(Day 8 of the Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories…Christmas Cookies) I’ve always enjoyed baking, though I rarely do it anymore. My arthritis makes it difficult to get around the kitchen. My speciality is chocolate stuffed peanut butter balls. They are small peanut butter balls with a couple of melted chocolate chips inside. I do the…
Remembering Pearl Harbor: One Man’s Quest
We remember the attack on Pearl Harbor, 7 December 1941, every year. While many of us have looked over the official casualty lists from that horrific day, we may not be aware that some of the remains have never been identified. 25% of the 2,400 remains, to be exact. Ray Emory has made it his…
The Most Grandchildren
The MyHeritage blog asked a question on its December 5th post. What is the largest number of grandchildren to a couple in your family tree? I took a gander at my tree to see what I could find. I decided not to go too far back. On many of my distant lines I’ve yet to…
Who’d Invite Us to a Holiday Party?
(Day 7 of the Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories: Holiday Parties) We were a large family for the standards of the 1960s and 1970s. 5 kids all born within 7 years of each other. When the Lassalle’s came to visit, people had to bring out card tables and extra chairs. We were rambunctious and loud. …
The Year Our Outdoor Decorations Almost Downed Airplanes
(This is day 5 of the Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories: Outdoor Decorations…In Memory of my Dad) When I was growing up in the late 1960s and early 1970s, almost everyone in our neighborhood put up Christmas lights. Each house had one strand of big colored light bulbs and that was that. We had two…