Moving Up in Washington DC, 1890 – 1948

When my father died in 1990 I inherited a ragtag collection of photographs, letters and Bibles. They were all from his Grandfather, my Great-Grandfather, Edwin Alfonso Niess. Among this collection are a few  pictures of homes the family lived in during the Washington D.C. stage of their lives.

In November of 1889, Edwin moved from Harrisburg, the city of his birth, to Washington D.C. He had just completed 4 years of schooling at what is now Millersville State University and passed the Clerk’s examination for the Federal Government in August. In November he was hired to work in the War Department at a grand salary of $1,000 a year. Edwin went back to Harrisburg the following September to marry my Great-Grandmother, Carrie Virginia Carvell. They left Harrisburg right after the wedding, taking the train back to the District to set up housekeeping at 822 I Street N.E.  By 1897 they had moved from the I Street home to 1113 C Street N.E. The picture below was taken that year. They didn’t remain in that house long since the 1900 census shows the family living at 239 10th St.Edwin worked, belonged to all the right organizations and went to Law School at Columbian Universtity(now George Washington University) earning a LL.B in 1895 and a LL.M in 1896. Working for the War Department he kept getting promotions and in 1900 transferred to the Post Office Department as a Postal Inspector. By 1905 he was a Law Clerk and 2 years later the Niess family found the house to raise their family in. A proper house for an up and coming attorney in Washington D.C. society.This picture was one of the pictures that was torn from a photo album at one point. It is glued on the page with a picture of my great-great-grandparents glued to the other side of the page! The date at the top of the picture seems to indicate August 2, 1907. Keep that date in mind.Another picture, in not so primo condition, shows the front stairs and elements of the Rhode Island Avenue home. The older boy would have been my grandmother’s brother, Edwin M., who had joined the Army and my father standing next to him. I show this picture so you can compare the elements with the picture taken on Christmas Day, 2011. Black handrails, porch, and detail around the front door.It’s a beautiful home today, isn’t it? It should be since Zillow.com estimates it’s value at $747,200!!! It also states that it was built in 1909, a date we now know is not accurate.The only structural change I noticed is the deletion of the rail on the balcony and the addition of a gate and iron bars around the windows and front door. This home, however, was not the last home the Niess’ would purchase.

By  1924 the couple, since that’s what they were again, had downsized and moved north, close to Rock Creek Park. 1422 Crittenden NW is a slightly smaller home with 1960 square feet and only 4 bedrooms. Once again, Zillow’s estimate of the property value would probably make the Niess couple faint! $556,000! I’m sure if this home were in their hometown of Harrisburg, you could lop off at least 400K from that figure! Several years ago we drove past this home and unlike the home on Rhode Island Avenue, this one has changed. The awnings, shrubbery and rock along the sidewalk; all different. This is the home that Edwin and Carrie lived until Carrie died in 1933. Almost two years later, Edwin remarried, and outlived his 2nd wife. Edwin died 18 April 1948 in his home on Crittenden.
Edwin’s final move was to Warrenton, Virginia where he is buried with his 2nd wife, the sister of Edwin M.’s wife, Lucy Kelly Niess. Father, Son and both wives are buried in the Kelly Family Plot. Carrie is buried in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania in the plot with her father, Rev. Jeremiah Mark Carvell, and her daughter, my grandmother, Nellie Viola Niess Sherman.

We visit both cemeteries as we get a chance.

 

The Awesome Power of Water

Water can be beautiful. I have fallen asleep listening to the sea through an open window, water-skied (in my youth!) on beautiful Lake Mead, and seen many awe inspiring waterfalls, including this one on Rt. 100 in mid-state Vermont.
That is until Hurricane Irene! She started up from the south creating havoc as she went. When she arrived in Pennsylvania we thought she had just about done all the damage she could possibly do. Basements up and down the Susquehanna River flooded and mud everywhere. Several towns still have not recovered from her visit. But it was nothing compared to what happened in Vermont!

Just recently there was an article about mid-state Vermont and the lack of tourism this season. People, it seemed, were staying away thinking it was not prepared for visitors and the economy was suffering. We decided to go, never in a million years expecting to see what we did. and what was that? Beauty ~ nature’s beauty and the inner beauty of strong Vermonters trying to get back on their feet, and at the same time helping their neighbors! We saw this from the time we woke up in the morning to dusk when we decided to call it quits for the day and we also saw this . . . and our heart would break! Somebody’s family was now starting all over. No sanctuary to return to each evening, no familiar surroundings to wake up to. Children uprooted from a familiar routine and a mother with no kitchen to provide a dinner for a family. We pictured a life that had been.This would be the scene on one side of the road, andand this would be the scene on the other side of the road! People still waiting for a bridge to be repaired so they could travel home! Tour buses were still on the road, but they were taking the leaf gawkers away from scenes of this nature and would be parked in rows in places like Vermont Country Store in Weston, Ben and Jerry’s in Waterbury and the outlets in Manchester. We saw those, too, but that’s not where we spent our money. We dropped our money in jars at service stations to help a town get dumpsters for the piles of garbage they had to get rid of, a tag sale in a large building, where I found a few books but gave $$ to help their town’s victims of Irene, or just patronizing a restaurant a cafe that was trying to get back on it’s feet. This “used to be” a farm. Irene deposited piles of rocks over fertile farmland that will never be farmed again. We were told even if the farmer could remove the rocks, Vermont will not let him farm again because of the contamination under the rock that would seep into the food. Neighbors pitched in and offered him a plot on their property and now he farms up and down the road on different neighbors land! The spirit of the people of Vermont is unbeatable! and this man retained a sense of humor . . .the green sign says “Free Plymouth Rocks ~ Help Youself!” After you cry, you laugh. The orange X’s on this mobile home indicate a condemned status ~ the sign in the window? “For Rent.” After you cry, you laugh.One of the first signs of a sense of humor we saw, though, remains one of our favorites, though. We had to turn around so I could photograph this one!. . . but the sign we saw the most of was the “Thank You’s” posted up and down Rt. 100. Vermonters, above all else, are a grateful people.

 

The Susquehanna Overflows it’s Banks ~ 2011 vs 1889

It’s a bad flood. Central Pennsylvania was hit hard. The rain didn’t stop and it wasn’t just rain, it was a torrential rain! Estimates are over 12″ of rain with river banks overflowing and basements flooded. Twenty seven feet above flood stage!  Some are comparing it with the 1889 flood, a record that may be broken by the current flood. Boy we have it bad!

. . . or do we?

Several years ago, I had the pleasure of transcribing my great-great grandmother’s diary. It covered just a few years, and 1889 was one of them.

Ephraim and Catharine Auxer Niess lived at 117 Dock Street in Harrisburg. Ephraim could walk to work at Bailey Iron Works and the Susquehanna River was their neighbor. The area today is known as Shipoke, and a trendy neighborhood. It was a working class neighborhood at that time. Today there is no longer a Dock Street. Dock Street is now the Dock Street Bridge and their home was razed for that bridge. As you travel west on I 83, crossing the Susquehanna, you travel over the area where Catharine once had her garden and  Ephraim and Catharine raised their family.

You have the background, now I’ll give you Catharine’s view of the 1889 flood from her diary. Any of my comments will be in italics. Everything I write will be Catharine’s words and style.

Catharine Niess on the right in her "mourning clothes" c. 1912

May 31st – The weather is very unpleasant, has been pouring down rain all day last night and yesterday and still raining very fast this month all through was wet there is fear of a heavy flood. The grain is flattened on the ground, little do we know what is before us. . . Preserve, me, O God: For in thee do I put my trust.

June 1st – We have had a wonderful flood (wonderful does not have the same meaning that it does today!) a lake at Johnstown gave way and drowned over 13,000 people, bridges gave way, and went down with trains. Oh! it was wonderful, it rained powerful the streams swelled every place it reached our city. done great damages only a few lives lost. May 31st (Friday) the flood at Johnstown, on Saturday the waters began to rise very high here, the Paxton creek back of us rose higher than it ever had been, the Susquehanna river in the front came up so high until it swept many things away what was left was in a frightful condition. it left very heavy mud a great many are getting sick. it is feared that we may have a great deal of sickness, but the Lord knoweth best. On Saturday night the waters began to come over the door sils (sic) front and back. Then we were surrounded. We have taken almost everything to the second story, by eleven o’clock we all had to go up and were obliged to stay there until Monday. On Sunday noon the waters began to fall very slowly. Every body seemed glad they had several sand flats in the street. At night they had torches so they could see the boom logs coming, and guide them straight through so they would do no damage to the buildings. Poor men they wished for the day. It was frightful scene, but nothing to compare with Johnstown. Many other towns were swept away with that flood. Water is very powerful and will take it course. Gods ways are not our ways and his ways are past finding out.

June 12th – Am very tired today. We washed a very large wash. Mrs. Blessing helped. Since the flood we have a great deal to do and so much company. On Monday we had six for dinner. The floors are still bare. Orders were given not to lay carpets this week. It seems very unpleasant, but we must bear up with it all. It is all right.

July 9th – I will now make another attempt to write in my Journal. Since the flood my time was so taken up, and besides we had so much rain that were unable to do our out side cleaning and sellers. (sic)Edwin (my great grandfather) white washed the seller to day, the weather has become more settled is very warm, and the farmers are very glad. They can scarcely get hands enough to get the grain away so much rain has caused it to ripen very fast and much of it falls out. A great deal of hay had turned black and it is unfit for use. The heavy rains has caused another flood at Johnstown, not so bad as the first, it was dreadful. A great many came to our city that were saved there. A family of five, husband, wife and three children. It is awful to hear tell when the water came, it came up as fast that it very soon drove them to the roof of the house. Next the house began to move off, they broke a hole through the roof and got on the outside from there to another roof and that way they struggled for life for sixteen hours, and were almost frozen and starved. Some others were 24 hours in the water almost to the neck. Several woman (sic)are here that the rest of the family were lost they are almost insane. Mrs. Blessing was here to day. We washed and ironed. . . . We have not laid our parlor carpet but all the rest. It takes the walls so long to dry.

Ephraim and Catharine Auxer Niess in the backyard of their Dock St Home, Harrisburg, Penna

To compare our life today with what Catharine went through over 100 years ago keeps me grounded. Whenever I feel sorry for myself, I pick up Catharine’s story and I’m thankful for the blessings I have. I’m also thankful for Catharine and her diary. It’s not only an insight into life in the late 1800′s but an insight into Catharine. She was a strong woman with a strong faith.

Thank you, Catharine, for taking time to record your life. My life is easy compared to yours!

 

Really, Dad? 96 Years Old?

Yes, Dad would have been 96 years old today, if only . . .

According to his birth certificate, he was born at midnight on September 4, 1915 at Sibley Hospital in Washington D.C., a hospital still in existence today. William Francis Sherman, Jr. was the first child born to the marriage of William Francis and Nellie Viola Niess Sherman, and very importantly, the first grandchild of Edwin Alonza and Carrie Virginia Carvell Niess.Never was a child more photographed than this one! and I am the lucky caretaker of the collection! Although the above studio portrait of my father is not by any means the earliest picture I have of Dad, it is one of my favorites. I love a guy not afraid to wear pink! (as if he had a choice!)

By the time Dad was five he had two younger brothers and a mother unable to cope with three very young boys. The picture above shows Dad on the tricycle and his brother Ray on the little trike. The other child is a neighborhood friend. His brother Vincent was less than a year old at the time.

Nellie’s parents stepped in when it appeared their daughter could no longer manage these three active boys, and my father became the main object of their affection. They spoiled him, photographed him, had him photographed and at one point wanted to adopt him. Dad learned to embroider at his grandmother’s knee, helped her with her china painting and learned table manners at their formal dinner table. Although they loved his brothers, Raymond and Vincent, they loved and doted on their “Buddy.”They were the ones who had this Bachrach portrait taken in 1925, probably for his 10th birthday. This is not the only Bachrach portrait in the collection of Dad’s pictures, but certainly one of my favorites!
.As mentioned in a previous post, the family fell on hard times as the depression approached and like many others in that period, traveled from place to place (NYC to San Francisco!) as jobs became scarce. One of the last portraits taken in “childhood” would have been the one taken in his ROTC uniform.
I could probably fill pages with pictures of him, summering in Braddock Heights, Maryland, traveling to Shippensburg and/or Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and generally spending a spoiled childhood in the lap of luxury. Instead I decided to share just a few of my favorite portraits with you since today would have been his birthday. I hope you have enjoyed them as much as I have sharing them with you.
Although it appears he was a lucky kid, I think it was not he that was lucky, but I! After all, I had him for my father!!

Happy Birthday Dad ~ until we meet again!

 

Crittendan Street, Washington DC

My great-grandparents, Edwin and Carrie Niess once owned a home on Crittendan Street in the District of Columbia. That address is mentioned in a lot of correspondence of Edwin’s and noted on the back of a lot of pictures. I knew the home must have been larger than it looked in the snapshot I found in my library of Edwin’s things, since he was an attorney. This picture is from 1928, and hides a lot of elements that I’m sure were there then.Several years ago, Jim and I took a ride to the area, and tried to find various landmarks associated with my ancestors. We found the Crittendan address and it doesn’t seem to have changed much. Awnings and landscape seem to be the major change visible from the street ~ that and the AC unit sticking out the front window!What really surprises me is how big the interior must have been. I am in the process of redoing my filing system and came across an article that was published in the Washington Post on Sunday, 16 March 1924:

FRIENDSHIP NURSERY AID.
” . . .Mrs. Edwin A. Niess, second vice president, Wednesday afternoon at her residence 1422 Crittendan street, northwest, entertained members of the club and their friends at a 300 and bridge party, at which fifteen tables were occupied.”

Now, I don’t care how large a house is, and this one doesn’t look that large, but 4 people at each of 15 tables equals 60 people, no matter how you do the math!  and 60 for bridge would take up a lot of space,

. . . not to mention all the peanuts you’d have to buy!

 

By George I Found Him!

Some people will go to any lengths to get that one little piece of information that they are looking for.  I am one of them.  My husband drove to Stroudsburg, over 200 miles roundtrip, not once but twice, so I could find George H. Auxer’s headstone! But perhaps I should start at the beginning of this story . . .

It seems like I always knew there was a George H. Auxer, but I just didn’t know much about him except he was a daguerreortypist.  Since you “ain’t gonna find anything unless you keep looking” I kept surfing and voila! several years ago, I found a reference to this man in the Dickinson College Archives.  I contacted them and made an appointment to come view their file on the information.  All of this is on  another blog I wrote several years ago.  I’ve picked up a little information here and there since then, but nothing noteworthy UNTIL!

Just in time for Veteran’s Day, Ancestry.com posted a group of records titled “Pennsylvania Veterans Burial Cards, 1777-1999.”  Thinking I knew just about every veteran in my database, I almost didn’t check it out as I considered it a waste of valuable time.  Boy was I wrong!  Boy am I glad I checked out this database!  Lo and behold, there was George H. Auxer and he was buried in Stroudsburg!  What??  Stroudsburg?  The card in the database listed the cemetery, section and plot number, name, birth and death dates, dates of service . . . DATES OF SERVICE???  HE WAS IN THE SERVICE??? This was the first I heard of him in the service!  Well, I had to get up there to take a picture of this headstone!

Trip number one:  I went armed with the form I had copied from Ancestry.com and was sure I’d go right to the spot where George was buried.  The cemetery, however, is not marked with section numbers so I went to the office and spoke to two men who worked there.  They informed me there were no such numbers in their cemetery, nor was there a “south side” as the card indicated!  Furthermore, they mow the cemetery and have never seen that name!  Crestfallen I decided I needed to stop at the Historical Society and see if they have any information.  As luck would have it, we were there on a Monday, the only day they are closed!!  On to the Library, where I did find reference to his obituary, but the reference was to records in the Historical Society!  We had a so-so meal at a lunch place in town and headed home.

Mulling this experience over several things occured to me and the first one was they couldn’t have read the headstone if it wasn’t there!  The card had the name of the Cemetery and the street it was located on, and that’s exactly where we were!  The second thing was that reference to an obituary.  The obituary surely has some information that may be helpful.  I looked for the Historical Society on the internet and found an e-mail address for them and shot off an inquiry, stating my dilemna and what I had done so far.  The Very Next Day! I got a response that she had a copy of the short obituary, and a map and finding aid for the cemetery, please send a check for $1.32.  Well! I don’t write $1.32 checks so I sent a little more and within two days had my answer!

The cemetery has been renumbered since the day when George Auxer was buried in 1867 and she sent a map for that period and one for today.  She also sent a sheet with burials in that area, along with a one line death notice that gave nothing more than the fact that he’d died after a lingering illness and his age.  
Trip Number Two:  Earlier this month we lost a friend whom I had known for almost 50 years.  Our children grew up together and our sons still remain best friends, even though they’re in their 40′s now.  Her funeral was on the 30th of November in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, right off of the I-80.  Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania is right off of the I-80, 75 miles east of Bloomsburg.  Since it was not a special trip to find George’s resting place, I did not feel bad asking Jim to once again take me to Stroudsburg to find George!  The day before the funeral we did just that.  Armed with the information from the Historical Society and with the above map from Mapquest, we once again headed to Stroudsburg to see if the Historical Society was correct or if the Cemetery caretakers were right.

The straight white line that goes down the center of the cemetery is the road from Dreher Avenue that runs through the cemetery.  Superimposing the map from the Historical Society over the above referenced map we found that the section that George should be buried in the that section that is almost square on the upper middle of the cemetery, under the words “Stroudsburg Cemetery.”  While Jim rested, Linda, armed with a camera started her trek through Section E.  Lo and behold, the names on burial sheet from the Historical Society started popping up and my heart started beating a little faster.  As I got to that pine tree in the center of the cemetery, I found George! I put an orange dot on the map where he is resting for eternity.  I wanted to go find the caretakers next, but thought better of it. . .

Comparing the picture at the top of the page with the map and the orange dot and this picture, do you see George’s headstone at the top of the page?  It’s the little rounded one in front of the flag, and it almost gets the shade of the tree.

The next questions to be answered are, what was he doing in Stroudsburg when he had a studio in Hackettstown, New Jersey?  and If he served in the Civil War between 1861 and 1865, why was he checking into a hotel in Philadelphia in 1862?

I think George has a lot more to tell me!

 

“The First Steffy Clan Reunion”

Since I am both a postcard collector and a family historian, I had to buy this postcard, hoping there was a name or two on it that just might connect into my family.  Alas, the only words on the back of it are in the title of this blog.Can you help identify anybody in this picture? It is postally unused, but I believe it came from the Ohio area. I’ve not done much research on this particular line, but was hoping that this would jumpstart it.  Of course, it didn’t.

My Steffys are in Pennsylvania and are as follows:

• Elizabeth AUXER (13 Jul 1785-3 Feb 1870)(and Auxer is the primary line I follow) married Jacob Steffy (abt 1781-1824) on 2 Sep 1800 in the First Reformed Church, Lancaster PA
  • Jacob, born 1801 (must have died early since another Jacob was born 5 years later)
  • Catherine, born 1803
  • Jacob, born 1806
  • George, born 1810
  • William, born 14 March 1812, died 16 Oct 1872 in Lancaster, PA
  • Susan, born 8 Oct 1816, died 24 Feb 1826, buried in Lancaster Cemetery, Lancaster, PA
  • Abraham, born 19 April 1820
  • John Frederic, born 9 April 1823, died 11 April 1824, buried in Lancaster Cemetery, Lancaster PA

 

Scenes on a snowy day

Our house from across the street ~ want to buy it??

Jim trying to open Linda F’s gate ~ we finally went around to the garage where we had the garage door opener

1 PM in the afternoon ~ impress you??

Outdoor dining anyone?  Not today. . . .

. . . and a final scene from a snowy window ~

 

Mother’s 90th Birthday Celebration, part two

With cards and supplies for Mother’s party shipped to California, it was time for us to follow them!  We left Philly mid-morning on Sunday and arrived around 6PM in Ontario, California to a greeting via the pilot “welcoming Blaine’s father back home!”  Yup, our son was on duty at the Tower and had been the controller guiding our plane to it’s gate.  Perfect start to our two week stay in Southern California!  Blaine came to see us at our hotel when he got off work and we made arrangements to visit the family the next day to go over plans for the following Sunday.  Thanksgiving interferred with doing anything during the week since we were heading to Tehachapi to spend time with Paige and her family.  But that’s already on another blog!

Naturally, we didn’t do too much on Monday, since there was a 4 year old anxious to play with Pa and Grandma, and we felt that was more important.  The most important thing we taught our grandson was how to write his name in dust!  My mother had sent a set of nesting tables and we were going to transport them to Tehachapi.  They had been in the garage for quite a while and we found the dustiest one to teach Ellis how to do this. Being a grandparent is fun!!

Our chores would begin on Saturday, with the filing of cake boxes, and figuring out the logistics of transporting everything from Riverside to Lake Forest.  On Saturday our assembly line was in full swing.  Ellis was, of course, a big help and really enjoyed helping.  He’d count cookies and put cookies, confetti and a package of macadamia nuts in each container, just like Mommy and Grandma did.  We filled 70 of these since it took 10 to make a cake and we had seven tables.

It was decided that Jim and Linda would meet Blaine and Elaine at the home around noon.  They would take the “cake pieces” and drive to El Segundo to pick up the cake.  Since the icing was whipped cream, it would need to be refrigerated immediately and J and L would arrange for that in the cafeteria.

We went to the arranged meeting place made the arrangements and set up the tents that had been made for “Guest Book” and “Cards” to fit over the basket we had purchased for the cards.  Everything was right on schedule.  Their car was unloaded and we started to set up the tables. Freedom Village furnished the tables, chairs and burgundy table cloths. We furnished the personality.

Each table looked the same, with a cake, two balloons and one or two sets of trivia cards.  A special table was set aside for the cake and two vases of flowers flown in from Hawaii for the event.  Mother’s sister, Pat lives in Kona and sent the flowers as a gift for mother and the occasion.  Elaine had arranged the table beautifully, but one guest seemed to think the antheriums and orchids should be switched and walked up to the table and without asking, just switched them!

Guests started arriving and Ellis and Daphne got to meet for the first time!  Ellis and Daphne are 2nd cousins and are 5 months apart in age.  Ellis was born in July, Daphne will be 4 in December.  They were the entertainment for the day, dancing, making “snow angels” on the floor and doing everything 4 year olds love to do!

Since Daphne was wearing her “party dress,” Ellis had on his “party shirt.”  Hallie asked Ellis where he got his “party shirt,” and he matter-of-factly answered “at the Party Shirt store!.”  Well, Duh!

Although we had planned for 7 tables, in reality there were only 6.  I labeled them by who sat at them.  The one shown above is the “Cousins Table.”  Blaine and Elaine with Ellis, Cherrie (Bud’s wife), April (Bud’s daughter) and her husband Matt with Daphne.  Bud  and Cherrie actually sat at the “Head Table.”  Cherrie was “just visiting” in this picture.

The next picture is what I termed “The Family Table.”  Dan, Paige, Hallie and her boyfriend Peter, sat at this table along with my cousin, Jack and his wife Gale.  Jim joined this table.

Moving to the next table is the “Fallbrook Table.”  These were friends of Mother’s and Paul’s from Fallbrook United Methodist Church.  One of the couple had an exchange student from the Philippines and Mother was delighted to meet her since Mother had spent several years in the Philippines.

A few new friends of Mother’s from Freedom Village made up the next table.  They were delightful people and I could see why Mother chose to have them invited.

The last table were all nephews and nieces of Paul’s.  The only exception was Paul’s daughter and her husband who joined this table.

Bud, being the eldest, and whom I used to call, Heir apparent to the Throne, was appointed to be the Master of Ceremonies.  He arose, gave a little speech about Mother and then each of the three of us got up and told a special memory of our Mother.  Mother seemed to enjoy being the center of attention and remembered each one of our tales!

It was finally time to watch the Birthday Gal blow out her candles and more importantly, taste that cake!!  The cake had three layers, guava, strawberry and mango, with fresh fruits on top ~ mango, kiwi and strawberries on a whipped creamed frosting.  It was light and absolutely delicious!!!  This cake topped off the Hawaiian Theme to a T without being tacky hula skirt, coconut shell  Hawaiian!

Ellis and Daphne, well aware of birthdays, were eagerly awaiting the candle lighting ceremony so they could get their piece of the birthday cake.  Blaine could not light them fast enough for them!

The blog would not be complete without a picture of Mother and her three children.  Bud is the oldest and in the middle, Priscilla, the youngest and on the right.

Does it look like I am upset?  Everyone of the family group pictures has the same look on my face.  Reason?  While the pictures were being taken I was watching several people load up all of the unattended centerpieces and walking out with them.  One person had at least FIFTEEN little cake slice boxes, so many that she had to take one of the round disks we had bought to balance them on!  Made me wonder if she would have done that had the party been in my home!!  There were several people loading them for her!  I was appalled!

I guess no party gets by without a glitch, and if this was the only glitch at least it wasn’t by our hand!  Since I’ve received several thank you notes and phone calls since I’ve arrived home, I would term this a success!  The most important thing after all was Mother, and she was teary, happy and appreciative.

Happy 90th Birthday, Mother!  What do the next 90 hold for you??

 

Family Reunions?

The word “Family” can be either all encompassing as in all your relatives that share the same surname and same set of ancestors, or it can mean the family unit which nurtured you, the people you shared a home with.

I was born and raised overseas.  My father was a Civil Service employee and his employment took him from Hawaii, to Guam and eventually the Philippines.  Because of this, I never met a cousin until I was in my teens.  I had read about them, knew I had them, but had no idea who they really were!  . . . and to think my parents had brothers and sisters?  What a concept!  I did know my grandparents on my mother’s side since they lived in Hawaii and we would visit with them frequently.  This was family in my formulative years; the people who all came together at the end of the day, my parents, brother and sister.  The picture below was taken on Guam about 1955.In 1982 we all got together for Easter at my home in Southern California.  We had all aged, but Dad seemed to be the only one who looked distinguished with the greying hair.
Easter seemed to be when we had the Gathering of the Clan (we never thought of the word Reunion) and this one found us gathering at my parents place in Fallbrook, California.  We have all “matured” but are definitely enjoying the hands that have been dealt us.  

In 1956 we left Guam and settled in California. My parents had decided it was time for the children to get the benefit of all “The States” had to offer, and that included a good education and family!  It was a whirlwind of relatives tour!  I met four aunts, four uncles and seven cousins!!   And one of them was my age!  How overwhelming!  We all had something in common!  We shared grandparents!!

In the years that followed we’d get together for holidays, weekends and on vacations, yet there was never really a family reunion.  The closest thing to a family reunion would have been my grandparents 50th anniversary celebration.  I was married by that time, as were my siblings and many of my cousins.  Aunts and Uncles were there, with the exception of one who lived on the East Coast, but many cousins had lives of their own and did not attend.  The cousins that did attend I could probably count on one hand.  

Our family scattered as we married and started our own families.  We would get together at holidays in my parents home, and cousins would play and interact.  We made sure our children knew their cousins and it was fun watching the next generation getting to know each other.  My brother had four children, I had two, and my sister became the favorite aunt when each niece or nephew was born.  In 1972 the family gathered at my parents’ home and a picture of the cousins recorded the event.  Pictured above, left to right are my brother’s son and daughter, Jeffrey and April, my son, Blaine, my brother’s son and daughter, Brad and Kim and my daughter, Paige.

The closest our family has ever come to a family reunion was in 2008.  As a surprise for Mother on Mother’s Day, we had a mini-family reunion at my brother’s home in California.  She had no idea that I would fly in from Pennsylvania or that my daughter and granddaughter would drive from Central California for the ocassion.  Two cousins were unable to be present, but after many, many years, my daughter and three of her cousins were able to reunite and share laughs and stories of their childhood.  It was a day to remember for years to come.

In the picture above are Paige  is kneeling in the front in the blue dress, April is on the right with her arms around Kim’s son, Kim is standing next to April, and Brad has his hand on his chest next to Kim.  Mother is almost 90 and is in the black, my brother Bud, is on the left with his arm around his wife, and I am kneeling in the front by Paige and her daughter.  Missing are my sister, Priscilla, my son Blaine and Bud’s son, Jeff.

Although we missed Priss, Blaine and Jeff, the one we all probably missed the most is Dad who joined his parents in glory in September of 1990.