When I Grow Up

Nov 27 – record a memory to pass down

My sister’s wedding day includes a memory I will always hold close. She honored me by asking me to be her Matron of Honor, which meant it was my job to hold her flowers, adjust her train and keep passing her tissues (I never saw a bride cry so much).

I also took on another job, one that she did not know about. After the beautiful ceremony and our trip to the beach (in heels I was not used to wearing) for photos, it was time for the reception. Things went along according to plan and then the band leader announced that I had something to say. The look on her face was priceless. This was not in the plan. She looked puzzled and perhaps concerned? I took the microphone and explained that there was a surprise for her and my new brother-in-law. Many of the guests had worked together for a special gift for them. This was a gift that would be sure to warm their hearts for many years.

Months before, I had sent squares of fabric to family and close friends on the guest list, asking them to decorate it for my sister and her fiancé and to return it to me so that I could stitch the pieces together to make a quilt. Most people were eager to participate and I had enough squares to make a king-sized quilt. This was our surprise.

I explained what we had done as my husband and my sister’s best friend and bridesmaid unfolded the quilt behind me. My sister came forward and I hugged her; it felt very much a private, personal moment. Then I noticed that a hush had come over the room. No one was talking. I turned around and most of the guests were on the dance floor, slowly moving forward to get a better look. The moment was magical, better than I could ever have expected. Gradually, the sounds in the room resumed as people noticed their own square and commented, or saw what others had done with their squares.

Soon someone made the decision to drape the quilt over a grand piano in the adjacent room so that guests could take look at their leisure and the party went on. This was a brief moment, but one I remember vividly, though it has already been 20 years.

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Nov 26- pitch a movie about an ancestor

My great great grandparents moved from Scranton, PA to Oklahoma and back to Scranton during the 1890s. They were enticed to travel the almost 1500 miles through the promise of either employment or land (or maybe both). The journey would have been difficult and certainly costly.

Since he was a miner, it is likely that he continued in the same line of employment in their new home. They interacted with other immigrants (as both my gg grandparents were) as well as Native Americans. There were conflicts about mine ownership and labor issues. The climate and terrain were different from any they had experienced previously. After a few years, they decided to return to PA, with their young daughter (who was born during the years they lived in OK). The journey home was likely as difficult as the one there, perhaps more so since they also had a toddler in tow.

A movie about their journeys and experiences would be historical in nature, but not a documentary. I envision a cross between Little House on the Prairie and Far and Away with a bit of controversial action regarding the mines and labor issues. The relationships between the natives and the European immigrants, both good and bad, would also be addressed. The stark differences between their two homes would be accentuated by the visual images. It is unlikely that they would have spent several years there without experiencing some bad weather. A tornado would have been a terrifying experiences for a young couple from Wales.

Nov 25 – shop in historical “stores” e.g. Sears catalog; purchase 3 items as gifts and explain why

The family wasn’t wealthy, but usually had enough to get by. Practical gifts would be appreciated; there was not enough money in the family budget for extravagance.

The Glad Sunshine Range at $21.60 burns either hard or soft coal and has six range holes and an oven. In the northeast, coal is readily available as opposed to wood stoves.

A two-drawer desk stand Queen Sewing Machine for $19.50 would make it easier to mend and make clothing.

A five-pound box of Fancy Chocolate creams for 70 cents would be a special treat, which everyone deserves from time to time.

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Nov 24 – ancestors’ Thanksgiving

1850

The Smith family had a modest farm in Northeast Pennsylvania. In 1850, they had 7 children, the youngest a baby. Thanksgiving would have meant a brief break from work on the farm. It is likely that John or his son Peter would have gone out hunting that week, possibly for a wild turkey, or maybe a couple grouse. They had set aside a good amount of potatoes, so that would have been on the menu as well as rye bread with butter. They may have traded some of their maple sugar (a commodity not common in the area) for some canned peas or beans from one of their neighbors who had grown those vegetables. With only two milking cows, they would not have been able to make cheese and may have traded for this with their neighbors as well. Since their neighbors were also farmers with large families, they likely spent the holiday with their immediate family only. Life on a farm means there are no days off, so though the schedule may have relaxed a bit, there were still chores to be done after the main meal.

Nov 23 – write a pitch for your ancestor’s biography

Betty Phillips divided her time between New York and Miami. She spent much of her life surrounded by celebrities. Though she was a pretty girl who was fond of saying, “If you’ve got it, flaunt it,” she avoided celebrity for herself.  Life is meant to be lived, not simply experienced. She was one to take advantage of opportunities, but not people. Modest and unassuming, she lived in the midst of the action, but stayed outside the fishbowl.

She was friends with Capone and Ziegfeld, though she refused to participate in their business ventures. She kept the personal and professional separate. She had tales to tell about the famous, the infamous and many in between. Though her marriage,she became related to Lucille Ball and she was also brought in close contact with many small time street performers and vaudeville acts. Though her scrapbooks were full of autographed photos, she took it all in stride.

She shared many stories with family, but did not write them down herself. Not a tell-all, here is another glimpse into celebrity in the early 1900s.

Nov 22 – create a timeline for an ancestor

Daniel G Hopkins

 1804 born in NJ

Before 1850 Married Mary

1850 in Livingston NJ with Mary and 9 children

1860 in Livingston NJ with Mary and 6 children

1870 in Livingston NJ with Mary, son Andrew, 42 and William, 7

1880 in South Orange NJ with Mary

1885 in Hanover, NJ

I have found information on most of Daniel and Mary”s children. New Jersey does not have much information online, so my research will need to wait until I can make a trip to the Archives to see if I can find exact birth, marriage and death dates for Daniel and other members of the family.

Nov 21 – write a letter to an ancestor in the military from a loved one

Dear Richard,

I hope you are well. The news here is distressing, on the rare occasion we get any. Last I heard, you were headed to Antietam and the reports that are coming in are that it was bloody and that the 132^nd suffered many losses. I’m not sure I could bear the loss of you, my first born son.

I hope that you are getting enough to eat and that you are taking care to avoid sickness by washing yourself and clothes regularly. I must say that I would willingly take care of your clothes for you as it would mean that you are safe at home. I look forward to the day you return.

I pray each day that this nightmare will end, that the rebels will turn tail and go back from whence they came, so that we can return to our peaceful lives and carry on taking care of our own business. Know that you are in not only my prayers, but those of your younger siblings as well.

I have to trust that you are safe and well, knowing that you are a brave, honorable man. Please take care and if you are able, write to us so that we may know how you are. Your brother asks each day what war is like, so if you can share some stories (without being too grisly), he can better understand what you are doing.

Your loving mother

Nov 20 – what are three items your ancestor would not leave home without?

Grandma was not terribly fussy, but there were some things she insisted on bringing with her. She was most famous for always having a hat. She had a number of them, ranging from a simple ball cap to fancy ones, to one that was crocheted with panels of beer cans interspersed with the yarn. SLeaving the house meant she had to first get her hat. She carried a small purse, but she didn’t have much in it. One constant was a tube of red lipstick, which she reapplied throughout the day when she was out (she didn’t seem to fuss much about it when staying home). A more unusual item in her purse was a tube of PoliGrip. Her dentures never quite seemed to fit right, so she carried this “glue” around, just in case. There were times that there was little else in her purse, except maybe some folded bills. Grandma was likely the most “low-maintenance” woman I have ever met.ave

Nov 19 – write a journal entry about a major event during your ancestor’s life

Oct 23, 1902

President Roosevelt has proven his worth as a leader. The 163-day coal mine strike is finally over. Things have gotten quite ugly since the maintenance crews joined us miners back in June. Some strikers have gotten violent, attacking those who continued to go into work. If the company would only have done what is right two years ago during the last strike, things wouldn’t have gotten to this point. What we are asking for isn’t too much, simply fair wages and a reasonable work day.

Over the summer, President Roosevelt called representatives for both management and workers to the capitol to sit down and talk. The Commissioner of Labor, Carroll D. Wright talked to people in New York, including John Mitchell, president of the United Mine Workers, and found legitimate issues on both sides. Unfortunately, the company owners disagreed and wouldn’t cooperate. The governor sent the state National Guard to maintain order, but there was little they could do but maintain order; of course they aren’t going to go into those mines and do our dirty, arduous jobs. Coal prices have been soaring and without us mining, a shortage was likely for the cold winter months. The President asked us to go back to work and then settle, but Mitchell believed that the company would never do right by us.

JP Morgan stepped in to mediate with both sides, coming to an agreement during a 5 hour meeting on his yacht:. All parties would agree to honor the finding of the soon-to-be-formed Anthracite Coal Commission. The process started with the commissioners visiting the mines to see the conditions in question.

We are asking for a 20 percent increase in pay and an 8 hour work day. We will see what happens, but I am hopeful.

Lillian and Ann (the baby may be Lillian’s daughter, also named Lillian)

Nov 18 – write about your ancestor’s best friend

My story is an unusual one. My grandmother’s best friend was also my grandmother. I never met my biological grandmother, but have been told by several people that I strongly resemble her. There are not many stories that have been passed down; she died young and my grandfather never wanted to talk about her.

I don’t know when Lillian and Ann first met or how long they had been friends, but I do know that they were together when they met the man they both would marry. The girls worked at the Krementz jewelry factory and walked home together after work. Anthony, a beat cop in the city they lived in, noticed them as they were walking and, as young men will do, at some point stopped to talk to them, Lillian in particular.

Though she did not immediately return his interest, after seeing and talking to him on the street many times, she eventually agreed to a date. They ultimately married and had two children. Less than 12 years into their marriage, Lillian became sick and died.

Ann had stayed close to the family and was there to support Anthony and his two young children when Lillian died. A year later, Ann and Anthony married and they eventually had a child of their own.