American Legacies Organization, Inc.

Author Unknown

Someone once noted that a Southerner can get away with the most awful kind of insult just as long as it's prefaced with the words, "Bless her heart" or "Bless his heart." As in, "Bless his heart, if they put his brain on the head of a pin, it'd roll around like a BB on a six lane highway."

From Guest:

Mohawk Haircut
I remember the first time I was allowed to go to the barber shop by myself. I was told I could get any kind of haircut I wanted, except for a mohawk.
A mohawk haircut consisted of having all the hair cut off the side of your head, and they would leave a strip of long hair right down the middle. When I got to the barber shop, I told him I wanted it trimmed on the sides and long on the top. Well, he trimmed me pretty close and when I looked at myself in the mirror, it looked like a mohawk.

Country: Britain
Position: Commander of the British 8th Army and 21st Army groups

Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein (November 17, 1887 - March 24, 1976) was a British military officer during World War II.

He was born in London, England in 1887.

People over 35 should be dead.

Here's why ...........

According to today's regulators and bureaucrats, those of us who were kids in the 40's, 50's, 60's, or even maybe the early 70's probably shouldn't have survived.

Our baby cribs were covered with bright colored lead-based paint.

We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets, ... and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets. (Not to mention the risks we took hitchhiking.)

As children, we would ride in cars with no seatbelts or air bags.

Submitted by: Kathryn Seiley for Miss Lucille Branham

The First Memory, Civil War Slave, was put on this website on 11/17/21.

CHAPTER 2

By: Lee Thatcher

Watching the latest Nascar race with my husband, I was impressed by the number of driver dads who had sons and grandsons who also are racecar drivers. Its a family legacy. I couldn’t help but wonder if, by some chance, these children had been adopted into a family that didn’t have racing in their blood, would they still have been attracted to the sport?

by Ursula Furi-Perry

The letter came as a surprise. It originated in Hungary, and that could only mean Mama sent it. Yet the loopy letters on the outer envelope looked nothing like her handwriting. Perplexed, I opened it---only to be confronted by a gray and grim death certificate.

She had been sick, my step-grandfather wrote. She died in her sleep, peacefully and most likely quickly. She didn't suffer any more than the usual nausea and aches that came with her kidney failure.

Franklin D. Roosevelt was born in Hyde Park, New York on January 30, 1882, the son of James Roosevelt and Sara Delano Roosevelt. His parents and private tutors provided him with almost all his formative education. He attended Groton (1896-1900), a prestigious preparatory school in Massachusetts, and received a BA degree in history from Harvard in only three years (1900-03). Roosevelt next studied law at New York's Columbia University. When he passed the bar examination in 1907, he left school without taking a degree.

WWII Trivia

1. The first German serviceman killed in WW II was killed by the Japanese (China, 1937); the first American serviceman killed was killed by the Russians (Finland 1940), the highest ranking American killed was Lt. Gen. Lesley McNair, killed by the US Army Air Corps.

2. The youngest US serviceman was 12-year-old Calvin Graham, USN. He was wounded and given a Dishonorable Discharge for lying about his age. (His benefits were later restored by act of Congress.)

Nanny’s Chocolate Cake

Emma Wike nee Feaster

1907-1974

Fredricksburg, PA

Sift these ingredients together.

1 ½ C flour

1 ¼ C sugar

1 tsp. soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp. salt

½ C cocoa

Melt together & mix with above ingredients.

2 eggs

½ C shortening

1 C hot water

Grease & flour oblong pan and pour mixed ingredients into pan.

Bake @ 350 for 30 minutes.

Submitted by her son

William H. Wike

Grandma's Kitchen

Cleaning Tips from the
Ole’ Days that Really Work
By: Dr. Zoe L. Simmons

Every new month that passes by, a new commercial with a new cleaning chemical agent comes out. Before you know it, you’re spending several hundred dollars just to clean your home. What happened to the good ole’ days of just simple cleaning remedies?

BY MSGT.- retired, HOWARD A. (DOC) ELLIS

MORENO VALLEY, CA., USA:

By Betsy Gilbert

Too bad Mark Twain isn’t around today. If he were, chances are he would have added Margaret Brooks to Huck, Tom, Jim and Becky’s gang and moved them off the Mighty Mississippi. Her life along the Missouri River certainly qualifies her for honorary membership in their adventurous club.

How many retired school teachers have spent a decade as a cook and the only woman on a towboat? Not alot, one wagers. But Brooks did, and counts those ten years among the most interesting and rewarding in her rich life.

By Laura Jean Bhadra

There are no manuals on how to be a mother. The majority of new moms have quick access to the most natural teacher, their own moms via phone calls, emails, or a short drive. However, for those of us whose mothers are dead or otherwise unavailable, we must turn to other mom-like influences, parenting classes, or the memories of how our mothers parented us. This last is what I find myself reflecting and relying upon time after time as I face the challenges and joys of raising my own family.

If a Tree can Grow in Brooklyn,

a Bush can Grow in the Bronx

By Pearl Hoffman

My maternal grandparents immigrated from Russia to America in 1893. When my grandfather was interviewed at Ellis Island, the first question he was asked was his name.

July 4th family picnic

July 4th is an exciting time in Gettysburg. We have the famous reinactors in town in full costume. The women dress in those full gowns. I really do not see how they walk in the dresses. They are very long and they have the big hats and hair wrapped in a net which helps keep their long hair from blowing.

By: Sandy Williams Driver

My father, Dalton Williams, came home from Burma in 1945 with a far away look in his eyes, a mangled left hand and a pack of cigarettes.

U.S. Legacies July 2003

Wartime Memories

Never before in any war that the United States was in, did we as Americans sit in front of the television crying with the families who lost their loved ones. Prayers were heard from the West to the East coast, and the from North and South. Every American shared one common belief, bring our soldiers home safely.

By Lynn Ruth Miller

God gave us memory so that we might have roses in December.

James Barrie

Author Unknown

I am a small and precious child, my dad’s been sent to fight…
The only place I’ll see his face, is in my dreams at night.
He will be gone too many days for my young mind to keep track.
I may be sad, but I am proud.
My daddy’s got your back.

From the Book “Not Ready To Die”

My Life As I Remember It

Nacho Vasquez
As Told To Nila Gott

Nacho Vasquez was part Yaqui Indian and was born in a boxcar along the New Mexico SP rails (his father was an employee).  The following is an excerpt from a book about Nacho's survival in life.

by Laura Pearce

San Dimas, CA

Welcome to Grandma’s Kitchen, the place for sharing old family recipes. These recipes will help to preserver the legacies of our loved ones, plus offer others a chance to experience the same foods consumed by our ancestors. We would like to encourage you to submit your own family recipes, as well as kitchen or food related stories about your grandmother or mother.

1899 Cooking Instructions

When two new States were admitted to the Union (Kentucky & Vermont), a resolution was adopted in January of 1794, expanding the flag to 15 stars and 15 stripes. This flag was the official flag of our country from 1795 to 1818, and was prominent in many historic events.

When displaying the flag, it is important to remember certain guidelines of proper flag etiquette.

They are:

******* When on display or carried in a procession with other flags, the flag should be positioned to its own right. Also, it should be placed to the right of a speaker or staging area, while other flags are placed to the left.

This is a poem being sent from a marine. For those who read it, please pass it on to all those you know. It makes you truly be thankful for all of our troops.

THE MARINE

We all came together,
Both young and old.
To fight for our freedom,
To stand and be bold.

In the midst of all evil,
We stand our ground,
And we protect our country
From all terror around.

Peace and not war,
Is what some people say.
But I'll give my life,
So you can live the American way.

Connie Sychowski

Editor Genealogy Corner

U.S. Legacies

In keeping with this month’s celebration of our country’s independence and the tradition of a fireworks display, I thought it would be interesting to review our first celebration of Independence Day.

Author Unknown

Understand that as you read this, I’ll most likely have gone to God. I can only tell everything from my point of view. It may be my point of view, but every Fortman adheres to a policy of not lying well, most of them.

Because of World War I and II, we know relatively little about our family prior to my Grandfather. Allied Forces bombing destroyed many records in Germany, most of which were on paper. The fires burned many people’s past.

Recipes in Grandma’s Kitchen are used exactly as received. Old recipes often use abbreviations that are no longer seen. Words used often appear misspelled, but not changed to maintain the purity of the time period.

Abbreviations used in these recipes with readable text to the right.

c. Cup

lge. Large

tsp. teaspoon

tbsp. Tablespoon

Lb. or lb. Pound

qt. quart

Photo of Melanie, her aunt Micheline and uncle Curtis

Micheline Williams

Born November 1925

Curtis Williams

Born August 1939

By: Melanie Williams