Wordless Wednesday, Ben

This is a current photo but it is definitely cute: My nephew Ben with orphaned raccoon.

Kingsley Wheels

Two ladies from Kingsley, Michigan out for a 'walk' in their high-powered 'wheels'

Hanging Clothes Fun Friday 24th Apr 2009

You have to be a certain age to appreciate this.

THE BASIC RULES FOR CLOTHESLINES:
(if you don't know what clotheslines are, Better skip this)

1. You had to wash the clothes line before hanging any clothes-walk the entire lengths of each line with a damp cloth around the lines.

2. You had to hang the clothes in a certain order, and always hang "whites"; With "whites," and hang them first.

3. You never hung a shirt by the shoulders - always by the tail! What Would the neighbors think?

4. Wash day on a Monday! . . . Never hang clothes on the weekend, or Sunday, for Heaven's sake!

5. Hang the sheets and towels on the outside lines so you could hide your "unmentionables" in the middle (perverts & busybodies, y'know!)

6. It didn't matter if it was sub zero weather . . . Clothes would "freeze-dry."

7. Always gather the clothes pins when taking down dry clothes! Pins left On the lines were "tacky!"

8. If you were efficient, you would line the clothes up so that each item did Not need two clothes pins, but shared one of the clothes pins with the next Washed item.

9. Clothes off of the line before dinner time, neatly folded in the clothes basket, and ready to be ironed.

10. IRONED?! Well, that's a whole other subject!

A POEM

A clothesline was a news forecast
To neighbors passing by.
There were no secrets you could keep
When clothes were hung to dry.
It also was a friendly link
For neighbors always knew
If company had stopped on by
To spend a night or two.
For then you'd see the "fancy sheets"
And towels upon the line;
You'd see the "company table cloths"
With intricate designs.
The line announced a baby's birth
From folks who lived inside -
As brand new infant clothes were hung,
So carefully with pride!
The ages of the children could
So readily be known
By watching how the sizes changed,
You'd know how much they'd grown!
It also told when illness struck,
As extra sheets were hung;
Then nightclothes, and a bathrobe, too,
Haphazardly were strung.
It also said, "Gone on vacation now"
When lines hung limp and bare.
It told, "We're back!" when full lines sagged
With not an inch to spare!

New folks in town were scorned upon
If wash was dingy and gray,
As neighbors carefully raised their brows,
And looked the other way . . .

But clotheslines now are of the past,
For dryers make work much less.
Now what goes on inside a home
Is anybody's guess!

I really miss that way of life.
It was a friendly sign
When neighbors knew each other best
By what hung on the line!

Note: If anyone knows who wrote this or where it originated from I would love to give credit. It came in my email. Hope got a smile!

Wordless Wednesday: Birdie Secor & Katherine

The lady is Bertha "Birdie" (Secor) Kratochvil and Katherine Kratochvil dau of Clarabelle Inez (Secor) and Edward Kratochvil. Birdie married Arthur Kratochvil. Katherine married Melvin Hines in Grand Traverse County, Michigan.

Tombstone Tuesday: Carol Newmarch

Baby Carol Newmarch

Somber Sunday Mrs. Brenzinger & Child

The Alton Weekly Courier, Alton, Illnois
Friday 1 October 1852
Frightful Accident

A German woman, Brenzinger, and her child, about three years old, were dangerously injured this morning, about half past nine o'clock, by a Morris and Essex Railroad horse car, at the foot of Centre Street. The horses were going at full gallop in order to drag the car around the curve up the hill, when the woman with the child in her arms attempted to go over on the cross-walk.

Not seeing the approaching car, and probably not understanding the warning which was given her, she walked directly against the horse, which the driver had endeavored to stop in time, but the headway of the car drove them onward, and they knocked the woman down. The child was thrown under the car, and the front truck passed over the lower part of the abdomen and the legs, bruising the former and probably inflicting internal injuries, and laying the latter bare to the bone nearly the whole length, but making no fractures. The woman, it is thought by the bystanders, was not run over, but received her wounds from the horses, and from being dragged on the ground, her dress having caught between the brake and the wheels.

Her injuries consist in the fracture of two of the spinal processes, and of one arm at the elbow, with bruises upon the body, and probably if either can survive, they certainly cannot recover.

Since the above was in type, the little child died. Newark Advertiser

Brenda's Brick Wall - Wolfgram (Saturday Night 28th)

How sad is this? I have my mother's ancestory back to the early 1600's in Bohemia and farther back in Quebec and France. But, here in the USA I cannot find the grandfather of my father. I THINK I know.. but I cannot prove it.

Adding to this blog for the Saturday Night 'Special' of Randy's. ;')

Benhart Benjamin Wolfgram born 1904 d. 1979 is my father. His father is Amel / Emil Wolfgram, supposedly born in Wisconsin abt 1867. I found an Abel in the Dodge County Wisconsin 1870 census with August and Fredericke Wolfgram and going by one cousin's family lore this almost has to be the family. I have ordered every record known to man on this couple and a couple of their sons trying to prove or disprove this family and I cannot do either. Yesterday on Heritage Quest I found an 1880 census that, for some reason, I never hit upon, Oh, I know why! The name is again, spelled Abel and not Amel. But we all know the history of census takers being ever so 'accurate' in their writings! Not!

Amel/Emil ends up in settling down in Todd County, Minnesota and marries Matilda 'Tildee" Zacharias, whom had been married before and brought 2 children to the marriage, and Amel and Tildee have four of their own children. I have land records, vitals and any record I could find on the Minnesota connection but was never to find the connection to Wisconsin. All of his records point to Wisconsin as his birthplace. Abel on the 1870 and 1880 is the ONLY record I have seen that even comes close to Amel. Amel marries in 1884 (from memory) in Minnesota. I would discount this IF there was not a son of August by the name of Frank who became a judge and had a son that was in WWI who died young. Frank donated monies for a room at Weidner University and when Edward died in the military he donated thousands of elite type English books to the room, called the Wolfgram Library. This is a part of the oral stories from a cousin that lived in Minnesota and Iowa and had no way of knowing about Frank unless there was some kind of family connection.

If you are reading this and have any connection to this family please contact me at kingsley@aol.com.

I have all the data from the time Amel hit Minnesota but not his birth record or parents. I know they were of Luthern faith and that is the one thing I have not done is search the church records in Wisconsin.

Now, my commitment for FHC research: I have the 1870 and 1880 census of one person I thought was most likely to be my gr-grandfather so I need to try and disprove or prove this person again with new data I found. The spelling is Abel on the 2 records how likely is it for the census taker to make the same name mistake ten years apart and assumedly not the same worker. I had not found this prior as I thought Abel was a typo for _hopefully_ Amel. So, I need to find out what happened to this Abel.

Now to determine what might help me. I will aim for the 1890~ JUST KIDDING~~ okay the 1900 and 1910 and see if I can find this Abel. My Amel married in 1884 in Minnesota so if I find Abel with any of the family it will sort of disprove my _hoped_ theory of the mispelling.

I have check this set of records Index of births -- Monroe County, Wisconsin : 1850 through 1944 but not for Abel. I think this will be my first step. And I will have to send a request to the WI mailing list as the book does not left SLC. I am only seeing the 1905 census for Monroe County WI but I will order that. Will check 1900 on ancestry.com. When I order the 1905 I will order this film: Index to marriages in Monroe County, WI : for registration volumes 1,2, 3, and 4 from 1855 to 1907. This is the only films on vitals that are allowed to leave SLC so will work with this for now.

Thanks Randy, for keeping me on this line! I have exhausted so much that It really getting sad! But,
will start here. Maybe I can get to the library tomorrow if not they are open again Tuesday.

The saga continues