Our Front Yard - Springtime 1981ish

It was necessary to travel over a creek to get to our home. Almost each spring the creek would flood over. Mike walking near our pond (right hand corner) and where we would have parked our cars.

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun

1) Tell us your three responses to the questions:

* Three genealogical libraries I frequent
* Three places I've visited on genealogy trips
* Three genealogy societies I belong to (or want to)
* Three websites that help my research
* Three ancestral graves that I've visited
* Three ancestral places I want to visit
* Three brickwall ancestors I want to research more

* Three genealogical libraries I frequent
~Traverse City District Area Library, Grand Traverse Genealogical Society ~Collection
~Family History Center
~Library of Michigan

* Three places I've visited on genealogy trips
~Minnesota
~Ontario
~Illinois

* Three genealogy societies I belong to (or want to)
~Grand Traverse Area Genealogical Society
~Ontario Genealogical Society
~Quebec .. in my areas

* Three websites that help my research
~ancestry.com
~familysearch.org
~PRDH Quebec

* Three ancestral graves that I've visited
~Kratochvil
~Wolfgram
~Secor

* Three ancestral places I want to visit
~Ondrejov, Bohemia
~Montreal Area
~Minnesota again

* Three brickwall ancestors I want to research more
~Wolfgram - Zacharias
~Wolfgram - Zacharias
~Wolfgram - Zacharias

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