Memorial Day, 2013

 

I thank God for my Grandmother Meyer. Her Bible holds The Meyer Family treasures and each time I turn the pages of her Bible I find a new treasure. Here is a newspaper clipping from 1942 and a photograph of the sons she prayed for.

Alvin, Marvin, Paul, Bob and George Meyer

In Flanders Field – Memorial Day, 2013

In Flanders Fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses row on row,

That mark our place; and in the sky

The lards, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved and were loved, and now we lie

In Flanders Fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders Fields.

By Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD

Canadian Army

Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, M.D., “In Flanders Field,” Arlington Cemetery

(http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/flanders.htm : accessed 28 May 2012).

These poppies from Flanders Field were a gift from Robert Meyer to his mother. Bob was a World War II veteran who visited Flanders Field in 1941 where he picked these poppies.

His brother, Paul, is a Korean War veteran. He followed his older brother’s lead and sent this Japanese rose home for his mother. Both wartime gifts were obviously appreciated as she preserved they remain preserved in her Bible.

Throughout the generations, our families have been blessed. Sons survived battle and were able to return home safely. My uncle, Richard Dollen, is our only fatality and is the reason why his mother passed out poppies each Memorial Day.

Freedom isn’t free. May God bless those who died in service to our country. May God also bless those who have served, presently serve and those who will serve.

Linda

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