Ray Stevens - I'm My Own Grandpa

This was sent to me by my dear friend and God-brother, Chris, on Facebook.  It made me laugh and while it was incredibly silly, it made me think of some of the interesting family trees out there!  

Does your family tree branch out? ;)

Wordless Wednesday - Gold Star Mother

 

Martin and Theresa Rosbeck lost their son, Raymond, due to injuries sustained in combat during the Korean Conflict in 1952.

CPL Raymond Rosbeck

Tombstone Tuesday - Barrett Marker

I don't know who's buried here.  That's a common theme sometimes with surname markers.  Sometimes you can't even be sure that they belong to your family.  I'm lucky though because despite the common name on this marker, I know it belongs to me.  My mom would put flowers on it every year for Memorial Day as did her relatives before her.  She doesn't know who's there either, just that they are ours.  Time to write away to the church and see how good their records are!



Any suggestions on how to fix the marker?  As you can see it's sinking into the ground, but unlike other areas of the cemetery (Saint Gabriel's Roman Catholic, Hazleton, PA), it's more than just the marker...the entire area is sunken.  It is a city with a deep coal mining history, but I know of no subsidences in this particular area.  I don't know if it's a lost cause to fix it.  I would hate to think so.  Now that I've started making the annual pilgrimages to place flowers, I want to ensure that my children can find it when it's their turn.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Holiday!  Our long journey is over and while family will be missed it's time to get back to work!

Merry Christmas!

We left Texas on Saturday morning and arrived in Green Bay Sunday night.  Time for a little time off with family for the Holidays.  There may be a stray post here and there, but for the most part, I'll see you all in the new year!

Sunday's Obituary - SGT Lester J. Uelmen

"New Fane Soldier Dead, Barton B-24 Gunner Missing

A telegram from the war department conveyed the sad news to Mrs. Betty Uelmen of New Fane Monday morning that her husband, Sgt. lester J. Uelmen, 25, was killed in action Jan. 13, near Strasbourg, Germany.  The dead sergeant is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Edward Uelmen of New Fane.

Sgt. Uelmen entered the army Dec. 4, 1942, and had basic training at Camp Chaffee, Ark.  From there he went to Camp Campbell, Ky., and then to a port of embarkation on the east coast.  He arrived at a port in France on Oct. 27, 1944.  Moving through France with an infantry division of the seventh army, he was killed in his first combat.  his last letter, written to his wife, was dated Jan. 9, in Germany.

Sgt. Uelmen worked at the Kewaskum creamery prior to entering the army.  He was married to the former Betty Krueger of New Fane on Oct. 12, 1940.  his wife resides with her parents, the William Kruegers, at New Fane.  He is further survived by his parents and two brothers, Pvt. Elmer, with the third army in France and Lawrence of New Fane."

There was no publication information with the clipping which was passed on to me.  The newspaper was almost certainly from Wisconsin and the story would have been published after January 13, 1945. 

Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories - Stockings

The Tabor girls - Christmas 1974

I actually have the stocking I used when I was a little girl.  My mom made it out of felt.  Each one of us had our names on ours and a little toy pinned to the top.  Mine was a Santa head.  You would pull the cord at the bottom and Santa's eyes would open and the toy/pin would light up.  It's still attached to my stocking and the eyes still open, but not without difficulty.

When our oldest was born my husband and I went to K-Mart and looked at stockings.  I had little time (and skills) at the time to make stockings for everyone so we found pre-made stockings that we liked.  We bought four since we knew we'd have at least one more kiddo at some point.  I got felt at the craft store and cut out letters to glue our names on our stockings.  It wasn't quite like mom's, but the intent is there.

We didn't hang our stocking by the fireplace.  We just laid them on the tile by our lovely fake fireplace.  I'm sure my parents were most likely concerned that having the stockings hung would just be temptation for us to pull at them and pull something down on our heads!

We open our stockings first thing in the morning...before presents.  It gives parents time to enjoy that first crucial cup of coffee while somewhat appeasing the kids' desire to get into some goodies.  I can appreciate that more as an adult. 

Where do you put your stockings and when do you "open" them?  Is it a new tradition or is it what you used to do as a kid? 

Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories - Grab Bag - Crafts

My mom was always very crafty.  I like to think that I inherited a little of that as well, but nothing compared to the mad skills my mom has!  She had the Farm Journal Christmas Book and had made some of the decorations from it for our house.  The ones I remember clearly are the nativity and the Santa Claus mobile.  I thought she had made the candle with presents as well, but it's not as clear in my mind.

When I got married back in 1999 in Hawaii, my mom (knowing how I loved the nativity) made one and shipped it to me.  I absolutely love it!  It just made it feel more like Christmas with it there.

I know my older sister has fond memories of all the crafty (and yummy) items in this book, because a few years back she went on eBay found copies of it, and PRESTO!...a little bit of our childhood was placed in our hands!  Now mom's not the only one with a copy! :)

Next year I've got to get to work on that Santa mobile and perhaps the candle.  I wonder how fire safe that candle IS!  Oh well...as long as I don't leave it alone.

Were there any special home-made decorations that your parents or ancestors made that you cherish?