52 Ancestors – #22 – A Heritage Trip – Amsterdam to Austria

This week’s topic for the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge is “So Far Away!” It couldn’t have come at a better time! In just a few weeks, Scott and I will be joining my sister Jeanne and her partner, Suzi on a very special trip, a river cruise beginning in Amsterdam and ending in […]

Read More

Scott W. Holman, PFC Army – 1971- 1974

NOTE: This is an edited version of the post I wrote for Memorial Day, 2018. It was also our 35th wedding anniversary! I will warn you: This is a very long post. I wanted to capture Scott’s story, much of it in his own words, for our children and grandchildren. Scott is a man of […]

Read More

52 Ancestors – #20 – Why I Chose to Study German

This week’s prompt for the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge is “Another Language.” Continuing with my theme this year – telling the stories of my generation – I’ve decided to share why I chose German as the foreign language I would study in school. My mother came to this country from Vienna, Austria, with […]

Read More

52 Ancestors – #19 – Mother’s Day

Mother’s Day is a time for children to show their moms how much they are loved. I’m pretty sure that was the motivation behind this “lovely” masterpiece I gave to my mother. And moms show their love by displaying these masterpieces as if they were the Mona Lisa – no matter how sad the artwork is. […]

Read More

52 Ancestors – #17 – Another Name Not on the Wall – Gilbert Goodgion

Gilbert “Gerry” Goodgion passed away on August 29, 1991, just a few months short of his 48th birthday. Gerry (pronounced “Gary”) was an officer in the Navy, serving two tours in Vietnam and retiring from the Naval Reserve as a commander. Exposure to the chemicals used during the Vietnam War may have been a major factor in causing […]

Read More

52 Weeks – #16 Storms – The 1989 Hamden Tornado

Monday, July 10, 1989, was just another summer day. After I finished my day teaching summer school, I picked up our daughter Caitlin from her grandmother’s house. Cait and I headed home, a 6 ½ minute ride. Once home, I noticed the wind was picking up and the sky was clouding over. It was about […]

Read More

52 Weeks – #15 Taxes

My memory is seriously failing me. Last week, I realized I had “misremembered” the origin of the punch-needle rugs my mother made in the mid-1960s. This week, I was all set to write my post on the topic of “taxes.” It would be an easy write –  I had all of my tax returns since […]

Read More

52 Weeks – #14 "Made an Aunt" Lydia Punch Rug!!! (Maiden Aunt)

Okay – this is admittedly a real stretch for this week’s 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks blog prompt, “Maiden Aunt.” I was struggling to think of who I could write about, not having any maiden aunts.  In fact, I have no aunts at all anymore. Nor are any of my siblings “maidens.” So – I […]

Read More

52 Ancestors – Week #13 – The "Old Homestead"

In March 1959 we were living in a two-story garden apartment in New Haven. I had just turned 4. One sister was not quite 3 years-old and the other had just turned 1. My mother was exhausted from running up and down the stairs all day and insisted on moving to a new home – […]

Read More