'm not equally proud of my recent immigrant ancestors too. They struggled and overcame as well.)

My impression is that things have changed at the DAR, changed with the times and probably for the better. I think I read somewhere that the NSDAR has recently enjoyed a mini boom in inquiries due to their online presence and the wonderful Ancestor Search portal to the patriot listings, which you can access here. You can use it to find out if your ancestor is already listed as one of their Patriots. Just pick an ancestor you think might have been alive during the Revolutionary War and plug in the surname to get instant gratification! And here's a look at the search page, below. It's super easy to use, as you can see.

DAR Ancestor Search screenshot.

Check it out. Go ahead, just plug in a surname and see what happens. Maybe you too have an ancestor who is listed? I run all of the ancestors through this search engine if they were born anywhere near 20 to 30 years before that 1776 date. And remember, some were older and served, some paid a tax in support, and some took a loyalty oath so be inclusive with your ancestor list. And don't forget the little drummer boys too! (Was that actually a thing? I think so.) The American Revolution took a lot of support from a lot of people. Don't forget the ladies because they served as well. Do remember that not all who might qualify are already listed so you could be the first to get your patriot approved. That would be exciting!

I simply can not imagine Grandma using a laptop, although once I did see her in a pants suit. I have to tell you, that was real shocking!

OK, I know that not all the DAR ladies are toting laptops and smart phones and multitasking. There are some who are maybe 30 or 40 years in and are proud that they don't use email. At all. Ever. I get that, and have to say I respect it too. It's real nice when people aren't "run" by their electronic devices. And what genealogical society doesn't have members of long standing that aren't on the email list? Yeah, I don't think my Grandma would have embraced the social network that drives portions of my life. She just loved sitting in her dining room in the corner at the telephone stand talking on the black rotary phone. If we don't respect those who have gone before us, what have we got? I just love the most senior of the DAR ladies for all that they have done. They paved the way.

Another thing that might be different about today's DAR, although I really don't know, is that everyone is so upbeat and kind and energetic. Maybe it was always like that but as I say, I really don't know because I'm new to all this. But I can't even imagine anyone being nicer and more accepting of newcomers. I have the feeling that the pace of the organization now is as swiftly moving as life today itself. I got a feel for just how lovely they are and how willing to help when I lurked on the "Daughters of the American Revolution" Facebook page. Go see for yourself. Here's a recent post there.

 

DAR Facebook page, recent post. Yeah, it's like that there:)

Find the DAR Facebook page here.

And it's all-inclusive: moms, working women, moms who are working outside the home. And retired ladies like myself too. One woman I got to know at the Meet and Greet worked full time and participated in DAR activities as best she could for a bunch of years before she was able to work full DAR chapter participation into her schedule.

And one last thing. Do you remember back when there were rumors and stories about the DAR being elitist? Very exclusive? No? I don't either but I think there might have been an issue back in the 1950s but there were a lot of issues about many aspects of life back in the 1950s and 1960s. Everyone learned and grew in spirit, and that's as it should be.

I have the feeling that it might be a changing world out there in DAR land where tradition is kept and honored while finding modern ways to "be" in the world. And if you think you might like to be a part of it, all you have to do is let them know and you'll get all the help you need.

OK, wanting to help everyone is very much like my Grandma!! Yup, she would have loved it.

Mom and Dad, Grandpop Kelly with Grandma Kelly on the right.

Frostburg, Allegany, Maryland, 1942.

 



The URL for this post is: http://nutsfromthefamilytree.blogspot.com/2014/08/not-my-grandmothers-dar-anymore.html

Why wouldn't you want to know about your ancestors?

I have to confess to not understanding those folks who don't care a fig about getting to know their ancestors. It's so much fun, isn't it? Sure, a lot of hard work and challenges, but fun in the end. Mom's sister Dot had no interest in genealogy even when Mom talked about it and told her stories about their shared ancestors who had interesting lives. On more than one occasion Mom offered to help Dot get started, especially on her husband's Conrad side, but she'd have none of it. Kinda funny because Dot's son and my cousin Steve is an avid genealogist, when he's not playing golf.

I bring this up because recently I asked Mom how she came to have such an impressive collection of family photos. Probably got them from her mother I thought, but wanted to confirm the occasion and circumstances. I was sorting through the photo file while making up an ancestor book for Mom's cousin Bill and thought about how fortunate it is that we have so many pictures of our ancestors. They all had big families and we are missing pictures of some of them but it is surprising how complete her collection is. But how did she get so many?

She told me that after her mother Emma died in 1956 and they were cleaning out the house, Dot took the photos. Dot didn't value them but before throwing them out called Mom to ask if she wanted them. Of course Mom did! It has become a precious family treasure.

Mom kept on adding to her stash over the years and got or copied many more pictures from cousins near and far. They would even call her and say, "I have this box of old family photos in the attic. Do you want them?" Mom always said yes.

Every time I sort through them I notice a new one and today here's the one that jumped out. Why hadn't I noticed it before?

Emma Susan (Whetstone) Williams, Mom's mother, holding Mom.
About 1919.

 

How precious is this photo to me, I can't even say.

 

 

The URL for this post is:  http://nutsfromthefamilytree.blogspot.com/2014/06/why-wouldnt-you-want-to-know-about-your.html

 

A Mother's Day Greeting to Mom

Want to take a moment and send this Mother's Day greeting to my Mom. She's a very special person and a lot of people think so too. A son and daughters, nieces and nephews all think the world of her. That's her in the photo above, holding me, taken in 1947. The relationship you see in that photo is the one we still have.

Today I want to say here what I tell her often, and that's how much I appreciate her genealogy work and how generously she's shared it all with me, teaching me what she knows. It's been her life's work and now, if I'm up to it and God willing, it will be mine too. I stand on the shoulders of a giant.

Happy Mother's Day, Mom!



The URL for this post is: http://nutsfromthefamilytree.blogspot.com/2014/05/a-mothers-day-greeting-to-mom.html

Stories from Mom: My thoughts

Well, you've been reading stories by my Mom, Virginia W. Kelly. I hope that you enjoyed them. Of course we in the family think she's wonderful and know that we're so very lucky to have her stories. But we're even luckier to have her!

As I posted each section and read it once more, I noticed details that I'd previously missed, and I'd like to share my thoughts about them with you now.

 

Mom, Easter, 1942.

Part 1
Spittoon: Mom says that she remembers her grandfather Williams using a spittoon. Does anyone use those anymore? I don't know, but one rarely sees them now except in old movies! It's little details of daily life like this that tickle my fancy.
Kidney failure: Grandfather Williams died of kidney failure. I wonder if he could have been helped by dialysis? So many modern medical advances save us all the time and extend life or outright save it. We are lucky to be living now... or are we? Did we give up anything for it?
The awful uncles: How interesting to read about the awful uncles working jointly to make Mom's young life a torture. I think it hit her so hard because they were much older and simply having a good time but meanwhile they were not protecting her. Uncle Tuck, Mom's admitted favorite, was one of the three. Funny how things work out.
People kept chickens and used them for eggs, meat, feathers and killed them, all at home! I live in Dan Diego, California, and quite recently here the city ordinances about keeping chicken at home changed to allow modest and small urban chicken keeping at home. No roosters! Everyone kept chickens back then and when prosperity and modernization came everyone got rid of smelly, messy chickens and went to the store to buy what they needed.
Distemper and the hunting dog: If a dog got distemper or rabies they had to be shot. Everyone then kept a gun and most still do in those parts. Shooting a sick or lame animal was the most merciful solution.
Sister Evelyn dies of diphtheria: Diphtheria is another disease of yesteryear. Had to ask Mom what diphtheria was. She also mentioned that all the kids had it, at least in her family and that she remembers having it too.
Aunt Edna dies of tuberculosis: Mom loved her Aunt Edna. Edna was a young almost woman when Mom was a little girl and it's a wonder that Mom didn't contract TB too. As Mom mentioned, Edna gave her lovely paper dolls that Mom still has. Nice.

Part 2
Christmas and oranges, crowd of adults and kids. What? They gave out oranges? Why? Well, because scurvy which comes from a lack of vitamin C and often happened during winter time, was a problem then. Do you ever see very old people with severely bowed legs? That might have been scurvy.
Lived with grandparents when little: Mom writes that they lived with her Whetstone grandparents when she was little and then moved to a rented house when she was about six years old. That was very common then in Western Maryland and is still done. When Mom and Dad got married they just kept it a secret until they could move out and into an apartment which was quite a trick because it was during WWII when housing was scarce.
No inside plumbing: Even I remember a couple of outhouses and back yard water pumps in Frostburg and that was probably in the 1950s. Now it's hard to imaging awakening in the middle of the night to make a cold trip to a frozen outhouse!
Street name changes: Loo Street to College Avenue. Yeah, they did that then. You ever have a problem with street names, or even town names, changing? Can make us crazy!
Congregational Church:  Also called the Welsh Congregational Church. Still going strong after all these years, and now in a new brick building. Nice to see this sort of continuity.
Paved over cobblestones: I noted that when Mom was a kid they were then paving over the cobblestone streets. Interesting because her grandfather Whetstone was a stonemason who helped lay those cobblestone street in Frostburg!
Mr. Byer's horse drawn home delivery meat wagon and free samples: Seriously envious! What wouldn't you give to have some good old fashioned home delivery of fresh meats? And I can't even begin to describe the deliciousness of good old Frostburg "baloney", also called Engle's Balogna! It's legendary.

Part 3
Mom loves to read and always did: Mom loves to read, her mother loved to read and I like to read. Going back through the generations, the Whetstone line were all readers and we have testament to that from the 1860s due to a letter written by Mom's 3rd great grandmother, Sarah Wooten Waggoner Yeast Durst (1818-1870). That was a time when women in Western Maryland were not usually literate. Even our literacy has a pedigree;)
Playing games in the middle of the road: I do remember when it was safe in Frostburg to play or ride a sled in the streets. You wouldn't want to do that now!!
Being poor and sharing skates: One of the things I like best about Mom's stories is the flavor of neighborliness and friendship that runs through them. I do know that not all of Mom's extended family feel this way because I've emailed a cousin who was a kid with Mom and remembers it differently as not the best of times. I guess it just depends on your family and how they handled hard times. Mom often says, we were real poor but we didn't even know it because everyone had the same and everyone shared what they had no matter how little it was. I guess shared joy and pain is just easier to bear.

Part 4
Mushrooms. Seriously, it's a wonder that Mom didn't die! But Uncle Tuck knew what he was doing and many of Mom's male relatives were superb woodsmen.
Scavenging for food. People did and still do scavenge the woods for rare food stuffs and delicacies in Western Maryland. Black walnuts from wild trees are still around but much more rare than even 20 years ago due to a blight, but people know were they are and take them. Wild greens in the spring are very tasty too. Wild berries are small but wonderfully delicious as Mom writes about in Part 8, and Mom even has a small patch in her yard now.

Part 5
School closing:  When I was a kid we listened to first the radio and later the television for school closings, but Mom and her family and friends didn't have that technology until later. So what did they do? Used their best judgment, conferred with friends, and then decided if they could make it. "Best judgment"... does anyone even have that anymore??

Part 6
The old haunts: Gus Harris, the Duchess, the Princess, the movie theatre. Well some of these are gone now. It's rather disturbing when you revisit an old haunt and it's not there anymore, isn't it? Gus Harris and the Duchess are now gone and a part of Frostburg history, but the Princess Restaurant carries on. If you have a moment click on the link for the Princess and you'll see the history there. President Truman and Bess stopped there on a road trip they made in 1953. A plaque marks the cozy booth (with jukebox) where they dined. By the time they finished their meal, most of the town had gathered outside to welcome them, or so I hear. Just noticed on their web site that they now have Wi-Fi!
The movie theatre has opened and closed so many times I've lost count. Mostly it's kept the name Palace Theatre. Now it plays second run movies, hosts local theatre and civic group presentations and whatever else the town needs and wants.
And "some place in Eckhart Flats":  You see, Eckhart Flats was at the very bottom of town and Mom and her friends walked everywhere and they loved walking as she often mentions in her stories. Winter or summer, they all walked to where they wanted to go. Maybe that's why Mom has always had such great legs...?
WWII losses:  Yeah, guys didn't come back from war, and still don't. I remember when we first moved to Cleveland in 1952 and coming back to Frostburg, we visited a woman who had lost her husband in the war. Sad. Mom doesn't remember this so maybe it was one of Dad's friends.
Mr Davis farm in town: What I would give to see that! A cow right in a back yard and a pig too.

Part 7
Taking care of neighbors: This is a constant theme of Mom's stories, taking care of each other. She recognized this quality in those around her and how generously everyone shared what they had as well as their skills. You knew your neighbors and their family and friends. Heck, they were all friends. Those who lived near you, your own relatives, their relatives, and of course the church members: all close as close could be.
FSU expansion: Sometime I'll have to write about Frostburg State University, it's history and its relationship with the town and town folk. While "the College" as locals call it, has not always been the best of neighbors, it has offered employment, education and cultural activities to this small mountain town. Full time residents now number about 5,000 and FSU has at times close to 10,000 students. It wasn't always this way. Back about 1900 the College was tiny and the community around Frostburg and adjacent villages numbered 15,000 residents. The history of the thing traces a path of gobbling up people's homes.
Grandma Chaney's stories of life on the farm: Stories of long age farm life fascinate me. By the time Grandma Chaney was telling Mom her farm life stories that way of life was all but gone.

Part 8
Walking and strawberries: I just love the way Mom can enjoying the small and good things in life that make a sweet memory and then calling on them later. I think this story is one of my favorites for that very reason. This is a treasure for me:
Often now when I get chilled I put myself back to another time and place when that little girl was at peace with the world and ‘oh so warm and happy.’ I can then become as that little girl and once again be ‘oh so warm and happy’.

Part 9
Brady's Creek is no more: I remember Brady's Creek and when I attended FSU, one spring afternoon, I wandered it just as Mom had as a girl. It was small and was one of the prettiest little mountain streams you'd ever want to see. It's gone underground, under the new housing at FSU.

Part 10
Nothing really needs be said about Mom's story of camping on the Potomac River ... for three generations. Peaches are still excellent, big, and super sweet if you get them at the right time, and yes, they were so delicious you'd think at the first bite you could eat the entire bushel yourself. Corn too.
The river still floods but people got smarter over the years and went from tents to stilt cabins, to RVs.
Outhouses are still a feature, if they don't get washed out by spring floods.
And I'm willing to bet that crafty teens and pre-teens are still trying smoking on summer nights.
And yes, we all still love the River!

Epilogue
Now, Mom didn't make a big deal of it and you might have even missed it but let me draw your attention to an index she compiled of all the tombstones in St Michael's Cemetery. Over many months she faithfully walked there, notebook in hand, and made a complete inventory of the tombstones and what information they provided. She typed it up and took it to the printers and had it printed and bound. The she offered it for sale at cost to any genealogist who needed it. This was of course long before the personal computer, the internet, and our dear friend and constant companion, Find A Grave. That's my Mom!

You can read Mom's stories here:

Part 1: Those were the days my friend, we though they'd never end
Part 2: Center Street
Part 3: Summertime on Center Street
Part 4: Mushrooms!
Part 5: Fall and Winter on Center Street
Part 6: Growing up
Part 7: Friends and neighbors, life and death on Center Street
Part 8: Walking and strawberries
Part 9: Brady's Creek.
Part 10: The Potomac River
Epilogue

Mom and Dad in Ireland, 1987.

Mom in Wales.

Mom, recently, on a spring ride in Western Maryland.

The URL for this post is: http://nutsfromthefamilytree.blogspot.com/2013/11/stories-from-mom-my-thoughts.html

Stories from Mom: Part 9, Brady's Creek

Frostburg, Maryland. Where I grew up.

By Virginia Williams Kelly

Brady’s Creek in that same area was another favorite spot of mine. Since spring and summer were two of my favorite times, I always waited for the first thaw when the ground was still hard but the ice on the little creek was breaking up and we had lots of water flowing in the creek. It was then, on Saturday, that I love to put on my boots and head for the creek. All I really did was walk for miles jumping back and forth from one rock to another across the creek. Sometimes I even made it across without the rocks. Now this creek was not very large but then neither was I so we fit together very well, the creek and I. Today, much of the creek has gone and been put underground into pipes. Such is progress. But the memories linger and cannot be erased as the creek was by time.

 

You can read previous post of Mom's stories here:

Part 1: Those were the days my friend, we though they'd never end
Part 2: Center Street
Part 3: Summertime on Center Street
Part 4: Mushrooms!
Part 5: Fall and Winter on Center Street
Part 6: Growing up
Part 7: Friends and neighbors, life and death on Center Street
Part 8: Walking and strawberries


The URL for this post is:  http://nutsfromthefamilytree.blogspot.com/2013/11/stories-from-mom-part-9-bradys-creek.html

Stories from Mom: Part 8, Walking and strawberries

By Virginia Williams Kelly

I always loved to walk not for my health but just because I enjoy it so much. Walking is a good time to contemplate on life, mine, yours, ours or someone else’s. It is also a time to plan and dream.

I'm 95 years old now and don't walk as much I did. I always loved to walk thru the Catholic Cemetery and I have one particular grave that I visited often and that is Father Montgomery, our late pastor of St. Michael’s Church and a dear friend. I always stopped to say “hello, and how are you?” telling him what a wonderful day it is and to "take care". That’s all. I don’t know whether that message ever gets to him but it certainly makes me feel better. I continued down to McDonald’s where I met a friend and have coffee with her and then leave to walk home, all together about 3 miles every day and I really enjoyed that time.

Many memories came back to me as I walk. I remember being 7 years old and "skinny" as the relatives all said. It was an extremely beautiful summer day, not a cloud in the sky and the birds and flowers abounded. I decided to take a walk thru the fields in back of my grandfather’s house to the stream, but I didn’t get very far. The field called to me and I plopped right down in the middle of it and lay on my back for what seemed a long time. I can even today feel that sun warming my bones and what a delicious feeling that was. A few clouds finally wended their way across the sky and once in a while a bird flew overhead but I heard not a sound from anywhere else. It was as if I were suspended in time in some nether land. Often now when I get chilled I put myself back to another time and place when that little girl was at peace with the world and ‘oh so warm and happy.’ I can then become as that little girl and once again be ‘oh so warm and happy’.

Small things like seeing the first ripe strawberry in the market in late spring can set off a nice memory. We lived near the old Braddock Trail in Western Maryland, now long gone, but at the end of my Grandfather’s property someone had erected a stone commemorating Braddock’s March. At the time I first found it, the wildflowers and meadow grass were abundant.

One day as I was inspecting it I found the most delicious strawberries at the base of that stone. To my young eyes they were every bit as large as the ones we see in the market today. Of course I know that I like to savor that dream of yesteryear. 

For many years after, I looked forward to a fine feast of strawberries every spring. But as time has a habit of doing, things change, the house my grandfather built and lived in for many years is now occupied by Pullen School at Frostburg State University, and Braddock’s Stone occupies a prominent place at the Frostburg Museum. But I know that no one else has such a good memory of that stone and the land surrounding it.

St. Michael's Cemetery in Frostburg Maryland.

This is my husband's great grandfather's stone.

John Patrick Kelly was born in 1829 in Shannonbridge Ireland and died in 1891 in Eckhart, Maryland.


The photos below are of the old Braddock Stone, now residing at the Frostburg Museum.

 

 

 

You can read previous post of Mom's stories here:

Part 1: Those were the days my friend, we though they'd never end

Part 2: Center Street

Part 3: Summertime on Center Street

Part 4: Mushrooms!

Part 5: Fall and Winter on Center Street



Part 6: Growing up
Part 7: Friends and neighbors, life and death on Center Street

The URL for this post is: http://nutsfromthefamilytree.blogspot.com/2013/11/stories-from-mom-part-8-walking-and.html

Stories from Mom: Part 7, Friends and neighbors, life and death on Center Street

By Virginia Williams Kelly

We were friends with all the neighbors and we were like a big family, if any one needed help another neighbor was always there to help. I remember when old Mrs. Robertson was dying of cancer and how my mother took such good care of her, washing and dressing her and doing anything else she needed until she passed away.

Yes, we were neighbors but we were also best of friends on Centre Street. We formed bonds there that have lasted a lifetime for most all of us.

Frostburg State University owns all of the property on our side of the street now and as I was driving past it the other day some workmen were putting finishing touches to the large FSU sign in the grass where our home once stood. I stopped and ask them to take especially good care of that property since it was once my home. Then I ask them to please keep the weeds out from between the stone wall and the pavement because that was the least they could do for me since I had done it for the all the growing-up years of my life. That was the only thing I hardily disliked on Centre Street, because pulling those weeds just happened to be my summer job for 15 years while I lived there.
 

I also remember life and death on Centre Street. Mrs. Davis who had a daughter and she named her Mary Virginia after my friend and I. I always thought that was a lovely gesture and both Mary and I liked it very much.

I remember the day old Mrs. Robertson died and how sad we all were at her passing. I remember our sister Margaret dying when she was only 10 months old. She was what the doctor called a ‘blue baby’ which meant she had a serious heart condition. I remember my mother frying pork chops after the funeral and how very hungry I was, in fact I was so hungry that I bit into an old raw onion and threw it up and never touched or ate an onion until I was 60 years old.

I remember Granny Chaney, the grandmother of my best friend Olive who was bed ridden but who we visited almost every day because she could tell us the most wonderful stories about her life on the farm. We never tired of listening to them.

Mama was a member of the Congregational Church's Ladies Aide Society. The did what we now call social services to the ill and elderly of the community. In the summer, they had a pot luck picnic for members. That's Mama in the front row with a turban.

Here's another picture of Mama with her sister, my Aunt Marg.

Emma Susan (Whetstone) Williams (1897-1956), and Margaret Ann (Whetstone) Brown (1902-1996). They both look so young.

Mama with some of our neighbors: Left to right, Elsie Conrad, Mrs. Robertson, my Mama, and Edith Robertson.

That's me in the jacket with some friends. I really don't remember exactly who they were! I think that's old Beall High School in the background.

The URL for this post is: http://nutsfromthefamilytree.blogspot.com/2013/11/stories-from-mom-part-7-friends-and.html

Stories from Mom: Part 6, Growing up

By Virginia Williams Kelly

As my sister and I and all our friends grew into the late teen years we always walked to town on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights first to the Duchess Restaurant and then to Gus Harris’ Restaurant and then to the movie theatre where Mr. Spates was always more than welcome to see us. After the movie, if we had any money left, we went to the Princess Restaurant for a Coke.

Sunday nights were very special because then we walked to one of our favorite places on Eckhart Flat. I forget the name of it, but it was a place where we could dance and dance we did with anyone who came in, boy or girl, it made no difference. It was always a very special time.

My mother had only one good winter coat and it had a fur collar on it and my sister and I took turns wearing that coat more than Mama ever did for she only wore it to church on Sunday. Our Aunt Marg would come to visit us from time to time since she lived in Akron, Ohio and she had a real fur coat which she kindly let us wear. Oh how wonderful it was to walk up Main Street and how nice and warm we were and oh how rich we felt walking up and down Main Street especially when some young man ask us where we got such a beautiful thing. Of course we never told them anything, just shrugged our shoulders and kept on walking.

I remember how my first ‘boyfriend’ when I was all of 14 was waiting at old Beall High School by the steps just to see me walk by and later in the day to try to serenade me on the corner of our street by singing “Pretty Jenny.” I never did hear all the words of that song. Unfortunately he was killed during the 2nd World War. What a tragedy that war was.

My High School Graduation picture.
I wanted a special look for this important picture so had my hair done in waves and wasn't happy with the results. My kids tell me I look cute.

I remember, when we teen agers were trying to sleep, Dick Fuller who lived next door to us liked to sing early in the morning outside in a very loud obnoxious voice with a little guitar and who couldn’t carry a tune to save his soul. Dick dearly loved peanut butter and mustard sandwiches and I have lost count of the number my sister and I made for him.

I remember Old Mr. Davis across the road from us, who had a farm yard full of animals. At that time there were no rules about keeping farm animals in town, and he had a barn in the back of his house where he kept a cow, pigs, chickens and a horse. He was especially fond of the cages of rabbits he bred. I remember the day that I was foolish enough to put my finger in the rabbit pen to pet one of them when I had my finger bitten very seriously for my pains in trying to be nice to them.

 

 

The following images are from a movie made about Frostburg in 1938. You can see it here: Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3.

 

 

Part 3 has some good images of Old Beall High School too.

 

You can read previous post of Mom's stories here:

Part 1: Those were the days my friend, we though they'd never end

Part 2: Center Street

Part 3: Summertime on Center Street

Part 4: Mushrooms!

Part 5: Fall and Winter on Center Street



 

The URL for this post is: http://nutsfromthefamilytree.blogspot.com/2013/11/stories-from-mom-part-6-growing-up.html

Wisdom Wednesday: Mom's DNA Test Tip

OK, so you might have seen the post below about Mom's 95th birthday. What do you get a woman who has everything she wants and more? A DNA test!

Mom and I are both genealogy addicts, so it was past time for her to take a DNA test. Mom lives in the wacky and wonderful state of Maryland so 23andMe can't sell their DNA test kit into the state because it contains "medical" results which can only be ordered by a doctor. My thought is that it only gives you back sort of sketchy results that show what your tendencies might be, and that's not a result you can write a prescription or do surgery for. But, hey, that's Maryland. Without breaking any of Maryland's idiosyncratic laws, Mom got her test and the little box is in the mail back to me in California.

23andMe wants a saliva sample. It's said that the older you get the harder it is to drum up saliva. I know it was hard for me and I was really surprised how hard! I passed on to Mom all the tips I could think of. Take your time, you'll get enough eventually, so no rush. Rub the side of your cheek. That's the hint 23andMe gives. But Mom had a better idea: watch the food channel! Mouth-watering deliciousness! It worked and within minutes she could have filled the whole tube with saliva, way past the line:)

Now we wait for the results and the fun to start!

Mom at her 95th birthday party!

What can I say: we're all foodies:)

This post is inspired by a GeneaBlogger's blogging prompt called Wisdom Wednesdays.


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Outline That!

I need an outline. Went on a road trip the last couple of days and I don't know what it is but there's nothing like a long ride in a car to clear the mind so as to let the big picture come in. We checked into the hotel in Palm Springs and I sat by the pool in 78 degree weather with blue sky, notebook in hand letting the muse take me.

The project can be defined as such: how to organize Mom's genealogy research and compiled materials into an online tree as well as a hard copy narrative. The online tree is up and running but there are lots of documents and photos to be uploaded. Lots to do there. It's the narrative that troubles me.

What might such a narrative look like? Book form of some sort is what is needed, I think. For me the kiss of death will be to tell anyone, Oh yeah, I'm writing a book about my family's history. Sounds like a super gigantic project... and that freaks me out! I need time to grow into this.

I have some objectives for the project down on paper. And a spiral notebook growing by the day with thoughts on form and function. In short, I'm getting a fell for where I'm going. Now I need an outline.

I've had a couple of books published way back in the 1990s so I am not totally clueless about the process. And most important, I'm not kidding myself about the amount of work involved to produce anything that's not going to be trash. The thing I know most is that a writer needs an outline as soon as possible. Now I have one.

You know, it's funny but the creative process takes it's own time coming into form. I've been sitting with this project for quite a while now letting the yeast rise, so to speak. I knew that Mom's work deserved being put in a form so that it could make its way out in the world. And I'd told her that I'd do that... told her that long before I really had a clue about how it might be done. But now for the first time I can see how it might take shape. And that's not saying that the vision won't change, grow, and shift over the life of the project. I know it will.

But today I have my outline. It's simple and clean and touches all the bases. It's a solid thing that can be built on, I hope. Now I'm going to sit with it for a while and let it breath until I can sense that it is ready to move to the next step. Going to print it out. Going to read and reread it a hundred times. Make notes all over it. Cross out a bunch of stuff and write in other stuff. That's the way the beginning of books goes. Wish me luck!!

Photo of the day from Aunt Betty's Archive:

My Mom with her Mom.

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