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Signature Quilt Captures Family

Centre Block of St. Mary's Church Name Quilt made by the Catholic Women's League of Owen Sound, 1909. Photo  courtesy of Grey Roots Museum & Archives collection. On a beautiful summer evening, a well-dressed crowd gathers in a garden pavilion, surrounded by lush trees. The tables are filled with savory and sweet foods and cups of lemonade. Another table is staffed by young women eagerly selling tickets for raffles, while youngsters dart about enjoying games and fun.  A large signature quilt is displayed on a nearby table and many gather around to admire the embroidered handiwork and the red-stitched image of their church, St. Mary's. They search for their own names and point out the names of their neighbors, friends, and fellow churchgoers who also signed the quilt.  The quilt was more beautiful than  they imagined it could be when they signed the small square blocks weeks ago. And, God willing, it would raise the funds they needed to fulfill their congregation's...
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GENEALOGY CHALLENGE 2021 - Military Photo


GENEALOGY CHALLENGE 2021

Military - January 15th entry of a 31-day challenge to post a document, photo or artifact on social media every day in January.  

by Nancy Gilbride Casey

 

My Dad, Joseph John Gilbride, Jr. (1937-2018), was incredibly proud of his time in the Air Force. He had not been successful in high school and decided to drop out after the 10th grade. He joined the military in August 1954, when he was just 17 years old. Eventually he earned his GED while in the military.

From 1955-1957 his specialty was AC&W Operator (aircraft control and warning squadrons), first with the 646th AC&W based at Highlands AFS, New Jersey; with the 913th AC&W, based at Pagwa Air Station in Ontario, Canada, and finally with the 662nd AC&W, based closer to his Ohio home, at Brookfield AFS.

The oldest son of his family, he desperately wanted to make his own way in the world, and joining the military was one way to break with his blue-collar neighborhood in the Collinwood neighborhood of Cleveland's East Side. And it allowed him to see a bit of the world as well, which for a time, satisfied the romantic in him. He was the arms-crossed, confident 18-year-old in the photo above.

In the end, Dad moved between several branches of the military, including the Air Force Reserves and the Air National Guard and served nearly 10 years all together. Though it was not to be his career, it was an important part of his identity throughout his life.


NEXT UP: Newspaper Clipping

 


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