Several weeks ago Favorite Photo was a prompt for 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks. Here’s one of my favorite photos. I’m actually showing two photos, and you’ll see why below. A little background Theodosia Marie “Dosia” THOMAS MARTIN (1893-1954) was my first cousin, twice removed. Her father, James Renatus “Renn” THOMAS (1865-1949) was the only […]
Nancy H. Vest, Writer
Keeping Grandma Alive...and all the others, too (including yourself)
Don’t pinch me! I’m not Irish! Or am I? (A St. Patrick’s Day story)
Kids can be mean. When I was in elementary school, every St. Patrick’s Day meant a day of being pinched if you weren’t wearing green. I wasn’t Irish (or Catholic), so I didn’t pay much attention to St. Patrick’s Day. But I lived in a neighborhood with many Irish and/or Catholic families, and those kids […]
Dogs, drinking, dancing…and other distractions for nineteenth century farmers
A few weeks ago, I read something written by A. B. Simpson (1843-1919) that made me think about my farming ancestors and the Bright Shiny Objects in their lives. A Bright Shiny Object (aka BSO), for those unfamiliar with the term, is anything that distracts a person from the task at hand for more than […]
