Skip to main content

Featured

Celebrating Uncle Buck

  There are few recent family events that I can recall that were as meaningful as the one I attended recently. My uncle Donald "Buck" Firestone, husband of my paternal aunt Margaret Gilbride, passed away in April. His daughters, my cousins Becky and Lisa, decided to have a celebration of life in May. I had never been to a celebration of life. I don't think anyone in our family has ever had one. I had no idea what to expect. But it turned out to be a mini-family reunion of sorts, full of photos, reminiscences, and lots of reconnecting to those of our family who remain.  I live in Texas, so the Hubs and I flew into Cleveland for a whirlwind two days with family. Though most of our family has remained in the Cleveland area, some of us are far-flung and it has been too many years since I've seen some of them. This was the chance to see folks, catch up, and share our memories. Uncle Buck's celebration was held at the Forest Hall at Penitentiary Glen—one of the beautifu...
13 comments
Read more
Labels

So Many Stories to Tell

Young Thomas J. "Tommy" Kozlina and my mom Anna Margaret Kozlina.
Friends,

This past year, I have dedicated much time to my favorite hobby: family history. I have read books, listened to podcasts, attended workshops, and begun again, to research our family lines.

I do so for a variety of reasons, but mainly I am intrigued and excited by the people the research reveals. At first, it was all about the names and dates, and "how far can I get back?" And, while that is still somewhat of a focus (Apparently, we cannot go back to Ireland until I find out where the Casey line is from!), I find more and more that I am just drawn into the stories that emerge, as I find more details of our ancestors' lives.

There's the funny stuff : "Polish Wedding Causes Trouble," is the headline of a newspaper article featuring my great grandmother Margaret McAndrew Gilbride. We'll save that one for another post.

There's everyday life: "So-and-So is visiting their mother this week." The not-so-everyday: "Sleeping Sickness Fatal to Girl."

There are stories which break your heart, and ones that make you nod your head and say, "Oh, so THAT's why..."

There are discoveries of familial likenesses, shared hobbies, tales of travel from abroad, and tales of deeply held American roots. There are railroad men, a hockey player, a prominent blacksmith, several coal miners, a nun and a priest...

Newspaper snippets - the Facebook of the time - recording who visited whom, or who wore what to whose wedding. There are both slices of everyday life and memorable moments in photo. There are bunches of interesting folk, who lived sometimes ordinary, sometimes extraordinary lives.

So many stories to tell. And here in this little space, I hope to share them with you.

Come on along.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment