I had hoped to post this on the occasion of Bob’s 101st birthday. I’m a few days late, I don’t think he would mind. When your ancestors “tell” you to look for something, you do it! Such was the case with my first cousin, twice removed, Kurt Mendl. I was on the search in the […]
Two years ago today, I left work, thinking we would return in a couple of weeks. I never entered my classroom again. Over the past twenty-four months, I’ve documented some of my experiences during the pandemic. As I write this, I’m feeling a bit like a pincushion, recovering from the effect of TWO MORE vaccines […]
Today would have been my mother’s 90th birthday. This year’s post honoring Mom is a little different from previous ones. It’s a video! Now, some of you may think this is a little creepy. But — you have to admit the technology is pretty cool. I have shared some of the cool technologies from MyHeritage […]
Most people are aware of the events surrounding the Holocaust as well as the horrific situation in which many Jews found themselves during and after. In this post, I’d like to share a few things that are lesser-known, as well as some documents from my family during that period. My grandfather, Paul Lichtenthal was called […]
Let’s face it – 2021 did not turn out the way we hoped it would. COVID-19 is worse than ever with the Omicron variant spreading like wildfire. And, speaking of wildfire, two communities within a few miles of our daughter’s home in Boulder, Colorado have been decimated by a historic, fast-moving fire. We are grateful […]
I recently submitted this chapter to my writing group, (Lynn Palermo’s Family History Masterclass) receiving great feedback including, “Add more emotion.”, “Add more dialog.”, “Too much fact, not enough story.” And finally, the bane of my writing existence: “Kind of choppy – work on your transitions.” I reworked the chapter and would love to hear […]
Today, October 20, 2021, is the 146th anniversary of Sigmund Lichtenthals’ birthday. I’ve written about my great-grandfather before; most extensively, in this post from 2013 where I summarized his life. In 2020 I wrote about forming opinions of our ancestors we never knew simply using the photos and documents we collected. I have been diligently […]
This past weekend was just great! After not seeing each other for almost two years (or more!), much of my family gathered at our youngest daughter’s home to celebrate missed birthdays, upcoming birthdays, and an engagement! Meghan and I decided to surprise everyone by carrying on my mother’s traditional fall treat – Fruit Kuchen, otherwise […]
Last night, on the CBS show 60 Minutes, they ran a story about the “Ritchie Boys,” a secret US Intelligence group. This group of German-speaking Jews was responsible for uncovering more than half the combat intelligence on the Western Front during World War II. As reported in the story, their mission was to use their […]
You know the saying. “If these walls could talk…” Oh, what we might learn about the history of our homes and their previous occupants! Well, guess what? A discovery inside the closet of our recently purchased condo did just that! Maybe this would be a good time to share some news. On May 7, 2021, […]