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Some time in our earlier years my brother and I used to call her Grandma Rene, which was our endearing phrase for Grandma Irene, our paternal grandmother. We didn't grow up in the same town where grandma and grandpa lived, so visiting was a treat.
Grandma kept a box of toys in one of the bedroom closets. It wasn't the normal toys, more like junk, such a old necklaces, odds and end and a few of the usual toys. Nobody seemed concerned that they might not be safe and we never choked on anything and didn't end up with lead poisoning, just lots of fun.
Our cousins would come to Grandma's house to play. We had several cousins of various ages and when there would be family get togethers, the house was full to the brim. Out would come the toy box and everybody would step over toys and kids. My two children never grew up with cousins...they don't know what they missed.
Grandma Rene was the best cook. She didn't stop with one of two things to eat. When the stove had several pots bubbling away, she would go to the phone and invite more relatives to come to eat. Later in life she began loosing her eye sight. Some of her meals ere interesting and we were not sure what we were eating.
One thing that Grandma excelled in was making home made noodles. She would add them to chicken in a huge pot and then call the relatives. There were always leftovers to go around. One day Mom asked for her recipe. The she watched her roll out the noodles. When Mom got home she decided to make home made noodles. They were like eating cardboard. Mom asked a neighbor what she thought went wrong as she had followed the recipe. The neighbor said she had left out a tad bit of baking powder. The next time Mom made noodles they tasted like Grandma's noodles! One day she commented to Grandma Rene that she had left out the baking powder in the recipe. This was followed by giggles from Grandma.
She told us that she learned to make home made noodles from her mother, Grandma Pearl. I wonder where she learned to make them. Pearl was only fourteen years old when her mother died. Maybe she learned young.
Grandma always told Mom that she was proud of her genealogical research on the family. She said if it wasn't for Mom she wouldn't know much about her family history. Thanks Mom! And thanks Grandma Rene for making my childhood interesting.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Grandma and Cemeteries
As if growing up with a genealogy Mom wasn't enough, my maternal grandmother enjoyed going to cemeteries. She and Grandpa lived in York, Nebraska for many years. That's in the eastern part of the state and west of Lincoln.
If Grandma knew we were coming for a visit, and it wasn't winter, she would almost always have a cemetery she wanted us to visit. Sometimes they were only visible from the gravel road, far too difficult to walk up to. Sometimes they were churchyard cemeteries and sometimes they were cemeteries at little towns. She always found them. Then we would visit the cemetery in York where she would have us drive past numerous graves of relatives.
One time Grandma was very excited to show us a "new" cemetery. Well, it was new to Mom and I'm not sure how Grandma figured out where it was located. Grandma put on a long sleeve shirt to protect her arms from bugs and briars and then donned her big straw hat. You could spot her a long ways off in what Mom called her "cemetery garb."
Off we went to the Lincoln Creek Cemetery in York County. It is a pretty cemetery and not difficult to reach and walk around in. Mom had been looking for the grave of Dad's great, great grandfather, Henry Eberhart. He actually died in 1878 in Kansas, but all the family had been living in a around York County, Nebraska. Grandma walked around and around in one area of the cemetery, stopped and said, "This is where he's buried." There was no stone, no nothing.
Later Mom found a plat map showing the Henry had actually purchased lots in that cemetery before his death in 1878. So...who knows...maybe he's buried there. After all...I was brought up that Mom and Grandma were always right!
If Grandma knew we were coming for a visit, and it wasn't winter, she would almost always have a cemetery she wanted us to visit. Sometimes they were only visible from the gravel road, far too difficult to walk up to. Sometimes they were churchyard cemeteries and sometimes they were cemeteries at little towns. She always found them. Then we would visit the cemetery in York where she would have us drive past numerous graves of relatives.
One time Grandma was very excited to show us a "new" cemetery. Well, it was new to Mom and I'm not sure how Grandma figured out where it was located. Grandma put on a long sleeve shirt to protect her arms from bugs and briars and then donned her big straw hat. You could spot her a long ways off in what Mom called her "cemetery garb."
Off we went to the Lincoln Creek Cemetery in York County. It is a pretty cemetery and not difficult to reach and walk around in. Mom had been looking for the grave of Dad's great, great grandfather, Henry Eberhart. He actually died in 1878 in Kansas, but all the family had been living in a around York County, Nebraska. Grandma walked around and around in one area of the cemetery, stopped and said, "This is where he's buried." There was no stone, no nothing.
Later Mom found a plat map showing the Henry had actually purchased lots in that cemetery before his death in 1878. So...who knows...maybe he's buried there. After all...I was brought up that Mom and Grandma were always right!
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Blogs in the Family
Everybody loves blogs! My Mom has added a new blog which is Nebraska Roots and Ramblings. My Aunt Cheri has added a blog, Those Old Memories.
Naturally Mom's blog is about doing research in Nebraska. Check it out! She said she'll post information on genealogy collections in Nebraska, tips about doing research in our state and a whole lot more! Her latest post contains a link to a You Tube video which is really great.
Aunt Cheri's blog will feature things that interest her historically and genealogically, family experiences and just fun things. She has a lot of nice photographs, but that's expected because she does photographic restoration.
As if that isn't enough to keep the two of them busy, they have a team blog, The You Go Genealogy Girls. Now that's a fun one. Wait until you see the header of the blog. That's Mom's car traveling across it, burning rubber as the two of them head off in pursuit of relatives and ancestors. Looks like they are loosing some of their things, too. Mom better slow down and Aunt Cheri had better pack better
They will be blogging about their research, their experiences and all the fun things that happen along the way. Mom says they will blog while in Salt Lake City in May. That should be interesting!
Join all of us...in the family...in our genealogy blogging!
Naturally Mom's blog is about doing research in Nebraska. Check it out! She said she'll post information on genealogy collections in Nebraska, tips about doing research in our state and a whole lot more! Her latest post contains a link to a You Tube video which is really great.
Aunt Cheri's blog will feature things that interest her historically and genealogically, family experiences and just fun things. She has a lot of nice photographs, but that's expected because she does photographic restoration.
As if that isn't enough to keep the two of them busy, they have a team blog, The You Go Genealogy Girls. Now that's a fun one. Wait until you see the header of the blog. That's Mom's car traveling across it, burning rubber as the two of them head off in pursuit of relatives and ancestors. Looks like they are loosing some of their things, too. Mom better slow down and Aunt Cheri had better pack better
They will be blogging about their research, their experiences and all the fun things that happen along the way. Mom says they will blog while in Salt Lake City in May. That should be interesting!
Join all of us...in the family...in our genealogy blogging!
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Those Girls
The girls (grannies) are at it again. Aunt Cheri visited Mom for a week in February. They did non-stop genealogy. Mom has to get Aunt Cheri up in the mornings because she is a night-owl. Then Aunt Cheri is prowling around reading computer and genealogy books half the night. Eventually they both get in sync. In February they even managed to take my daughter and I out to eat dinner, and the chatter was completely genealogy and their efforts in trying to find people, alive and dead.
Aunt Cheri is returning in a few weeks. The You Go Genealogy Girls (grannies) are presenting the March program for the local genealogy society. Mom uses a Mac and Aunt Cheri has a PC. Ok...that's just another way they are different besides their night/day routine. Their program will be a power-point presentation on available software for the Mac and the PC. It's not a case of who will win or who has the best power-point presentation, but rather how much they can talk about in one hour. You go girls!
April...that's when spring returns full force to Nebraska. But, it can also be a time for a snow storm or two in Nebraska. The sandhills cranes have arrived early this year, so perhaps we'll have and early spring. Then the You Go Genealogy Girls will out in full force. Mom has a genealogy seminar she is presenting after Easter. It's a one day affair...another non-stop genealogy function.
May... those girls are really off and running! The first weekend in May is the Nebraska State Genealogical Society conference. Mom will pack up her little red car and head to the panhandle of Nebraska to meet Aunt Cheri. They will fill three of four days with genealogy lectures, get-togethers and meetings. I am sure everybody will know the You Go Genealogy Girls are there!
Mom returns home for a little over a week and really packs up the little red car. She will drive to Cheyenne, Wyoming where she'll stay at her nephew's house and meet the other You Go Girl...Aunt Cheri. They will do Wyoming research in Cheyenne and then set out after a few days for Salt Lake City, the mecca for genealogists. I'll let you know what the car looks like loaded down with the girl's "stuff." Mon will e-mail me the details. They have been working all winter on their packing list!
Salt Lake City is for genealogists like Las Vegas is for serious gamblers. Those girls (grannies) won't come up for air. Mom will be up early in the mornings to walk and get ready for a full day at the library and then nudge Aunt Cheri to get out of bed. They seem to strike a happy medium in their personalities and habits, both of which deffer.
Stay tuned for more episodes about the You Go Genealogy Girls. They have agreed that Mom is #1 girl and Aunt Cheri is #2 girl. They may differ in some respects, but they can also agree!
Aunt Cheri is returning in a few weeks. The You Go Genealogy Girls (grannies) are presenting the March program for the local genealogy society. Mom uses a Mac and Aunt Cheri has a PC. Ok...that's just another way they are different besides their night/day routine. Their program will be a power-point presentation on available software for the Mac and the PC. It's not a case of who will win or who has the best power-point presentation, but rather how much they can talk about in one hour. You go girls!
April...that's when spring returns full force to Nebraska. But, it can also be a time for a snow storm or two in Nebraska. The sandhills cranes have arrived early this year, so perhaps we'll have and early spring. Then the You Go Genealogy Girls will out in full force. Mom has a genealogy seminar she is presenting after Easter. It's a one day affair...another non-stop genealogy function.
May... those girls are really off and running! The first weekend in May is the Nebraska State Genealogical Society conference. Mom will pack up her little red car and head to the panhandle of Nebraska to meet Aunt Cheri. They will fill three of four days with genealogy lectures, get-togethers and meetings. I am sure everybody will know the You Go Genealogy Girls are there!
Mom returns home for a little over a week and really packs up the little red car. She will drive to Cheyenne, Wyoming where she'll stay at her nephew's house and meet the other You Go Girl...Aunt Cheri. They will do Wyoming research in Cheyenne and then set out after a few days for Salt Lake City, the mecca for genealogists. I'll let you know what the car looks like loaded down with the girl's "stuff." Mon will e-mail me the details. They have been working all winter on their packing list!
Salt Lake City is for genealogists like Las Vegas is for serious gamblers. Those girls (grannies) won't come up for air. Mom will be up early in the mornings to walk and get ready for a full day at the library and then nudge Aunt Cheri to get out of bed. They seem to strike a happy medium in their personalities and habits, both of which deffer.
Stay tuned for more episodes about the You Go Genealogy Girls. They have agreed that Mom is #1 girl and Aunt Cheri is #2 girl. They may differ in some respects, but they can also agree!
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