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Celebrating 300 Blog Posts with My Top Ten Favorites

  October 1st marks my 300th Leaves on the Tree blog post. Hooray!! Writing my blog posts is one of my very favorite things to do. I am excited to share my discoveries, family stories, photos, heirlooms, and more. It's always a kick when a cousin, subscriber, or even casual reader comments on a post or finds their own link to my extended family. What could be better than to find connection ?   To celebrate this milestone, I've picked my Top Ten Leaves on the Tree Blog Posts .  And wow, it's hard to pick just ten favorites. But here they are, in no particular order: What Would You Tell Me, Catherine? My imagined conversation with my second great-grandmother, Catherine Ryan Gilbride. In Periculo Mortis A reflection on my strange baptism. Mom's Chocolate Covered Cherry Caper A favorite holiday story! Family Fun Stories: The Rabbit Another fun anecdote involving my mother and brother. What is a Pickslate? Defining the role my great-great uncle took as an eleven-yea...
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31 Days of Writing Family History Challenge

January 2, 2022:   My Dad - Joseph John Gilbride, Jr. (1937-2018)


By Nancy Gilbride Casey

This is by far my favorite photo of my father, Joseph John Gilbride, Jr. It was taken about 1955, when he was about 17 or 18. The photo was taken by his uncle, Pete Gambino, and I'm guessing it was taken at one of the Cleveland Metroparks, given the woodsy background.1

Dad always said that Uncle Pete was a great photographer, and I can see why he thought so. Pete truly captured Dad's young swagger, a trait he carried throughout his life. 

Dad quit high school in the 10th grade and at 17 he enlisted in the Air Force.2 Maybe he was thinking of what adventures lie ahead. Dad seemed always on the lookout for the next big opportunity—a trait sometimes both optimistic and frustrating to himself and those around him.

The photo also captures familial resemblances. I see in his face echoes of both my brother Joe and my son James. It's amazing how children can be the reflections of their parents and sometimes even grandparents or other ancestors at different points in their lives, proof that lies in the photos we are lucky enough to keep.


Bonus Photo: My great uncle Pete Gambino, Dad's photographer.3



NOTES

1 Joseph Gilbride, photographed by Pete Gambino, about 1955. Personal collection N Casey [address for private use], 2022. Photo in album belonging to my father Joseph Gilbride, who gave me the album and provided identification of photos.

2 U.S. Department of Defense, Enlistment Record - Air Force, Joseph John Gilbride, Service # AF 15 528 204, 31 August 1954; National Archives Personnel Records Center, St. Louis, Mo.

3 Pete Gambino, photographer/date unknown. Personal collection N Casey [address for private use], 2022. Photo in album belonging to my father Joseph Gilbride, who gave me the album and provided identification of photos.

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