Dear Folks, I'm glad that a number of you seem to have been jump-started with my suggestion of writing down your memories to share with the next generations. At one point I suggested that if nothing else, just print out the emails you send to the list about your thoughts and your memories and what you did today and plan to do tomorrow. That still sounds good to me but do you know what? This evening when I was searching our list archives, I came across a whole bunch of emails I had sent to the list that I had forgotten about. Oh my goodness, all of the things I had told you about! Not only of my breast cancer ordeal in 2000 but my particular peripheral neuropathy ordeal last year. It's obvious that if I want to record my life as it's happening, I better start printing out my messages to continue my journal. Certainly I'll end up with a huge stack of paper but if nothing else I'll have hard copies rather than depend on our archives lasting forever. vee

Lorraine told us, > Guess what! I just received a book I purchased on Amazon.com called "The > Drowning Room." It's fiction, but based on the real life story of one of > my > ancestors! She was apparently a rather scandalous lady, who married a > pirate, > before settling in New Amsterdam. Talk about your family secrets!! One > source I > read about her claimed that she was the first prostitute in America! (Now > how they could determiine that information, I'll never know.) > Fascinating, > huh?! Can't wait to start reading it! Oh my goodness! I know that my uncles always wanted us to find that one of our ancestors was a horse thief, but to be descended from the first prostitue in America, would have been more than they could have handled! Lorraine, it also puzzles me how they could have determined that your ancestor was the FIRST prostitute in America. Like what did they do back in those early 1600s of New Amsterdam? Did all of the women who came to America have to fill out a questionnaire asking their occupation? Did they keep a chronological list of those whose occupation was a prostitute and your ancestor was at the top of the list?? :-) Although that's obviously a bit absurd, I still like the thought of one of my maternal ancestors being involved (married?) to a pirate and who had the reputation of being a prostitute. Nah, that would have to have been fiction. Let us know how the book ends up. vee

Dear Folks, Before I get to the point of this message let me tell you that last weekend my dear next-door neighbor Ken told me that he would be on vacation for a week and that his parents would pick up my newspaper and mail. I asked him where he was going for his vacation and he told me he was going to Belle Air an island off the coast of Venezuela to go scuba diving. I asked if he was going alone and he told me that his steady girlfriend Michelle was going with him. Ah HAH! Hey that sounded pretty good to me and I wished the two of them would have a great time scuba diving. Now getting to today. While I was in the middle of my mystery book the phone rang at 5:00. It was Ken's mother Pattie asking me if I had already had dinner. No I hadn't. She said that I shouldn't fix dinner tonight because she and her husband John would bring it over to me in 1/2 hour. Well, Yippipdy do dah! That sounded great to me. When they arrived I was overwhelmed by what was on the large plastic plate that Pattie put down on my table. It certainly wasn't your typical Easter dinner! On the very top were two lovely pieces of garlic bread that John said he had made. In addition there were three generous helpings of two kinds of sausages--Polish and Italian. There were oven roasted potatoes, a mixture of sauerkraut and spiral noodles, three large slices of baked ham, and an exquisite mixture of garlic and olive oil over cooked baby carrots, summer squash, mushrooms and sweet red peppers. Also on the plate was a generous helping of a familiar salad of whipped Jell-O, Cool Whip, marshmallows and maraschino cherries. After I caught my breath over that delicious bounty, Patti pointed out what else they had brought over. The bowl was covered over with plastic wrap and she told me that it was a piece of cheesecake. Oh be still my heart! :-) And oh by the way, there was something that the Easter Bunny had sent over. It was a solid chocolate Easter Bunny. (Note: I sampled that after dinner and the taste of the chocolate was out of this world. The cellophane wrapper said that it was from the Niagara Chocolate Factory in Buffalo). Before they left, John couldn't wait to tell me that they had a phone call today from their son Ken and he told them that he had asked Michelle to marry him and she accepted!! Wow! That made all of us happy. My dinner this evening was a delicious over-kill. Heaven help me if I were to have sat down at their dinner table and helped myself to all of the dishes on the table. I would have been so stuffed that they would have had to roll me out of the door! But here's the kicker. After dinner when I had all of the food prepared for the freezer or put into containers in my refrigerator, I took a peek at the cheesecake in the covered bowl. Yes there was a lovely wedge of cheesecake with a slice of fresh strawberry on top. But when I looked closer, the cheesecake was sitting on a mound of fresh strawberries. Now is that to die for or what?? :-) So there I've told you about my neighborly Easter Meals on Wheels. I'm still chomping on the bit to have seconds or thirds. vee

Dear Folks, Around here in Western New York, we all know what day tomorrow is. It's Dyngus Day, the Monday after Easter. Even though I grew up in Niagara Falls I hadn't heard of the tradition of Dyngus Day until I came back here in 1974. It sounded like fun. It's a Polish tradition that dates way back BC and I knew that the celebration had something to do with using switches of pussy willow branches against girls' legs. However, when I read today's morning paper I learned about the tradition and also the places where Dyngus Day will be celebrated tomorrow all over Western NY including Niagara Falls. Check it out at http://www.dyngusdaybuffalo.com/pages/2/index.htm. We have a large Polish population here and tomorrow will be their special day. I'd love to join in and dance the polka with the best of them, wouldn't you? Nazdrowie! (Cheers!) vee

Vee said >>However, I must admit that none of us would REALLY like to bring up the ghosts of our families like the ones she dug up literally.<< Guess what! I just received a book I purchased on Amazon.com called "The Drowning Room." It's fiction, but based on the real life story of one of my ancestors! She was apparently a rather scandalous lady, who married a pirate, before settling in New Amsterdam. Talk about your family secrets!! One source I read about her claimed that she was the first prostitute in America! (Now how they could determiine that information, I'll never know.) Fascinating, huh?! Can't wait to start reading it! Best, Lorraine ~~~~~~~ "While researching his nonfiction study of New York City (Maximum City, Trafalgar, 1993), British journalist Pye found references to Gretje Reyniers, a 17th-century Dutchwoman. Using what little was known about her (mainly a list of petty offenses), Pye has conjured a strong, lusty, and independent heroine."

You're pushing me to get started again. Our community college had a write your life class that I took a few years ago and started with a few stories. Then there is my niece who got my mother to jot down her memories as just a title for each memory and she got 44 of them. This was long before I got interested in genealogy. If I did the same thing for myself it would make several stories. One of my daughters got me to fill out one of those memory books, maybe she'll let me borrow it. There's all kinds of junk on my walls that can jog my memory. Lots of it was packed away for years and never looked at, and I thought what the heck good is it in a box. I've journaled on some of the trips we've taken, and there are those Christmas letters (wished I'd saved them all). As you start digging around there is lots of stuff to include, just get busy and do it. Now I'm talking to myself. Bert

Great idea, Vee! I don't keep a journal (shame on me!) so my correspondence is the only form of "memoir keeping" I have. Whenever I send a letter or card via snail mail, I make a copy for myself before sending it. Since I usually write about what's going on in my life, those copies serve as my own version of a journal. Hope everyone is enjoying this holiday weekend. We had Friday off from work and you know we love these three-day weekends. But... several of our international offices (Rome, Madrid, London), had Friday off and have Monday off as well! Possibly due to a higher Catholic population? In any event, I'm happy to have my 3 days. :) Happy Easter! Lorraine In a message dated 03/26/2005 7:28:39 PM Pacific Standard Time, housman@adelphia.net writes: But there's one thing that maybe you can do on a daily basis is to copy the emails you've sent to the list and just save them in a folder for future printouts. What you send to the list are your memories, what you did today and what you want to do tomorrow. Who knows but what you're writing down is part of your own autobiography even if just to the list.

For remembering things that you think you've forgotten, one thing that might jog your memory is to listen to music from each year you've been alive (and some from just before - often still being played when you were a child). I find that a song will make me remember exactly what a day was like when I first heard it. Or something that was going on at a time it was playing on the radio. Sometimes the song itself has little or nothing to do with the memory, it was just in the background. Kathy

Dear Folks, It won't surprise you that the past two days have been quite typical. Late at night I plop myself into bed, snuggle underneath the covers and go right to sleep. When I wake up in the late hours of the morning and decide it's time to get up, I do. After the bathroom routine and hot tea routine and getting dressed, it's time to check the email messages on my computer. After that, it's time to read the newspaper. By the time I've finished my cup of soup for lunch and settle down in my cozy chair in the livingroom to continue where I left off in my murder myster book, I'm really contented. However, because of my continuing achiness and wanting to get back to editing my book, I go back into my office and work more hours on my book. The afternoon goes by until it's time to consider what to have for supper. Last evening I got up the energy to thaw out a delicious frozen Hormel meat loaf and stir up a delicious amount of potato flakes for dinner. I added a flavored vegetable to all of it and ended up with a delicious meal. Today, I went through the same routine, ended up with a different dinner but in the meantime late this evening I managed to prepare and store the meatloaf and the potatoes for the freezer for more delicious meals. I know darned well that you really aren't interested in such mundane events of my life, but at least I've recorded them. After all, that's what' known as recording your life. vee

Dear Kim, I'm so pleased that you're on the right track. Your magnificent transcription of Phoebe's diaries and you're printing out the email responses that you received will certainly add a lot to her story. She was such a dear girl. Regarding the dim memories of your life, just think about them and then when the time comes and you can remember the stories you can tell, just go ahead and tell them in your own words. Yes, you're on the right track. vee ----- Original Message ----- From: "Kim & Mike Paul" <kimpaul@nque.com> To: <NYNIAGAR-FOLKS-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Saturday, March 26, 2005 11:10 PM Subject: Re: [FOLKS] I must encourage you > Dear Vee & group: > > I've been reading Vee's posts about putting together all of her stories in > a book, I think that's terrific! Vee, you've been doing a wonderful job & > you give us much to think about in writing our own family histories & > stories of our memories. > > Sometime ago, Vee suggested to me about printing off all the emails to our > list and keeping them in a notebook. Well, I've been doing exactly that, > & am on my 2nd notebook! > > When I was posting Phoebe's diaries, I printed off all the emails I > received, & put them in the same notebook of the transcriptions of > Phoebe's diaries. I thought they would add some "flavor" to Phoebe's > diaries. > > What I've also done is print off any and all responses I get from other > genealogy lists I'm on, pertaining to the surnames I'm researching. > > I've started to write down some of my memories and I realized that I don't > have that many I can remember! Maybe I have a poor memory or something! > But at any rate, I do have some memories that I can write down. > > Kim > >

Charles said, > Another source would be a job resume as this would contain information > about your employment. Dear Charles, Oh you're so right!! vee

Dear Folks, For days and days I've been straining my eyeballs to the utter limits to gather up my stories, make certain that all stories have the same margins and now I'm to the point where I have the BIG task to edit them properly. But in rereading those stories, all the memories I've written down are coming back to me. Over the years that I've been writing them, I had in the back of my mind that hopefully a member of my family, maybe a few generations down the line, would gather all of them up, check out the extensive journals I've written in my adult years, and eventually put everything together as my unusual biography. But I can't wait that long. Therefore, for the time being I'm just enjoying the dickens out of putting all my stories together into a book and let the kids take it from there. The point I'm trying to make is for all of you to do the same thing. I know that many of you have families, many are still holding down jobs, many of you are dedicated to your genealogy research and many have other outside interests. Therefore, I know that you really don't have the time to write story after story of your memories in the past. But there's one thing that maybe you can do on a daily basis is to copy the emails you've sent to the list and just save them in a folder for future printouts. What you send to the list are your memories, what you did today and what you want to do tomorrow. Who knows but what you're writing down is part of your own autobiography even if just to the list. Think about it. vee

Dear Vee & group: I've been reading Vee's posts about putting together all of her stories in a book, I think that's terrific! Vee, you've been doing a wonderful job & you give us much to think about in writing our own family histories & stories of our memories. Sometime ago, Vee suggested to me about printing off all the emails to our list and keeping them in a notebook. Well, I've been doing exactly that, & am on my 2nd notebook! When I was posting Phoebe's diaries, I printed off all the emails I received, & put them in the same notebook of the transcriptions of Phoebe's diaries. I thought they would add some "flavor" to Phoebe's diaries. What I've also done is print off any and all responses I get from other genealogy lists I'm on, pertaining to the surnames I'm researching. I've started to write down some of my memories and I realized that I don't have that many I can remember! Maybe I have a poor memory or something! But at any rate, I do have some memories that I can write down. Kim

Another source would be a job resume as this would contain information about your employment. Charles ----- Original Message ----- From: "Vee L. Housman" <housman@adelphia.net> To: <NYNIAGAR-FOLKS-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Saturday, March 26, 2005 9:28 PM Subject: [FOLKS] I must encourage you > Dear Folks, > > For days and days I've been straining my eyeballs to the utter limits to > gather up my stories, make certain that all stories have the same margins > and now I'm to the point where I have the BIG task to edit them properly. > > But in rereading those stories, all the memories I've written down are > coming back to me. Over the years that I've been writing them, I had in > the back of my mind that hopefully a member of my family, maybe a few > generations down the line, would gather all of them up, check out the > extensive journals I've written in my adult years, and eventually put > everything together as my unusual biography. But I can't wait that long. > > Therefore, for the time being I'm just enjoying the dickens out of putting > all my stories together into a book and let the kids take it from there. > > The point I'm trying to make is for all of you to do the same thing. I > know that many of you have families, many are still holding down jobs, > many of you are dedicated to your genealogy research and many have other > outside interests. Therefore, I know that you really don't have the time > to write story after story of your memories in the past. > > But there's one thing that maybe you can do on a daily basis is to copy > the emails you've sent to the list and just save them in a folder for > future printouts. What you send to the list are your memories, what you > did today and what you want to do tomorrow. Who knows but what you're > writing down is part of your own autobiography even if just to the list. > > Think about it. > vee >

Muriel said, > Please put me on you list for a copy of your book. And speaking of that > I don't remember if I thanked you for the receipes that you sent to me a > while ago. Thank you very much. > > Let me know when you would like payment for the new book. Dear Muriel, I have no doubt but what you did thank me for the recipes I sent you. As far as the cost of my new book is concerned, I won't know that myself until I actually finish up the book and know how many pages it will contain. When I know that, I'll get a quote from my printer (Office Max) and get an estimate what it will cost me. That plus postage. When that time comes, I'll let everyone know that the book is ready to roll and the price of each copy. luvya, vee

Dear Group, This afternoon I was sitting in my favorite chair reading my latest murder mystery when I heard the soft strains of "God Save the Queen" on my classical TV cable channel. When I looked up on the screen I first noticed that the composer was Beethoven himself. The title of the composition was "Variations on God Save the King." Well, that sure got me wondering how old that anthem was in the first place. I certainly hadn't expected that it would date back into the 1700s. When I got back to my computer I did a search on Google and found many references to the history of the tune. See http://www.number-10.gov.uk/output/Page829.asp. Of course there are other websites that give more information than that but I thought you'd be interested. Regarding our own anthem "The Star Spangled Banner," did you realize that it wasn't until 1931 that the American Congress proclaimed it to be our national anthem? vee

Hi Vee, Please put me on you list for a copy of your book. And speaking of that I don't remember if I thanked you for the receipes that you sent to me a while ago. Thank you very much. Let me know when you would like payment for the new book. Happy Easter to you. Hope you have a good one. Love, Muriel

Dear Folks, Did I enjoy my homemade soup for lunch today?? WOW did I ever! I guess the smoked pork hocks were worth the price after all. When I took the soup out of the refrigerator, the entire container of soup was encased in a jell from the long cooking of the bones. I knew that was adding nutrients to the soup. The soup was delicious and I can't wait for tomorrow's second helping of soup for lunch. vee

Dear Folks, I continue to put together the stories for my book and just a minute ago I came across this one that I wrote on Good Friday, 2002. Since today is Good Friday, I feel that it's a good time to post it again. Happy Easter, vee It's Easter Weekend March 29, 2002 I just can't let Good Friday go by without remembering what my mother told me about her father, my Grandpa John DeWees. I was a little girl when he died in 1937 and I remember only a few things about him. I believe I had asked Mother one time whether Grandpa was very religious. I believe she admitted that he didn't attend church all that often but there was one day that he stated was the holiest day in the year. And that was Good Friday. Why he felt that Good Friday was holier than Easter Sunday I don't know. But it was nice to know that Grandpa was a religious man in his heart. But oh my, the Easter vacations I spend visiting my grandparents in Steelton, near Harrisburg, PA, as a child. Of course Mother had bought me a brand new dress to wear to Sunday School on Easter Sunday and a new spring coat and a new hat and I knew that I looked my best in them. What would Easter be without a new outfit? My cousin Jackie was/is the same age as I and we pretty much grew up together. I went to Sunday School with her on Easter Sunday and how I loved to sing the familiar hymns along with her Sunday School class. What was so special is that all of them sang at the top of their lungs and it was such a joy to join in at equal volume! After Sunday School Jackie and I always went over to her other grandparent's house for Sunday dinner. Jackie's other grandparents were from Croatia and her grandmother always prepared the best chicken dinner in the whole world. And for dessert she always made a luscious "povateetsa." Obviously I don't know how to spell the word but that's how I remember that it was pronounced. It was layers of pastry spread with layers of honey, butter and chopped nuts and rolled up and baked. And Jackie's grandmother always welcomed me with a big hug. And what would Easter have been without the colored Easter eggs in our Easter baskets? But along with the Easter eggs and jelly beans was the best tasting chocolate candy ever made in this world! You see, my Aunt Teeny's husband and his Hoerner family made Hoerner's Chocolates for years. Easter was a very busy time for the Hoerner family. But after Easter Sunday, the Easter eggs were peeled and pickled in a combination of canned beets, beet juice, sugar, vinegar, cloves, allspice and salt. And after a couple of days in the refrigerator, the whites of the eggs turned purple, and the flavor of the eggs was out of this world! It was the flavor of Easter. Although the Easter season starts out as a solemn one, it ends as a joyous one. Good Friday is solemn as is Holy Saturday. But on Easter Sunday when you sing, "Christ the Lord Is Risen Today" and you remember what Easters were like when you were a little kid, you sing at the top of your voice with joy!

Dear Folks, The last time I went grocery shopping I found that they had smoked pork hocks in the meat department. I eyed the package of three pork hocks and noticed that the price tag on it was $2.46. Although that was a bit steep for me for something I just wanted to add flavor and a bit of meat to the soup pot, I bought it anyway. Well, today was the moment of truth. I had boiled/simmered the hocks for several hours, and when I knew that everything was falling off the bones, I removed the pot from the stove and let it cool down to where I could pick out the meat from the fat, bones and all. Although I didn't measure the amount of meat that I managed to retrieve from it all, my guess is that it was less than one cup. Nonetheless, I was still counting on the flavored broth that they had been simmering in. This evening I put all the soup ingredients together. They consisted of the broth, the meat, diced potatoes and canned green beans. Granted, I haven't really tast tested it, but I have an idea that the smoked pork hocks just aren't the same as a ham hock that's left over from a baked ham for Easter dinner. vee