Saturday Spotting's

     Many of us spot some unusual things during our research. Some of the things we might view as a little on the strange side, funny, gross or even unusual. Most of the time some of these things we spot during our research have nothing to do with the individual we are actually researching, I know that’s the case with me, some of the time. Then I began to realize what might not be useful to my research might be useful to someone else. So that’s why I’ve come up with “Saturday Spotting’s”. My plan is to post some of these unusual things that I’ve spotted during my research every Saturday. You will find everything from newspaper articles, photos, advertisements, obituaries’ and more. Hopefully some of you will find it useful if not just entertaining, enjoy.

December 17, 1891

Mr. Samuel Whybark, who was in his 90th year, died in this place at the residence of his son-in-law, R. W. Fisher, last Thursday of old age. A funeral sermon was preached in his memory by Rev. W.H. Roberts of Ironton Friday, at Mr. Fisher’s residence, and on Saturday his remains were taken to his farm in the northern part of this county and place in the cold, cold ground. Mr. Whybark was a good citizen, had lived a faithful member of the Presbyterian Church for many years, and held the honor of Deaconship in his church at the time of his death. Local & General (Marble Hill)

**found on page 7 of Volume II Bollinger County, Missouri Newspaper Abstracts from The Marble Hill Press

December 31, 1891

Dr. Witmer says a little girl stranger arrived at the home of August Kamp a day or so ago. Local and General (Marble Hill)

Miss Emma Lincoln has suddenly disappeared from home, without leaving any information as to her intentions. It is thought Miss Emma and a young man by the name of Bob Upchurch have eloped together and are married. Lutesville Locals.

**found on page 8 of Volume II Bollinger County, Missouri Newspaper Abstracts from The Marble Hill Press

Orphan Photo - What a Nice Hat on Man

The hat makes this picture along with the expression on the man behind him. I really don’t know a lot about this photo; expect this is one I bought off eBay and there was possible celebration of sorts. 

Tuesdays Time to Laugh

     Recently while doing some research on an ancestor of mine, Cornelia Josephine Gray, I wasn't having a lot of luck. So I decided it was time to search some of the archived newspapers.  While doing so I began reading some of the strangest stories. While looking through the Chicago Tribune I came across this article written around, 2 July 1876. I couldn't help but laugh as I was reading this article below. Just trying to picture Mr. French and all of the neighboring lodgers as they were explaining the events that took place. Not to mention the expression of the individual who wrote this article.  I know Tuesdays are sometimes a difficult day for some of us, so I thought I would give you all a little something to read and laugh at.

    

  We have all read something in our local newspaper that shocks us, makes us laugh or even makes us wonder if it’s really news.  But have we really taken the time to read some of these older newspapers. They just don’t write articles like they use to.

Matrilineal Monday

     I want to give some well-deserved focus to some of the strongest women in my life. If it wasn't for these 

women I wouldn't be here today, wouldn't be who I am, wouldn't have this wonderful family and be so 

strong willed.

Great grandma: Mary Caroline Estes (Elfrank)

Great grandma: Essie Mae Stewart (Clinton)

Great grandma: Emma Josephine Harenberg (Hopper)

Great grandma: Aline Marie Smith (Langston)

Grandma: Martha Colleen Clinton (Elfrank)

Grandma: Lena Kathleen Hopper (Langston)

Grandma: Doris Ann CAMPBELL (Benton, Langston)

My mom: Debra Sue Elfrank (Langston)

      Every one of these women played a special role in my life some way or another. I just wish they were all around now so I could thank each one of them. Over the next few weeks on every Monday I plan on introducing you to each of them a little more. With the help of some collected photos, letters, stories and memories from my mom and me.   We have all come to a point at one time or another wishing we would have said or done something more. I guess this is my way and time to express that, with some laughter and a few tears. 

Advent Calendar - Grab Bag - Big Blue Cat

     Is your family one of those families that has a “ham bone” or simple goofy Christmas tradition? Well the Langston’s do, my dad’s side of the family. Correction my dad’s sisters do, or they did. That’s where the “Big Blue Cat” comes in to play, or exchange I should say. I’m not sure who really started this tradition if I were to look at the gift I would have to say my Aunt Sally since she is the big lover of cats.

 

     Every year we would gather to celebrate Christmas and all of our blessings. Everyone would take turns hosting it at their home and it usually took place the first weekend after Christmas. Trust me this was a house full, not everyone could make it to all of the gatherings but when we did you had to make room for eighteen bodies both young and younger. Everyone would bring some baked goods and a side dish or two, just like a regular family reunion. Once we finished with all the hugs the kids would give the parents a brake, short brake and go entertain ourselves till the dinner bell would ring. After we finished eating and enjoying all of the sugary sweets it was time to gather around the tree for a paper ripping good time. This was when we would discover who would be the new owner of the “Big Blue Cat”. It sat about sixteen inches tall with its pink eyes, long eyelashes and full of bubble bath. Yep that’s right, “Big Blue Cat” with bubble bath inside. I’m not really sure if anyone ever used it or not it was just a fun tradition that was passed around every year. Funny thing I don’t know where that cat is now but the memory I and others have of it will last for many years to come.

Plastic Bread Bags + Soap = Snowtime Fun

     If you’ve been following my blog this past week you would have noticed a pattern, Christmas traditions, and memories. I don’t know about the rest of you but when this time of year comes around you can’t help but think of the “soft white fluffy stuff,” that’s right snow. I love some of the memories I have as a kid playing in the snow and enjoy creating even more with my kids. 

     When you’re younger the cold wet weather never seems to bother you, you’re tough, and it’s just snow. When my brothers and I were younger we couldn’t wait for the snow to fall and pack the gravel road in front of our house. See we had the BEST hill in front of our house, the best hill for flying down on our bikes during the warmer months, and sleds for the winter months.

     Dad would grab the bar of “Ivory” soap and begin soaping our sleds. He always said that soaping the skids on the sleds helped it to run smoother and faster. Those sleds had to be ready for non-stop sled runs down our road.   I guess it’s the same as waxing your skies before hitting the slopes. But there is one big difference between sledding and skiing when it comes to my childhood, empty plastic bread bags. That’s right I said plastic bread bags. It didn’t matter if it was Wonder Bread, Blue Bunny, or the general store brand any bag would work.

     See while dad was getting the sleds ready mom was in charge of making sure we had all of our gear. You know the typical coat, gloves, scarf, hat, snow boots, and plastic bread bags. Okay, I’ll explain the bread bags. Some of you might know about this and others might be surprised. You know how when you’re out playing in the snow, rolling in it and getting clocked in the back of the head by that white cannonball.  It never fails you end up with snow in places that can make you uncomfortable and that’s part of the fun. But mom and dad told us that keeping our feet warm and dry was very important, so that’s where the plastic bread bags would come in.  

    Once we had all of our gear on, minus our boots, we’d park it on the couch in front of mom. She would slide one bread bag on each sock-covered foot; slip a large rubber band around the top. Then help us get our boots on and pull our pant legs down over our bags and boots. Sounds strange I know, I use to complain about having to wear bread bags on my feet, but it did work. It would keep your feet completely dry and warm. So Mom and Dad you were right, but I still thought it was strange.

      It’s funny now when I share memories like this one with my kids they think I’m going to tell them about walking a mile to school. No, I didn’t walk a mile in hand-me-down boots in snowdrifts up to my knees, I just wore empty plastic bread bags on my feet while playing in the snow. The looks on their faces are priceless. Maybe that could be a Pinterest pin, “Additional uses for empty plastic bread bags.”

Advent Calendar - Christmas Cookies

     Christmas cookies are a staple in the Rodesky house hold just as they were in the Langston house. Both my mom and grandma would bake like there was no tomorrow. I remember mom would always bake a variety of goodies. Everything from haystacks, peanut clusters, and divinity to sugar cookies and trust me I could go on. With Grandma and Grandpa it was always fudge, they would cut into one inch thick squares, and then warp them in wax paper. I don’t know exactly why they would wrap each piece, maybe they wanted you to feel like you were unwrapping a present of yummy goodness.  My fudge till this day looks like sticky mud; they had a secret, wish I would have asked.

     My favorite cookie was and still is sugar cookies with homemade powder sugar icing. I can clearly remember the first time I was able to help mom make the cookies. She pulled out all of the ingredients that we would need along with the brown and milky white glass mixing bowl. Then she wrapped this yellow and brown apron, with brown rick-rack on the edges, around my waist. She would then but her matching apron on, both of them were made by her grandmother, one was moms and the other one was her moms, my grandma. I still have both of those aprons, I think this might be the year my daughter wears it while making cookies.

     I was allowed to place all of the ingredients in the mixing bowl minus the eggs. I guess the idea of me cracking the eggs on the counter top and floor wasn’t festive. My favorite part of making the cookies was when mom would pour the flour into the sifter and I got to sift. I don’t know what the big deal was with that, it wasn’t anything fancy a metal sifter with a red painted wooden knob that I would turn.

      It never failed once everything was mixed you could find my dad eating some of the cookie dough. He and both my brothers had their favorite part of making the cookies and that was it, eating the dough.  We would roll out the dough and use our Christmas cookie cutters in shapes of stars, Santa, holly leaf and I believe a Christmas bell. Once they were baked and cooled it was time to for the icing and sprinkles. Now this was and still is the “BEST” part. We would lay the paper bags out on the counter top, space the cookies out evenly then begin icing. See I would always add a little extra icing on the cookies so it would run off onto the paper bags. Once the cookies were picked up I would take my finger and wipe up all the icing that accidently, yeah right, dripped off the cookies and lick it off. Yes, this was one of my favorite parts of making sugar cookies and still it.  

     Here in the Rodesky house we still bake all of the Christmas goodies including the sugar cookies. As tradition would have it my husband and sons have taken the place of my dad and brothers. As soon as everything in mixed in the bowl you can always find them grabbing a piece of cookie dough and eating away. My daughter and I can be found dragging our fingers in the icing that drips off the cookies, like mother like daughter. Yummy!

Passing On the Tradition

     Christmas traditions are something that we all have. For some of us it’s going around the neighborhood singing Christmas carols, decorating cookies, stringing popcorn or even putting up the Christmas tree.  The last couple of blogs I’ve posted have been about my Christmas traditions growing up and I have really enjoyed sharing those. I can’t believe I forgot one of my favorite traditions; it was also one that my brothers enjoyed. Now notice I didn’t mention my parents enjoying this one.

     Whenever we spent Christmas at my grandparents’ house my grandmother had her version of “The Elf on a Shelf”. Once we arrived at their house we would all roll out of the car. Dad and grandpa would grab the luggage while the rest of us hit the bathroom, what it was a long drive. Then all of the grandkids would give the usual hugs and kisses to both grandma and grandpa. Then immediately run no walk fast, no running in the house, to the white Christmas tree decorated with blue lights and silver ornaments. Yeah, it kind of makes you think of Elvis. Okay back to the tradition, in that tree was a special ornament that was a silver ball with a small bird trapped inside. At least that’s what we were told and it was our job to find it. See this ornament had a special bird one that would actually chirp and chirp and chirp, until we found it. Once it was found grandma would unplug it and the bird would stop singing.

     I never could figure out why the adults in the house were so anxious for us to find the bird. But as most traditions go, you pass them on and I was the lucky one to continue that tradition with my family. Let’s just say I loved it as a child and enjoy watching my kids try to find the bird. But I now am anxious for them to find that chirping bird.

Christmas Tree Traditions....

     We all have our Christmas holiday traditions; some are unique while others are so similar you can’t tell them apart from other families. One that almost all of us have in common is the Christmas tree. We might have different sizes, shapes and even colors. Let’s not forget some of us have artificial while others have the real sap dripping trees.

     Some of you might be aware of this blog; http://geneabloggers.com, if not I would recommend if you do blog and enjoy genealogy pay it a visit. On their blog they are posting prompts for December so I thought I would give this prompt a try. It was a prompt about Christmas trees and your family’s traditions around them. So without further ado here we go with mine, let’s see if I can remember that far back.

     The tradition that I currently share with my family is pretty close to the one I had growing up. From what I can remember we always had an artificial tree, I don’t know why exactly. Hey mom if you’re reading this maybe you can clue me in on why we never had a real tree? Don’t get me wrong we had a beautifully decorated tree that we would wait until after Thanksgiving before putting up. Dad would drag the box out of the attic, along with all the other festive decorations. It was always put up in the same place in our living room, so when you walked in the front door that was the first thing you would see. For some reason we, my two brothers and I, were never allowed to hang the lights. I bet it had something to do with our inability to cast a fishing line without wrapping it around a tree branch, love you dad.

     Mom would pull out all of the breakable ornaments and hang them in just the perfect places. Then we were allowed to hang up the remaining, some were handcrafted that we made the previous years and others were gift ornaments we had received from our grandparents.  We would step back take a quick look and make sure the tree was balanced with equal ornaments on all sides of the tree.  Next was the   fun of throwing the silver tinsel. Just kidding that was one thing we couldn’t do; we would each take a handful. Then with around three to four strands of tinsel neatly place it on the tree. But no matter what you could ALWAYS find a golf ball size clump of tinsel somewhere on the tree. The decorating wasn’t complete until we placed the Christmas village with the ice skating rink under the tree. Then FA LA LA LA LA the tree was finished and now time for the rest, hang all stockings, more lights and place the rest of the decorations throughout the house.  

I Love My Kids...

     Kids say the funniest things! It’s so true and most of us know that. Yesterday I ended my blog letting you know that I was going to share something with you about my daughter. Yes she knows that I’m going to blog about her but I’ve promised not to reveal her name, I only have one daughter, hint, hint.

     During my appearance on the FGS Radio yesterday, Randy Whited the host asked me if any of my children showed interest in genealogy. After my family had a chance to listen I was corrected by one of my boys. See I told Randy that all three of my boys could care less, it was like doing homework. I was later told by my oldest that wasn’t true, he likes it especially when he finds out something really interesting. He does show some interest and enjoys looking at some of the old envelopes with stamps along with some “funny” looking photos. As for the other two my original comment still stands, who knows maybe just maybe something will spark their interest.

     Now as for my wonderful “nameless” daughter, her name starts with an “A”. I told Randy that out of all my children she was the only one who seemed to show some real interest. She even attempted to Google her teacher too find out about her ancestors. Don’t worry she didn’t get far and we focused on one of our own ancestors, so no laws were broken. She did surprise me though Wednesday of last week, she was invited to church with one of her friends. When she came home she was carrying in a blue pocket folder and wanted to show me what they talked about while at church.  To my surprise when she opened it all the information inside was about family, genealogy and the importance of it. I guess I should tell you the church she went to was “Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints”. Many of you already know the importance of genealogy research that all members of this church practice. I guess that’s what makes this so funny. See after they passed the folders out and told the children what they were about to discuss, my sweet daughter proceeded to tell everyone there that her mom knows EVERYTHING about genealogy that’s what she does all day long. I couldn’t help but laugh, I mean let’s face it EVERYTHING, I don’t think so. She did tell me after we finished reading over some of the material that she has decided she would like to do genealogy when she gets older.