Grandma and the Reindeer

My mother hated the song "Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer". She actually called a radio station and ripped them to pieces for playing the song.It was the most embarrassing moment for me and my family -- EVER!

It was like. "Mom it is a joke." 

"It's a  song."

"Don't take it personally."

*********************

Guess who takes it personally now!

First of all, I don't have blue hair. Actually it is a rather beautiful shade of grey. 

Should we open up her gifts or send them back? That is very offensive. At the time I thought it was funny. Not so much any more. I get what upset my mom. I have to admit that now I change the station when I hear this song. But, also, I rarely hear it any more. Thank goodness. Perhaps too many grandmothers complained!

So here is my list of my favorite Christmas songs.

#1. I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas, Gayle Peevey

#2. Wonderful Christmastime, Paul McCartney

#3. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, Barenaked Ladies

#4. White Christmas, The Drifters

#5. My Grown Up Christmas List, Kelly Clarkson 

And anything Peter Paul and Mary!

 

The Christmas Card Wreath

If the ghost of Christmas Past were to visit me in the middle of the night, she would take me back to the days of the Christmas card. And yes, it would be a she because it has always been the wife's job to send out the annual Christmas card. Or worse, the dreaded Christmas letter. 

I no longer send out cards because I finally realized the only reason people were sending me cards was because I had sent them a card, and they were only returning the favor. So it didn't really mean anything.

But I have a metal wreath frame that holds cards and eventually turns into a huge Christmas wreath. I have a dresser drawer filled with old  cards from Christmas Past and I use those old Christmas cards to create a wreath of memories from days gone by. The best part is getting the cards out and reading the names of friends and family who are no longer with us. And yes, I do include those crazy Christmas letters.

To be honest with you, I miss making out that Christmas card list. Updating all the addresses. Spending hours sitting at the dining room table addressing envelopes. Sealing envelopes. Applying stamps. Going to the post office.

I would love to do it all again but it has lost its meaning. I would love to send a Christmas  card to someone but I don't want them to feel obligated to return the favor.

The Perfect Christmas Tree!

Long before the Charlie Brown Christmas Tree was introduced to the world of television in 1965, my uncles had the yearly task of creating the perfect Christmas tree. I don't know for sure, but I think they were in direct competition with each other. It was a long drawn-out procedure that involved saws, drills and extra tree limbs. 

If you are picturing a bunch of grown men drilling holes in the trunk of an evergreen tree, you're headed in the right direction. They filled in the "holes" in the tree by inserting additional tree limbs in the holes in the trunk. The result was a beautiful, full, live --  but somewhat "artificial" Christmas tree. The ornaments didn't "hang" on the tree. Instead, they sort of laid on the tree.

The whole process took a couple of nights to complete. It was slow, tedious, and especially annoying for me and my cousins who were waiting to decorate the trees. And, I might add -- not patiently. 

This contest ended with the advent of the aluminum artificial tree. My aunts had a lot to do with that. They weren't too thrilled with the annual tree contest either. Now the tree was stored in a box in the attic. It was silver and came with a light wheel that made the tree change colors throughout the evening. It didn't really look like a Christmas tree but it could be up and running within an hour. By this time the uncles were enjoying television and they were more than willing to put an end to the contest. 

Years later,  when my kids were little, I decided to go in the opposite direction and we went to the tree lot to look for a tall, skinny, ugly Christmas tree. Like a Charlie Brown Tree. The owner of the lot was really glad to see me and he disappeared to the back of the lot and returned with my "perfect" tree. Everyone thought I was nuts until the tree was decorated. It turned out to be beautiful. The ornaments "hung" on the tree for once and you could see the beauty of each and every one. 

After my late husband and I were married, I dragged him to the tree lot and embarrassed him by requesting my tall, skinny, ugly tree. He had a fit, to put it mildly, and my kids thought it was funny. Of course, he changed his mind after the tree was decorated and he became a fan too. 

Now I still have the same kind of tree 40 years later, only it is my grandkids who think grandma's off her rocker. Of course the tree is artificial now and lives in the spare bedroom from February to November. 

Christmas trees have come a long way since the 1940's. We still have the real ones but I don't know anyone who "creates" the perfect tree with a drill and spare branches any more. Most people my age have artificial trees and they stand in a basement, garage, or spare room when not decorated. We leave the real tree hassle to the younger generation and we reminisce about the "old days". 

A Degree in Genealogy Science?

I have been working on lineage papers for the U. S. Daughters of 1812. For some reason when I went thru the records for myself, my husband, and my parents this time, it was like my life was passing before my eyes. 

Tonight I found out that an old friend of mine is losing her battle with Alzheimer's. I can't explain the feeling I have had over the last few hours. Shock! Of course, sadness. The usual bitterness and anger. But more than that is the realization that her life may have passed before her eyes a long time ago.

This afternoon at the Lucas County Chapter OGS board meeting, we were discussing program choices for the coming year. Health and DNA took a front seat at the table. It is important that we research not only our family history, but also our health history. We have only discovered the tip of the iceberg on this new frontier. Genealogists have a lot to contribute to society. We have been overlooked for too long.

How many universities offer degrees in genealogy science. Yes, it is becoming a science. And it should be recognized as a valuable contribution to the community. Just sit and listen to a bunch of family detectives discuss how and where they found a valuable piece of information. It's amazing. It is so much more now than just a birth certificate or a family bible or a bunch of letters from the Civil War stuffed in the rafters in a barn. 

It is knowing where to go. How to fit pieces of the puzzle together. How to analyze your results.

So my friend is losing her battle. Maybe it is time to put the pieces of her family tree together. Maybe the answer to saving her descendants lies in her genealogy science.

Let's hope so!

Don't let anyone take your place.

Two and a half years ago my husband passed away. During that time we have been carefully sharing his possessions with others. We started with the family and dispensed items the way we knew Grandpa would have wanted. That was easy. 

Then we got to the "little bit more complicated stuff" and we did pretty good with that. That is the stuff you give to 2-6 year olds and try to explain that they cannot play with it. Good luck with that. 

Then we got to the other stuff. The stuff in the Man Cave. All that stuff that I had no idea what it was. You have no idea how much I have wished over the last few months that Sears still had a catalog! But it turned out that I didn't need that old catalog because neighbors and people I did not know visited my garage sale and told me what everything was and what it was worth.

I know what you are going to say. They told me what it was worth and then bought it for that price. No they didn't. They explained to me what I had and gave me an estimated price for each item. Some of it sold; some of it didn't. 

There is very little left now. The garage he built is almost empty. The material things are gone and now his "dash" has taken its place in our family tree.

With every life event I always think back to our ancestors, especially those who lived a couple of hundred years ago in log houses in Kentucky and Ohio. What happened when they passed away? I doubt they had a garage sale, but I am sure there were several things that disappeared out the back door and I am sure there were items that were carefully shared.

But the one thing that remains constant is that person's place in the family. No one else can ever take that person's place. That is why proof and documentation are so important. 

The Forgotten Little War

Do you have an ancestor that was born after the Revolutionary War? Did he move west with his family into the Ohio/Kentucky frontier? Is he just a speed bump on your 5-generation pedigree chart? He was born, married, died and that is just about it. 

Well, just maybe he has more of a story to tell you than you originally thought. Maybe he fought in the War of 1812. I have talked to a lot of women lately who have basically dismissed their male ancestors from that time period. After all they are hard to find in the census. Graves are hard to locate. And they seem to have a tendency to hide in the woods.

I knew I had an ancestor who supposedly fought in the War of 1812, but his ancestors and descendents had a much more glamorous life than he did. The only purpose he served was that he proved a link between two generations. That sounds cruel and I regret looking at him that way but his time to be recognized has arrived. I guess we all have our 15 minutes of fame -- even if it takes over 200 years for it to happen.

I don't completely understand why this war and the men who sacrificed all or a part of their lives for this cause have been ignored. My interest in this forgotten war was sparked a few months ago when I attended the OGS Conference at Kalahari in Sandusky, Ohio. Before this conference the only 1812 lineage societies I saw were for men only. Finally at Kalahari, in the right place, at the right time I found the U S Daughters of 1812. 

http://www.usdaughters1812.org/

It is amazing how just one contact will fan out to so many women -- all of us with the same mind set -- this ancestor in our family tree didn't have that much to offer. It has been an amazing discovery for all of us. Most of us are just beginning to know these ancestors from this forgotten war and I am sure we have an exciting journey ahead of us. 

As for my ancestor. He was William Perkins who was born in Virginia in 1788. He married Malinda Rice in Bracken County, Kentucky in 1811. He and his wife died in 1815 leaving two young sons who were raised by their grandfather Philip Rice and his wife, Martha Vaughn. It is easy to see how someone with such a short life could be overlooked in a family tree.

I suggest you take another look at your pedigree chart and see if maybe you have an ancestor who was a part of the "forgotten little war".

 

Fall is just around the corner.

Ahhh! Summer is over and the grass and weeds in the yard have finally stopped growing. Now we can get down to some fall/winter research and blogging. More time on the computer; less time on the lawn mower.

I noticed at the pump today that now that the genealogy conferences are coming to an end for the year, the price of gas has gone way down. At least it has here in northwest Ohio. $3 and under. 

Our Kroger stores stopped double coupons a few months ago making it difficult to save money on groceries. And I don't even want to talk about the price of meat. But there are a couple of good things to look forward to. Between now and Thanksgiving the Sunday papers will be loaded with coupon inserts. This is the time of the year for the best coupons and the best match-ups. Once Thanksgiving is over all that good stuff disappears. From then on they know you have to buy those holiday party foods regardless of the price. Remember to stock up early.

The other money saver is gift cards. Kroger always has good deals on these, giving you 4X the fuel points in many cases. You can take advantage of this in two ways. Give everyone a gift card. Or buy gift cards for yourself to use to buy Christmas gifts. Either way you make out.

But back to genealogy. Something great is about to happen and it will save you money on travel expenses normally incurred when you attend a conference. Family Tree is offering a Virtual Conference on September 19 - 21, 2014. Fifteen classes for one low cost of $199.99. In my Family Tree Magazine September issue there is a discount code worth $30 off. The code I have is FTMFALLVC. This discount expires on the 21st. You can make your own schedule and participate in live chats. You can attend the event in your jammies and fuzzy slippers and you get a "swag bag" of freebies. It doesn't get much better. 

For more information and to register go to http://www.familytreeuniversity.com/virtual-conference/