Happy Mother’s Day 2013

When my Mother was alive, I was not a big cemetery visitor and she held very little hope of me visiting her gravesite let alone decorating it. I think she would be pleasantly surprised to discover her first-born child to be a regular visitor.

Last Mother’s Day I planted a bleeding heart by her grave. In our geographic area, the bleeding heart blooms in May just in time for Mother’s Day. Small, perfect hearts adorn the perennial making it a perfect plant to remember mothers; at least in my humble opinion. With a little hope and a little rain, my plan was for bleeding hearts to decorate Mom’s grave each Mother’s Day.

It was a good, well thought out plan until the cemetery landscape crew weed whacked my bleeding heart in its first year of life. Shame on them! Today, I found my bleeding heart a mere three inches tall and struggling to survive. 

I will wait and see if my little plant survives. But not to worry, the good news is that maternal love survives generations.  

My Mom taught me about motherhood.

Have a Happy Mother’s Day!

Linda

Tombstone Tuesday- Ellen Robert LaPine

Finding the lamb tombstone on Captiva Island, Florida reminded me of another find. This little lamb tombstone was found while wandering St. Anne’s cemetery on Mackinaw Island, Michigan.

Those Places Thursday – Romano’s Pizzeria of Des Plaines, Illinois

Romano’s was the Italian restaurant of my youth. We lived just three blocks away, mostly carried out and occasionally dined in. As Mom and Dad aged, Romano’s became our family meeting place. Romano’s had the best thin crust pizza with Dad’s favorite being pepperoni with green olives! 

Romano’s fell upon hard times and suddenly our family restaurant was suddenly closing. The residents, past and present, were devastated!

The threat of closing did wonders for business. People flocked for one last chance to enjoy a Romano’s pizza. Of course, I went for pizza and the opportunity to sit amongst the fake glittering trees of my childhood! My brother, his wife and Nancy, my best friend since first grade joined in the fun.

It was a busy week for the Romano family. Business was brisk and suddenly there was a turn of events. Romano’s was not closing just yet!!! Eventually the restaurant closed only to reopen in a new location at 9785 W. Higgins, Rosemont, Illinois.

I hope you enjoy my walk down memory lane. 

I know I am! 

Photographs of celebrities dining at the restaurant lined the hallway.

Romano's fans dining under the glittering trees of our childhoods!

 

Looks like someone couldn’t wait for a piece of that pepperoni and green olive pizza!

Of course, there was the fake door in the parking lot.

The Romano Family served Des Plaines residents for fifty-six years.

Thanks for the memories!

Linda

Tombstone Tuesday - Anna Emma Brainerd

Vacation wandering brought me to the tiny cemetery adjacent to The Chapel by the Sea located in Captiva Island, Florida. I was immediately attracted to Anna Emma Brainerd’s gravestone. A precious lamb sits atop the monument. The lamb is a Christian symbol of Jesus Christ the Lamb of God and of innocence and is a perfect symbol for a beloved child’s grave marker.

Anna Emma Brainerd 

Born: 17 Jan 1891 in Stanstead County, Quebec, Canada 

Died: 13 Sep 1901 in Captiva Island, Lee County, Florida 

Anna contracted tetanus, died and was the first person buried here on Captiva Island. Her parents later purchased the surrounding property and donated it to the people of Captiva Island for the Captiva Cemetery. Find A Grave has a memorial for little Anna Emma Brainerd at www.findagrave.com.

Linda

Motivation Monday - My Chocolate Side of Genealogy

Source: bisousatoi.com via Rosie on Pinterest

Getting caught up in the hunt for ancestors’ records is such great fun. It is the chocolate side of my genealogy. There is, of course, the other side of genealogical research.  I find citing my sources and constructing quality footnotes to be complete drudgery.

I was educated as an elementary school teacher and was quite good at creating lesson plans. I was not educated in constructing footnotes. As a result, my early years of research lacked any form of citation causing me to go back and reconstruct my research. After doing that for a few times, I learned my lesson and besgan adding some basic “free form” citations. 

Getting better, but not there yet.

The Armchair Genealogist offers a "Ten Step Program for Getting Sources and Citations Under Control!” If you are having trouble with citations, Lynn suggests a logical, ten step at a time plan to tackle all those overwhelming citations.

Today is the day I begin working towards better citations. She suggests purchasing Evidence Explained by Elizabeth Shown Mills. I own the book and it is high time to start using it!

My genealogy computer software program is Reunion. I like Reunion, but find the citation part of the program difficult. It is time to try again!

To begin this project:

I will identify sources for one ancestor.

Record the citation in my Reunion software program.

I will refer to Evidence Explained by Elizabeth Shown Mills.

Once one ancestor has complete citations, I with then begin with the next ancestor until each tree is fully cited.

Setting a schedule and paciing myself will hopefully not overwhelm me.

To read more about Lynn’s Ten Step Program, visit her website, www.thearmchairgenealogist.com/2013/04/a-10-step-plan-getting-sources.html

Linda

Are You A Twattler?

I am definitely not a twattler! However, me thinks I am a hugger-mugger!

The Great State of Washington rocked my vocabulary yesterday when Governor Jay Inslee signed a piece of legislation into law calling for gender-neutral vocabulary. While news to me, it has been in the works for six long years. Beginning today. . .

A fisherman will now be called a fisher.

A freshman is now a first-year student.

And penmanship becomes handwriting.

Not to fear, manhole will remain as manhole for there seems to be no other term to describe a manhole. As genealogists, we come across words that are no longer used. I must admit that I am a bit distressed to watch my vocabulary become archaic!

Here are a few examples of archaic terms:

Baseborn - Born out of wedlock

Foresooth - In truth

Gadzooks - A mild oath

Hugger-mugger - To be in a state of confusion often trying to conceal the confusion

Me thinks - I think

Swink - To toil or work

Twattling – To Gossip   

Yeoman - A farmer/freeholder who tills his own land and ranks below a gentleman

Yes, I am hugger-mugger with the exception of my not trying to conceal my confusion. How about you?

Have a great day!

Linda

Social Media

Facebook is that social networking phenomena that has grabbed the world’s attention. From its humble beginnings in a Harvard dorm room Facebook has grown to more than one billion users. I have used Facebook as a tool to advance my family trees by searching for possible living descendants. My Dollen cousins and I have had success in reaching out to several unknown, living cousins.

Who would think a Navy attack cargo ship that has been sold for scrap would have a Facebook page? The U.S.S. Washburn does. My Uncle Dick Dollen was an apprentice seaman aboard the ship at the time of his death.

Wishing to learn more about the incident, my sister, Nancy, volunteered to contact the owner of the Facebook page. She privately messaged him, received a prompt reply with the promise of putting out the word and assisting us in learning more about our uncle’s death. The next day Nancy received an email from a gentleman nicknamed Red who served aboard the U.S.S. Washburn from 1950-1953.

Red tells us that the U.S.S. Washburn was in dry dock for routine maintenance when word was passed down of someone falling to the deck of the dry dock; which is concrete. Our uncle was cleaning and scraping the port side aft (Left side and back) of the ship at the time of his accident. Red went up to the deck and looked down at our uncle prone on the dry dock deck with hospital corpsmen tending to him. Words such as these are painful today and I can only imagine how painful they must have been in 1952. I am so very sorry for my grandmother, my mother, and our family's loss.

Red offered to contact other shipmen with the hope of someone knowing more about what happened. A promise was made to mention our uncle at the U.S.S. Washburn reunion this fall. Our family is grateful.

I write quite often about my Uncle Dick Dollen as his death caused considerable pain for my grandmother and mother. Conversation about Dick was kept guarded and minimal. Curiosity keeps me searching for more information about the man and his untimely death.

Uncle Dick ended his last letter home with these prophetic words:

“I still love you all and don’t you ever forget it.”

We haven’t forgotten, Uncle Dick.

Linda