Keeping Grandma Alive...and all the others, too... by sharing Faith, Stories, and Wisdom from Generation to Generation
I came across an old newspaper article about a Canned Heat Gang in York, Pennsylvania in 1947 while researching my dad’s family tree. At first, I thought maybe it was a clever name given to this group by a wanna-be writer in the police department, but not so. Canned Heat Gangs were common in U.S. and Canadian cities from coast…
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I had a gentle introduction to death. The first funeral I remember attending was the one for my Aunt Aggie Thomas Jeffords (1897-1966). She was my grandmother’s sister, and I was six years old. My family crammed into our Buick after dinner on the evening of May 31st for the 9-hour journey to South Carolina where Aunt Aggie lived and…
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A recent prompt for 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks was Nickname. Here’s my story for this prompt. When my dad (Charles Leroy HEISER 1913-2001) and mom (Gladys MARTIN HEISER 1921-1999) met, it was pretty much love at first sight. They were engaged about six months later and married a few months after that. When they got engaged, Mom took Dad…
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Favorite Photo was last week’s prompt from 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks for 2025. I couldn’t pick just one. So here are three of my newest favorite photos that came from a collection shared with me by my cousin, B. Grandma (Florrie THOMAS MARTIN 1894-1979) and Aunt Millie (Miriam “Millie” MARTIN ATKINS 1926-1994) in August 1947 at Sawmill Creek according…
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My grandma, Florrie THOMAS MARTIN (1894-1979) lived with my family. When my sister and I were teenagers, we played a lot of records, or vinyls, as they are now called. Grandma complained that all she heard through the wall was beat, beat, beat. One day when she was complaining about the beat, beat, beat, I asked her what songs she…
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In September 2018, Hurricane Florence was heading for the southeast coast of the United States. Being in North Carolina, my daughter, L., and I prepped for the storm by buying batteries and non-perishable food, filling up the gas cans, and securing lightweight yard items. We lined two large plastic trashcans with thick plastic bags and filled them with water, one…
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