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Did I Meet My Goals in 2025?

Inspired by Linda Stufflebean's post about hitting her genealogy goals in 2025 , I thought I'd recap mine as well. How did I do?  Here's what I had planned back in January in my post "Hitting the Target in 2025 ," and if I achieved my goals. Attend the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy and participate in the 14-Day Research Like a Pro 14-Day Challenge Accomplished both!  I really enjoyed Gena Philibert Ortega's SLIG course "Advanced Techniques: Material Culture Research Techniques for Genealogy" in January. What a wide-ranging group of lecturers were part of this course! It was a feast. It also inspired me to take an in-depth look at one piece of material culture that I own: my grandmother's Slovak catechism booklet. I wrote about that in several blog posts beginning with "Katechismus: Finding Meaning in Grandma's Artifact." For the Research Like a Pro 14-day Challenge, I had fun attempting to track down a marriage record for my...
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GENEALOGY CHALLENGE 2021 - Art & Craft: Needle & Brush


GENEALOGY CHALLENGE 2021

Art & Craft: Needle and Brush -  January 27th entry of a 31-day challenge to post a document, photo or artifact on social media every day in January.  

by Nancy Gilbride Casey

 

Each person makes their mark on the world. Sometimes that mark is a beautiful piece of art or craft which they leave behind. Each piece is a product of their imagination, their skillful hands, their time and patience. It is also a record of their desire to bring forth beauty in the world, and so reflects their character as well.

Our family definitely has its share of creative members. As a couple, my husband Jim's paternal grandparents left many pieces of their artwork for their descendants to enjoy.

Harold Edwin Casey (1915-2009) and Claretta Hall Casey (1917-2000) were married over 60 years. Family, faith, and running businesses filled up their lives, but when they had time, needlepoint and painting were hobbies they enjoyed.

Harold's primary artistic pursuit was needlepoint. According to my father-in-law Jim Casey, Sr., his mother Claretta taught his father this craft while he was recovering from a back injury in the 1950s.1 It was a hobby he enjoyed well into his 90s. His lovingly-crafted needlepoints were professionally framed when finished and given as gifts. 

I think of him whenever I see the lovely depiction of tiny birds on snowy branches (above), which he stitched. It combines his two great interests: needlework and birdwatching.2 The couple's rural home in Collinsville, Oklahoma was surrounded by birdfeeders, and I have heard tales of the passion both he and Grandma Casey had for feeding and watching birds. In fact, we have inherited several bird books which we use quite a bit now that we, too, live in the country.

When Harold became a widower, he moved to Texas to live with his son, so we had a tiny extended family of me and my husband, our two children, and my husband's father and grandfather. Our children were fortunate enough to be able to spend nearly 10 years with their great grandfather—whom they called GrandPapa— in their lives, and with whom they shared a special friendship. The lovely young lady below was a gift from GrandPapa to his great granddaughter Anne.

Grandpapa Casey was in his 90s when he stitched this for his great granddaughter. 


Another favorite stitched piece is this yellow rose:



Meanwhile, Claretta Hall Casey, Jim's grandmother, enjoyed painting and embroidery. Among my favorites paintings are these two tiny ones, each not more than 4" x 6" or so. They are simple and sweet.



We enjoy having these tangible reminders of our family members now gone, which bring a bit of beauty to our home and world.


NEXT UP: Art & Craft II - Hooked


1 James D. Casey, Sr., email to Nancy Casey, 26 January 2021, "Quick Question," Leaves on the Tree Project folder, N Casey [address for private use].
2 Ibid.


 



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