Keeping Grandma Alive...and all the others, too (including yourself)
My dad, Charles Leroy Heiser (1913-2001), loved the Washington Redskins. I don’t think he ever went to a live game, but he always watched their games on TV. It was our family’s Sunday afternoon activity, and I cherished that time together. Watching the Redskins play now still brings back the feeling of all being right with the world. One particular…
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I’ve been quiet the past few weeks, since right before Hurricane Florence began dropping buckets of rain on North and South Carolina. The aftermath of the storm at my house consists of several downed trees (none hitting any buildings), groundwater flooding into the basement, a power outage of less than a day, and a fried hot water heater from a…
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The prompt for 52 Ancestors this week is Work. Most my ancestors were farmers, stone masons, railroad laborers, and preachers. Some were turpentine farmers. I have written about this before, but it fascinates me so I am writing about it again. My great-grandfather, Jeremiah Daniel Thomas (1858-1946); my 2nd great-grandfather, Daniel B. Grant (1846-1900); and my 3rd great-grandfather, Jeremiah Grant…
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The theme this week for 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks is: Back to School. Here’s my response… Many of you have read stories about my grandmother, Florrie Thomas Martin (1894-1979). She was a hard working tenant farmer’s wife; she saved the life of her dog; and she was a talented with crocheting, quilt making, and embroidery. Florrie was also a…
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This week’s blog post is from Diana Erbio, author of Coming to America: A Girl Struggles to Find Her Way in a New World. See Diana’s bio at the end. My grandfather would often conclude a long talk with me by saying, “There’s a book in all of us…ay, Schatzi?” Schatzi is what my grandfather called me. It means sweetie,…
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A few weeks back, the prompt for 52 Ancestors in 52 weeks was COLOR. Here’s my story, better late than never. There are no colorful names in my family or anyone that I really consider to be a colorful character, but there were (and still are) a lot of artistic people in my family. My mom, Gladys MARTIN HEISER (1921-1999)…
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