Watching family history spring to life
A Memorable Place
By Kathy Mooney
When I was growing up in a small town in Wisconsin, my uncle lived on the family homestead. The farmhouse had been the home of my great grandparents, Irish immigrants who arrived in Wisconsin shortly after it became a state in 1848. Three generations of the family were born there.
During the Depression, the family had to sell the farm, but my uncle remained there as a tenant. My family spent many Sunday afternoons at the house, and it was the scene of extended family gatherings.
In the late 1960s, I left Wisconsin. Shortly after that, my uncle gave up farming and moved to a small town. My family and job soon edged out all but an occasional recollection of the farm and the happy times I had spent there.
About a year ago, I started working on my family history. Thanks to the Internet, I found cousins who were able to offer photos and other bits of family history. I also discovered letters that had been saved. I put the bits and pieces together, and eventually had faces and stories that went with what had once been only names on a family tree.
I learned of the delight my grandparents had taken in their children, and I tracked the failing health of my grandfather as he succumbed to heart disease -- his was just one of the deaths that occurred in the house; perhaps the saddest was the loss of my father's youngest brother, Willard. When Willard became ill, a late spring snowstorm delayed the doctor's arrival. Willard's appendix ruptured and he died. He was just 13 years old.
When a high school reunion offered a reason for a trip to the Midwest, we decided to add a family reunion. One of my cousins had met the current owners of the old farmhouse, and he contacted them to see if a visit to the house would be possible.
My cousin knew the owners were interested in the history of the house and was not surprised when they graciously opened their doors to us.
The owners gave us the run of the house. In each room, we described our memories of what had been, while admiring the restoration and decoration of the house. It is filled with antiques and furniture that my ancestors would have been comfortable with.
We all left the house feeling energized to see how a place that had been the scene of so much of our family's history has been lovingly restored and remains a family home. If any family ghosts are there, surely they must be content.
Kathy Mooney lives New Freedom, Pa.
My Best Shot
Barbara E. Krebs,
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To celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary, my husband and I took our seven children and their spouses on an Alaskan cruise. We shared many adventures, and when the ship stopped at Glacier National Park, we took this photo of one of the glaciers that appeared to have a face carved in the side.
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My husband and I were vacationing in Tokyo in June and stayed at the Imperial Hotel, which is within walking distance of Ginza, one of the city's wealthiest districts. We knew that the area was closed to vehicular traffic on the weekends, but we got to see a parade of Mikoshi, which are large, portable Shinto shrines that usually require more than 25 people to carry them. We were glad we were able to see these resplendent shrines as they were carried through the neighborhood.
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