100th Birthday
From Christine Szewczyk
Hi!, My grandmother will be turning 100. Our family would like to do something special, a letter from President Bush or a letter from Pope Benedict. Can anyone kindly help me obtain this? It would be greatly appreciated!
Thank you! Email: christine@*****.net
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Stories From The Past.
From Alice Connor
My name is Alice. I live in the Florida panhandle. Your site is marvelous. I have long been interested in the stories from our recent past. I would love to help someone preserve his or her history. Here is a sample from a story my grandmother told me about her mother after I had twins.
"Alice, your great-grandmother had twins, just like you. A girl, Cora, and a boy, Hank. Now, she also had Loretta and Loretta was just eighteen months old when the twins came along. Back then, washing was by hand. Dishes were by hand. And she had a farm to look after. She used to tell me, that some days she was just so tired from looking after those three. There were many times when they would all be crying at once, and she would sit down and join them!"
This is another favorite story of mine, also from my grandmother.
"My mother was married before she met my daddy. Now, her first husband was a Vin, and after he died she had to work to take care of my brothers and sisters. There were four little mouths for her to feed. She went to her priest, and he advised her to put them in a children's home. And, hard as that was for her, that's what she did. She would go and visit them on weekends.
Now during this time, she met three brothers. One of them became my daddy, your great grandpa. After they were married, he took her to the children's home to pick up their kids."
I can be reached at uf96gator@*****.net
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Hoffman Family Genealogy
From Marion C. Hoffman
We have a 375 page Genealogy Book on my Hoffman Family (original name spelling Hofmann.) These are the Protestant Hoffman's in Dubois County, Indiana dating back to 1792, (originally from Bayreuth, Germany.) Most all the Protestant Hoffman's in the County descended from my Great Grandparents, Johann & Margaretha (Houstch) Hofmann.
At Jasper, Indiana there was a noted Dr. Held. Some of my family relatives loved Dr. Held. Don't know his first name, but I believe he is now deceased.
Appreciate anything you can come back and add.
Response
Ruthann Held Wike
Dr Held was my great-uncle. His name was Arthur. Actually, Dr George Arthur Held. He was one of seven sons. He was the youngest and my grandfather was the oldest. He passed away on April 2, 1983, and is buried in the Santa Claus Cemetery in Santa Claus, Indiana.
When I was young we always went to Jasper whenever anyone was sick.
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Steve Spanovich
From Michael
I had a friend, Steve Spanovich, who lived across the street from here in Yucaipa Ca. A Marine and a vet from Pearl Harbor, Palmyra Island, Iwo Jima and the Chosen Reservoir, Korea.
I drove him for years to the Veterans Hospital and shopping. We would talk about many things, including his WW II days.
He was a front line cook in the same unit as Ira Hays, (who he said liked to fight and drink and could only get after hours coffee and what ever was available if his Polish friend brought him and controlled him).
Steve's flag was likely the first flag raised in Iwo Jima. But after all these tales he would often say " I don't know why all those guys had to die, there must be a better way ".
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Korean War Photos
From Kathy
Last month, Debbie said she wanted photographs from the Korean War for her father. I have some of my dad in Korea I will gladly share.
Write me at kapowe@****.net
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Note to the Editor
From Charles Blakeslee
I am glad you are going to have an office in Rockport, Indiana. Maybe I can help some. I have another story coming up. How I Got my Scars. I’ll try to have it in a month. Right now I am working on proving that my ancestors were in Clinton County, Michigan before 1860. If I can prove it, they will give me a certificate naming me as an “Early Settler.”
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Alaska
From Doc Ellis
Someone wants to go to Alaska? I've been there. Done that, fought like hell for transfer to California. Only got that by taking discharge and re-upping for "preferred" assignment.
Where was I? In the region called "the banana belt," 'cause it was so much "warmer" than the rest of the state (then a territory). Was at Elmendorf AFB, Anchorage, 1955-57.
Our family lived in base housing and the wife would bag fresh meats and hang 'em out the second floor window to freeze and preserve until needed. Our youngest kid, Danny, fell off the back steps and we darn near had to call out bloodhounds to find out where he was under the snow.
We had to install "headbolt heaters" to the car engine blocks and plug 'em into outdoor electric connections in the driveways to keep the vehicle from freezing overnight...I also had to attach a light bulb connection to check periodically during the night that wolf packs and dog packs hadn't pulled the headbolt heater lines out of the sockets.
But you know what? Loved the assignment though not the weather. Funny thing is, I used to tell myself, "There ain't no (censored) place worse than Alaska," and wound up stationed at Goose Air Base, Happy Valley, Labrador, New Foundland, Canada in 1963-64...one of the reasons I retired in '65.
U S Legacies Magazine
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