Cookie anyone?

I spent the afternoon baking cookies yesterday.  I realize most people do their cookie baking on a different schedule, but that's what I felt like doing yesterday.  I use Mom's old Betty Crocker Cookie Cookbook.  It is BEAT UP and RAGGED.  It's spine has been taped over but of course that's long since become ineffective.  There are stains and marks everywhere in in.  I don't remember how it happened that that cookbook found its way to my kitchen, but I take great comfort in it.  It sits right next to the Betty Crocker cookbook Mom gave me for Christmas in 1980.

In the back of the book, there are a series of "best cookies" from particular time periods and this is the one from the time period of Mom's birth.  I thought it was kind of interesting to note the special notice about molasses and that "Betty Crocker service responds to the needs of depression-hit homemakers with balanced low cost recipes and menus."  I've always been quite certain that the effects of the Depression era mightily impacted Mom's cooking and baking habits.  You can see how these pages are well worn even though they are way in the back and likely rarely consulted.

In the front of the book, Mom has noted her name with 11/64 indicating a date.  She has also taped a universal recipe to the front here--I've never tried this one but I have made many others in the book.  Yesterday it was chocolate crinkles.  To prepare to bake, I removed several sticks of margarine from the freezer so they could come to room temperature before I got ready to bake.  This chocolate crinkly cookie recipe didn't even call for margarine!  It uses vegetable oil instead.  Makes me wonder how these recipes have evolved over the years to accommodate current health concerns and economy. I didn't do that research so you are spared that much in this post.

Since she got the book in November of 1964, I figure she must have gotten it into her head that she was going to bake Christmas cookies that year.  What was she thinking?  5 small children at her feet every minute and she wanted to bake cookies?  Who knows, but this is a little view of how things looked on Dennison Road in 1964:

 I think you've seen most of these, but they still make me smile and I hope the same for you. (sorry Judy).  I hope you have a peaceful and happy 2013 the year that I retire.

Suspending Disbelief

I don't think I've ever been away from the blog for this long.  I've had a bit of writer's block followed by complete inability to use words in the aftermath of the Newtown massacre.  Now that some of my words are coming back to me, I'll be sharing them with you. 

This was indeed a watershed event for me in terms of taking a stand on gun control.  Up to now, I've pretended like it didn't matter what I thought; that it didn't matter to educate myself; that I needed to stay neutral.  I no longer feel that way.  I'll be educating myself so that I can speak intelligently about the need for stricter gun controls.    I've read the Second Amendment pretty carefully and disagree with those who believe it verifies the right to own guns.  Ownership of guns for personal use is a privilege, not a right.  There are many many people in this nation who maintain responsible, reasonable gun ownership for purposes of personal recreation and hunting.  They are holding up their end of the bargain in this privilege.  But there's no reason an average citizen needs an assault rifle.  Period. 

In another arena related to the Newtown shooting: I applaud that some are recognizing the extent to which teachers and administrators will go to protect student.  However, I don't believe there are many adults regardless of profession who wouldn't have done all they could to protect young children from such carnage.  It wasn't because these heroes were teachers that children were saved as adults lost their lives--it was because they are human.  We should applaud and uphold those qualities of human nature that collided with the opposite forces of human nature that day in Newton. 

So now I come to my reflection on the season.  It's been hard for me to feel happiness and joy throughout this season overshadowed by tragedy.  I've been thinking about how excited we'd get at Christmas on Dennison Road and how much fun we had with Ryan and Amy while they still believed in the magic of Christmas Eve.  Our suspension of disbelief injects excitement and joy to Christmas preparations.  It is not reasonable to believe in Santa but it's lots more fun to support the story than to live as though it's not true. 
It may not be reasonable to believe that human nature will overcome whatever evil is at the root of tragedies but I'll be suspending my disbelief in honor of the season.  Merry Christmas all.

 Helping with the lights 1960

1975

Your Christmas Bonus

And you thought all that time I spend on Ancestry.com was wasted............

Hey Norm!

I went to Paula's Christmas show in Walton last night.  Don't you agree this character would have made Dad very proud?  Paula did her usual wonderful job.  The audience was eating right out of her hand (ha ha--che was the cook--get it?).  There was a definite buzz when Paula came on stage.  Like it or not, Paula, you have fans!

There were 3-4 younger teenage girls sitting behind me reading the program out loud. 
"It doesn't say who the director is" (an odd comment from a young teenage girl I thought)

"Oh--here it is Molly Taylor and Paula O'Brien"

"I know Paula"

"So do I"

"Everybody knows Paula"

Truer words were not spoken for the remainder of the evening.

It made me smile and think about the legacy Paula has working in her favor.  Weenie was also well known and apparently quite popular.  I think everyone knew who he was also.  Dad brings his theatrical adventures to Paula's history--I think Dad was pretty well known in theatrical circles in Silver Creek and his performances were worth waiting for.  Sadly, my primary memory of Dad in the Walton Theater was him saying LOUDLY during one of the Christmas shows "I can't hear you".  Yikes.  Regardless, Paula's doing a grand job of carrying on the Irish malarkey and Walton is lucky to have her.

Thanksgiving wishes

Sounds like everyone has wonderful plans for Thanksgiving this year.  Although it would be nice for ALL of us to get together, it's nice to know there are several pockets of Thanksgiving goodness sprinkled all over the place:  Erie, Harpursville, Oxford, Walton, Otego and beyond. 

At an "ultimate" family Thanksgiving table, I'd love to gather all those relatives we've lost as well as those in the present.  There are some lost souls I am hoping to gather back up into the family tree.  These are the people I haven't been able to work on long enough to complete their picture, their stories. 

Timothy Ryan the grand patriarch (so far) is one of those.  He's as far back as I've been able to get in the Ryan family line and I don't really know too much about him yet.  He's our great great grandfather and I find him very intriguing.  His story will be a great challenge but I'm hoping for the best.

Gammy Flynn (Barbara Lippman Flynn) is another.  I know quite a bit about her life in the United States but she was born in Germany and I'd love to get a handle on her German life as well as some ideas about her parents and other siblings.

Matthew Fisher is our great great grandfather who settled in the Ellicottville area and I'm exceedingly curious about him.  Another lost Irish immigrant.

Of course, there are all those Nevins that supposedly came to work on the Erie Canal and then scattered to the winds.  I've never really had any hint that this was the case, but I don't disbelieve the stories Nanny told.
Frank Nevins is a brother to our great grandfather Henry Nevins and he's a lost soul (to me) as well.  I believe he went to California at some point but I haven't really been able to pin him down either.

Wouldn't it be grand to gather all these people around a table?   I feel a little like I want to scoop them up and sit them down so their stories can have some kind of substance. 

My first Thanksgiving turkey 20 years ago this year.  Perhaps the lost ancestors wouldn't notice I cooked it upside down..........Enjoy your own wherever you are!

Gloucester Report Part 2

In addition to the nature oriented adventures and the family time, we also hit the jackpot with family history resources!  We went to an antique store and found

This is a program that states: "We, the members of the Gloucester Service Chest welcome you to our entertainment, an Old Time Minstrel Show, which is given for the benefit of all our own boys in the Armed Forces."  It was held on January 20 1944.  I suspect you already know where this is going, but here's what I found inside:

Dad must have been only about 16 at this time and it's gratifying to see that his End Man experiences had a long history.  Edna Handran was on the ticket committee--she's Dad's first cousin.  So far, I don't recognize other names.  But it was a neat little find. 

Tim and Emmy graciously allowed me to bring home the Ryan Bible.  I'd already taken hand notes from this Bible many years ago, but nothing replaces getting your hands on the actual book!

This is one of the pages at the back of this very large old Bible.  It's missing both covers so I try to be extra gentle with it.  Most of the notes are in the same handwriting and I don't know who was documenting the family information, but I feel a kinship to her (because it's almost certainly a female).  I've been wanting to spend some significant time with this Bible for a long time and I'm very happy to have the opportunity. 

As an FYI:  it is Calvin in the previous video entertaining Jim.  Or perhaps it was the other way around, but it's definitely Calvin. 

Also as an FYI:  this blog is now 5 years old!  I'm quite impressed with myself and am very appreciative to all of you that take the time to read it. 

The Gloucester Report

Another great trip to Gloucester is officially in the books.  We did some new stuff, some old stuff and got to hug babies.  Everybody is doing well and send their best wishes back this way.  We got to take Tim to Cape Ann Brewing for lunch.  He'd never been so it was great fun to introduce him to one of our Gloucester favorites.  We saw Kevin briefly to say hello and he seems to be doing fairly well.  Emmy told us some stories about their most recent trip to Ireland all the while STRONGLY encouraging us to accompany them to Ireland in the near future.  Cathy and Chris are great--and I don't need to tell you how wonderful it was to spend time with Julia, Calvin and Claire. 

One of the new things we did was sign up for a guided tour of "the Island" (as our guide calls Gloucester--technically I guess he has a point since you must cross a bridge in order to get there).  I wanted to see Dogtown and the Babson Boulders I've heard so much about.  Good thing we had a guide--there is no way on Earth we'd have found them and then found our way home again by ourselves.  As the guide told the story, Dogtown was the center of town in the early days occupied by many fishermen widows and their dogs.  It's very far from the water and absolutely in the middle of the woods. 

The Babson Boulders are huge pieces of granite carved with words of wisdom.  Apparently Mr. Babson hired some out of work men during the Depression for this and there are a little over a dozen of them.  Here's an example.  Maybe you can see it's kind of desolate.

On our own, we decided to go find Crane Wildlife Refuge and ended up at Crane Beach on Sunday morning to find we weren't alone on the beach:

It's a massive beach and there were probably about a dozen horses getting their morning walks on the beach.  It was really cool.  Literally and figuratively. 

Here's another view of the beach.  I think this is a really neat shot.

Good bye for now!  More cool finds to follow in a day or so.

Happy Halloween 2012

I'm a little disoriented this week what with the storm interrupting my usual careful attention to the holiday.  I'll say Happy Halloween and hope you are all safe and dry as I believe you are.  The news media has been talking a great deal about "Frankenstorm" but I'll tell you what Perfect Storm is brewing.  Those of you that teach already know what I'm talking about.  I challenge those of you that do not teach to walk into a school this week (allow me to suggest middle school) and face the outcome when the following ingredients are combined:  a full moon, Halloween and sugary treats; impending/recent storm/early release/day off; AND (in our case) a field trip.  Yikes.

I thought you would enjoy the following trip down memory lane for Halloween celebrations:

 Still as cute today!

 Your favorite blogger

 Nanny probably about 1915

 Ryan P

Calvin and Claire

Miss Julia 2011

And the classic!

And with this, we'll fly off to enjoy the holiday--and Happy 21st to my favorite bat.

Who Needs Facebook?

I was so surprised to find Weenie on Facebook!  I don't think many people my age can say they found their grandfathers on a social networking site.  Made me wonder what Weenie would have thought of Facebook.....I expect he would have taken it in stride the way he seemed to do with everything else.  At least, that's how it appeared to my young eyes. 

But social networking has been active for ages and ages.  Remember the party line we had on Dennison Road?  That seems to me to be the ultimate precursor to Facebook.  You were connected to others (although not entirely by choice) who could monitor your activities anonymously by listening into the phone conversations.  Facebook stalking in its infancy.

Local newspapers, though, take the cake for hotbeds of social sharing.  You would never find such enlightening and entertaining information today in newsprint (if you can even find newsprint at all).  I am very grateful for such news flashes as they help build a more robust picture of our ancestors and their lives.

John Nevins is our great great grandfather (Henry's father).  This appeared in the Ellicottville Post Wed Oct 5 1898 and brings to mind the gigunda wind turbines they are bringing into Gloucester these days.  Everything old is new again.

Mary is Henry's next oldest sibling.  This appeared in the Ellicottville Post Wed June 14 1905 and pre-dates the All American Girls' Professional Baseball League ("There's no crying in baseball!") by nearly 40 years.  Nice that everyone in town knew about the black eye.

So, just to prove this stuff didn't just happen in Western New York, this is from the Boston Daily Globe Aug 2 1920.  Mrs. Ida Ryan, aged 27 and good-looking was the wife of Richard Ryan (Grampie's brother).  This would have been Dad's aunt.  All of 4'7" and 85 pounds, she could have blown into the harbor, but apparently she eventually returned home.  I do not yet know "the rest of the story" but there are all sorts of implications in this article:  "Quarrels with parents or relatives, anxiety to dress in better fashion that their pay envelopes will allow, love affairs, unrest and plain wanderlust are given by the police as primary cause in most cases".  Sometimes I wonder if we've really come very far in cases where young women disappear.
**I have just discovered that Ida Ryan was owner/manager of a tea room by 1940**  I hope she was happy.

Such articles don't appear anymore, but I wonder if those Facebook posts will be available to our descendants?

News Flash! Weenie's on Facebook!

Not even kidding.  Here's the link but if it doesn't work, go to Olean NY fan page on Facebook and look for the St. Bonaventure Football Album.  He's the first picture in there--our own leatherhead!

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150930988806638.401500.265586096637&type=3


This is just hard to swallow.  You can find the coolest things just wandering around the internet without specific purpose.  Can't wait to retire and do this full time.

The Fredonia Censor Forestville Personals

Despite appearances to the contrary, I have not abandoned this blog.  The heart has been willing and I don't really have a good reason except to say it is not because I've lost interest.That is definitely not the case.  As soon as I can figure out how to transfer the nearly complete (and genius) blog entries that I compose as I'm driving to this screen, you should hang on to your hats!  There are no fewer than a dozen complete entries floating around inside my head that can't seem to find their way to my fingers at the appropriate time.  

One day when I was fooling around (searching professionally and with great purpose), I came across The Fredonia Censor November 8 1956 because it mentioned Dad and Forestville in the same article.  I was very intrigued to find this listing:

This seems to say that Dad lived in Forestville when I was born.  Well, I assume Dad lived there while Mom lived in Olean because I am quite certain "we" lived in Olean when I was born.  I think perhaps the Ellicottville job and living arrangement was not the first time Dad lived separately from his family for the sake of work.  I guess I did not put together that Dad worked in Forestville the year I was born even though "we" lived in Olean.  I am constantly surprised by the new things I learn about what I thought I knew very well, thank you very much.

A little further down the page was another tidbit:

This one did not surprise me one bit.

We visited Amy this weekend.  It's been too long since I've put my arms around her.  The weather wasn't too pretty on Sunday so we went shopping at the outlets.  On Monday we got a tour of the zoo -- always a treat.  We stepped into some new territory when Amy offered to pay for our meal.  I was reluctant to allow it but quickly remembered how I felt the first time I paid for Mom and Dad's meal.  It made me feel so grown up and responsible.  It puts that parent/child relationship onto a new plateau.  So, Miss Amy, thank you for breakfast!  We love you.

I don't know how this happens, but it seems the same with Ryan.  You probably know he recently got a tattoo and I expect you know that Jim and I aren't really in favor of that for our children.  But it's one of those times when parents need to allow their children to make their own decisions complete with the knowledge that Mom and Dad aren't on board.  This relationship also has reached a new level.  I now have (nearly) grown up children.  Sigh.  

When they were very young, moving from one developmental step to another always brought joy at the same level as wistfulness.  So I find myself sighing heavily with a slight smile on my heart.

Nostalgia for Silver Creek

Something about the first part of fall makes me very nostalgic for Silver Creek. This year, the wistful remembrances are in sharper focus due to (of all things) Facebook coverage of the recent reunion held during the Grape Festival.  It was meant to be a reunion for all 70's alumni and I was kind of tempted to go but chickened out.  It's hard not to kick myself a little bit about that decision now that I'm seeing the pictures on Facebook.  I can't believe how many faces I recognize!!!  I did not expect that at all.  It isn't that hard for me to recollect the names, but to be able to identify faces after 40 years surprised me quite a bit.  I'll bet you would know the names if not the faces too.

The Grape Festival was a lot of fun but I don't think it was in existence for too many years before we moved.  I wonder if they still paint the curbs purple?  One of the events of the reunion weekend was held in the theater where Mom allowed me to see Romeo and Juliet after Jean told her it was suitable, though I don't believe it's a theater any more.  I barely recognize the pictures inside or outside the school.  Our principal Alvin Crowe was even at that reunion and he looks great!

I'll be glad to take a ride to Erie next week to get a little bit of that lakeside landscape, though I do not think I will be able to smell the grapes there the way I remember from Silver Creek!

Mom's Birthday

This owuld be Mom's 79th birthday.  It's hard for me to imagine what she would be like today if we were still lucky enough to have her.  Nanny lived past 79, but it's still hard for me to picture Mom.  There are still times when I think of Mom, briefly forgetting she's gone.  I thought you might enjoy some random favorite pictures that I think tell parts of Mom's story.

I love this one as everyone seems to be having a grand time and it reflects some of my favorite memories of card playing--that's not something my kids have experienced but it's one of my most cherished memories.  This was when we celebrated Nanny and Weenie's 50th.  In this picture, Mom is younger than any of us are today except for Judy!

Amanda's baptism 1983

I love how Mom is sharing something special with Jess.

Matthew's baptism

Great Dennison Road shot.  Look at Chris!

Looking very happy in 1980, though I never really did like that blue dress very much.  Not as flattering as she deserved. 

Classic

One of my all-time favorites.

Happy Birthday Mom.

Take a break

On this last sweet weekend of Summer 2012, I was sitting outside watching the birds delight in their new treats and feeder.  My thoughts wandered to the long-empty hummingbird feeder wondering if I'd be able to find the food mix I'd bought for it.  Then Hummingbird flitted into view!  He wasn't interested in me this time-- more so the food Jim had put out-- but there he was like a talisman called forth by my thoughts of feeding him.  This isn't the first time I've had a close encounter with Hummingbird (I like to think it's the same one) recently and this one felt magical.  It felt destined.  It felt very, very Irish.

Our Irish ancestors were quite extraordinary.  I recently got to watch a documentary called "Death or Canada--Fleeing the Irish Famine".  Intellectually I know the Irish faced hard times in the Famine years (1845-1852) but this documentary put the day to day hardships into sharp focus for me.  Disease and starvation forced Irish fisherman to sell their boats and nets to buy food for their families.  Typhus caused many more deaths than starvation brought upon these families. 

I'd long known that many of our Irish came to the United States through Canada.  Apparently as the wave of Irish immigrants began to overwhelm Eastern US ports, they reacted by increasing the fees owed by the shipping lines and immigrants.  Canada was kinder (read:cheaper). Many Irish took the long two month voyage to Canada because they had no other choice for survival.  Survival. 

I believe Timothy Ryan immigrated during the Famine years.  We know that Patrick Flynn's mother Ellen immigrated from Ireland but I believe this was later, though I'm not certain.  The Pierces and the Nevins came from Canada but each are Irish families.  Even if Ellen did not leave Ireland due to the Famine, she survived the Famine years there--imagine the strength and certain Irish luck working in her favor!

No small wonder the Irish are generally dark and brooding.  No wonder their stories are often fanciful if not outright falsehoods.  They are strong and resourceful.  And we descend from these people.  "Take a break and think about the past" came from this documentary and I think they are appropriate words for Labor Day 2012.

This is a picture of the oldest Irish ancestors that I have so far:  William Sr (Timothy's son) and his wife Kate Bentley Ryan.  I can almost picture Timothy from this as well as so many of the other Irish fishermen and farmers.  I think you've seen it here before but it pays to look again with new eyes.

Happy Birthday Strongheart

Be Kind To Francis Day 2012.  Spoil someone today.  Judy's suggestion is to give yourself a break today. Either way, I'm thinking about Weenie and perhaps you are too.  Although I always understood that we were very lucky in many ways that Weenie was our grandfather, I didn't appreciate it nearly enough.  It wasn't until I realized that my own children will never have a similar experience that I truly saw the blessing it was to have Nanny and Weenie in our lives so regularly.

Seeing that envelope with Weenie's familiar handwriting in the mail was always a special treat.  Here's one I have that appears to have been written while hospitalized with a heart attack.  Although I don't know for certain, the Congrats for Mary Jane at the end makes me think this might be about the time she received First Communion--probably around 1969.

He lovingly refers to Nanny and notes his appreciation at being remembered from his friends in Olean.  How ironic considering the coverage his death generated!  And he signs off "Strongheart", which I can't help seeing and thinking how (once again) he was before his time and the time of "Braveheart".

I remember T.B.I.B.; declaring a dividend; 4-5 and Fat Aunt Marge and loads of other classic "Weenie"-isms.  Do you have any letters of his still that you'd like to share?  If so, let's get them scanned and posted.  This one might be a few weeks after the one above.  It references moving to town so that had to be 1969/70 time frame.

I take great comfort in seeing that familiar handwriting again.  Thank you Strongheart for loving us just for being your grandkids.

A shout out to Ryan Patrick newly arrived at Clarkson!  Have a grand adventure. 

Disney Here We Come!

We'll be on our way to The Happiest Place on Earth soon and I got to thinking about previous Disney adventures.  We've been very very fortunate to be able to go to Disney a number of times but this will be the first time without children.  I expect it to be a very different experience than those we've had before. 

Our first visit to Disney was 25 years ago on a senior class trip. 

We spent most of our free time with another chaperone who's still teaching with me.  Cindy and Jim abused me a great deal for the number of flower pictures I took on this trip. 

Our next trip after that was nine years later in 1996.  I recall planning the trip carefully for when Ryan no longer needed a daily nap.  This particular trip was very special because we spent time with Kathleen and Nick, our sister Kathy AND our friends the Hamiltons.  It was (can I say it?) MAGICAL.

Kathy shamed me into setting up a lunch with the characters and this is from that event. I hadn't intended to spend that money but I'm so glad we did.

Four years later we returned and were chosen as "The Millenial Family of the Week"!  Our room was decorated for our arrival and we got a number of nice little perks including beach towels I still have.

Kathy came along on this trip too and was also a Millenial Family of the Week Member.  What I especially remember from this trip was promising myself that any future trips required only a pool, ESPN and a remote control.  That's all the kids seemed to care about even though we were in the Happiest Place on Earth.

We didn't really plan it this way but it worked out that we returned again 4 years later.  It takes that much time to save the money I guess!

This trip was memorable for the characters we met.  As you can plainly see.

I planned the 2008 return carefully realizing it may be the last time the four of us could take a big trip together.  Amy was in college meaning she'd be going off on her own soon.  This was a wonderful trip.  I expected the kids to go off on their own but they didn't--we mostly stuck together and experienced Disney magic in a really special way. 

 This was the morning we left and we were doing some last minute shopping.  We ended up stranded at the airport in Orlando and spent another night there.  Their hotel is right in the airport and it's like a mall.  Couldn't ask for anything better for kids this age. 

All the trips have been memorable and we are fortunate we were able to share such experiences with our children.  But I'm looking forward to this one especially! See you on the other side!