It's amazing how the older generation did not want to talk about the past. I learned pretty early that my sister and I had different dads from my sister. My mother never talked my sister's dad. Then there was my dad's eldest sister. When we tried to ask about someone in the past, she would say, "What do you want to know about them for? They're dead." Then again, my kids haven't asked about my past. Only when an appropriate story comes up, so I mention someone from my past. They just learned 2 months ago that I had a wife before their mom. Why didn't I tell them sooner? My life before them didn't exist. It's fascinating to think about how our ancestors lived. Some had some interesting stories and some had it harder than others. However, very little oral or print history for me look back on.
I’m lucky to have these pics and such. I did the Ancestry DNA thing. So did JFran - interesting in a broader “where am i from” aspect then relatives you never knew. Reminds me i gotta cancel the subscription. Peggy got it for my bday last year.
That’s crazy that your kids didn’t know about Angie, but I get it and you’re right - I didn’t care much until lately when people started dying. I figure maybe … someday … I’ll put all these little bits of stories together for anyone who might want to read them in the future.
Just to let you know… They are services who can repair any old photos you have that have been damaged or lost sharpness or have had color shifts over time. Ask around first as some do better work than others. My wife had some old family portraits of her sibs redone that had hung in her parents house for 50 years and they look like they were taken yesterday. All while preserving the original.
I’ve had experiences like yours going through family stuff. I discovered that a family member had donated land in my downtown for a black church for escaped slaves “The Anti-Slavery Methodist Church” A few years later it merged with a church that is still in existence today. Love letters between my parents when he was in Korea… Yeah, life was hard, family made it less hard. I think back to how poor we were when I was a kid and what life is like for people today… But I still get nostalgic for the corner drugstore malt (one, because getting one was so rare!) and the 10 cent comic books you’d mow lawns and pick up pops for…But mostly I miss the people I shared that all with…;-)))
Nostalgia is real. I have my secret stash of old stuff i loved like comics and games and yearbooks. I love going through this stuff, to get a glimpse but I too have boxes of letters and at some point it just gets to be too much to go through. Sounds like your family has some great stories. My dad used to take me down to Thrifty’s for an ice cream. It was a nickel for a single scoop; twenty five cents for a triple. Mint Chocolate chip mmm
IF Dad had good tips (Dad was a barber. For most of my youth he worked 12 hour days 6 days a week until I was 13, then he opened his own shop and only worked 10 hour days…) he’d take us to an ice cream/cafeteria in the shopping center called Isaly’s…I don’t know why but I always like either orange or pineapple sherbet. Probably because if Mom ever got ice cream it wasn’t those. Sometimes he’d take us to the Carry Out next door and buy us a candy bar or a stick of beef jerky, or one of those huge giant dill pickles out of a barrel. Yeah I have little nostalgic “life icons” I won’t part with because of the shared memories…Now that you mention it you’ve given me an idea for an essay…
You got your emergency teaching credential on the second anniversary of your dad's death without realizing it. I don't think that's a coincidence the universe made by accident. The good days don't wait for appropriate timing. They just show up, my friend.
Oh man now I’m feeling a burden of curating the family lore! There is no future steward - my kids are in their twenties and they don’t care about this stuff. But that’s why i write it down and scan the photos. The scanner is a new edition - borrowed from a friend - but still now I can preserve stuff digitally and someday - I’ll compile all this together in an ebook or some such.
It's amazing how the older generation did not want to talk about the past. I learned pretty early that my sister and I had different dads from my sister. My mother never talked my sister's dad. Then there was my dad's eldest sister. When we tried to ask about someone in the past, she would say, "What do you want to know about them for? They're dead." Then again, my kids haven't asked about my past. Only when an appropriate story comes up, so I mention someone from my past. They just learned 2 months ago that I had a wife before their mom. Why didn't I tell them sooner? My life before them didn't exist. It's fascinating to think about how our ancestors lived. Some had some interesting stories and some had it harder than others. However, very little oral or print history for me look back on.
I’m lucky to have these pics and such. I did the Ancestry DNA thing. So did JFran - interesting in a broader “where am i from” aspect then relatives you never knew. Reminds me i gotta cancel the subscription. Peggy got it for my bday last year.
That’s crazy that your kids didn’t know about Angie, but I get it and you’re right - I didn’t care much until lately when people started dying. I figure maybe … someday … I’ll put all these little bits of stories together for anyone who might want to read them in the future.
Just to let you know… They are services who can repair any old photos you have that have been damaged or lost sharpness or have had color shifts over time. Ask around first as some do better work than others. My wife had some old family portraits of her sibs redone that had hung in her parents house for 50 years and they look like they were taken yesterday. All while preserving the original.
I’ve had experiences like yours going through family stuff. I discovered that a family member had donated land in my downtown for a black church for escaped slaves “The Anti-Slavery Methodist Church” A few years later it merged with a church that is still in existence today. Love letters between my parents when he was in Korea… Yeah, life was hard, family made it less hard. I think back to how poor we were when I was a kid and what life is like for people today… But I still get nostalgic for the corner drugstore malt (one, because getting one was so rare!) and the 10 cent comic books you’d mow lawns and pick up pops for…But mostly I miss the people I shared that all with…;-)))
Nostalgia is real. I have my secret stash of old stuff i loved like comics and games and yearbooks. I love going through this stuff, to get a glimpse but I too have boxes of letters and at some point it just gets to be too much to go through. Sounds like your family has some great stories. My dad used to take me down to Thrifty’s for an ice cream. It was a nickel for a single scoop; twenty five cents for a triple. Mint Chocolate chip mmm
IF Dad had good tips (Dad was a barber. For most of my youth he worked 12 hour days 6 days a week until I was 13, then he opened his own shop and only worked 10 hour days…) he’d take us to an ice cream/cafeteria in the shopping center called Isaly’s…I don’t know why but I always like either orange or pineapple sherbet. Probably because if Mom ever got ice cream it wasn’t those. Sometimes he’d take us to the Carry Out next door and buy us a candy bar or a stick of beef jerky, or one of those huge giant dill pickles out of a barrel. Yeah I have little nostalgic “life icons” I won’t part with because of the shared memories…Now that you mention it you’ve given me an idea for an essay…
Just to let you know the links to your Grandpa’s story in the article aren’t working…
Tx Michael! Here it is again just in case: https://wirepine.substack.com/p/hookers-and-flapjacks?r=2fcl4a&utm_medium=ios
Thanks! I love reading about people’s parents and grandparents. Probably because it connects me to my own now long gone family…
You got your emergency teaching credential on the second anniversary of your dad's death without realizing it. I don't think that's a coincidence the universe made by accident. The good days don't wait for appropriate timing. They just show up, my friend.
Happy Friday!
Wow that is such a good way to think of it. 🙏
Love this newsletter!
Thanks for reading Suzanne! Hope you’re doing well 🥰
Nostalgia
Memory - the raven I will miss the most when he fails to return
I found Ravens galore in Utah. I took some pics if you want to see.
definitely always
You are fortunate to have so much tangible documentation. I hope you have a responsible future steward for this treasure.
Oh man now I’m feeling a burden of curating the family lore! There is no future steward - my kids are in their twenties and they don’t care about this stuff. But that’s why i write it down and scan the photos. The scanner is a new edition - borrowed from a friend - but still now I can preserve stuff digitally and someday - I’ll compile all this together in an ebook or some such.