My Portfolio

On a murky afternoon in late December, 2001 I landed my son's Mooney in Mena, Arkansas after completing a demanding flight from Gladewater, Texas.  The weather had been bad throughout the two-hour trip.  The solid blanket of dark clouds was never more than 2,500 feet above the ground.  I had flown into...

I received an e-mail from Tom Coumier this morning to see if I was alright. I guess I am alright sort of . Just hung up on my genealogy. That’s all.I tell my wife it’s like an hound dog on a trail . you can’t quit. When I started ,y genealogy...

George and I were a struggling young couple with five children under the age of four and a half. Our third birth had been twins. Christmas was fast approaching and money was tight. We especially loved this Holiday. I was concerned about not having money  to buy the little ones toys. Unknown to me,...

We always had a live Christmas tree.  There were no farms near by to cut your own so my dad purchased one at a lot.  It always had to be a spruce and perfect in shape!  Once he cut an extra bough off and attached it some place else on the...

     If I could talk I could tell you about so many holidays and other family get-togethers.   I have seen generations gather around me and then disappear to be replaced by a newer generation.   But I’m only a table.   A handsome table to be sure, and believe me...

Wow - this one is a tough one for me.  It truly is.  Given my passion for genealogy and the amount of research I have done it would be a dream come true for me to be able to talk to my ancestors.  What I wouldn't give to be able to...

Holiday traditions.... that involved my Mom who is no longer there to continue them with me. So my favorite tradition has ended.  Mom and I were sorority sisters - Pi Beta Phi's.  Our mascot is the angel.  So every Christmas since I joined in 1987 and was initiated we gave each...

Milton L. Adams, Pfc; Army Ser. # 39026959; Company C, 323 Infantry, 81st Wildcat Division WWII: Written by Golden V. Adams Jr. on Veteran's Day (50th Anniversary), 11 Nov 1995 at Provo, Utah. Milton LaVar Adams was born 9 May 1910 in East Garland, Box Elder County, Utah to William Albert...

Dutch Traditional Christmas - While serving a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in The Netherlands, 1963-1965, I first became acquainted with the Dutch Christmas Tradition of children anxiously looking forward to St. Nicholas Eve on December 5th.  I was serving in Apeldoorn and had recently been...

The Jacaranda trees are burgeoning with buds and starting to erupt into magnificent panicles of soft blue blossom, heralding the coming of Christmas to Australians all around our huge island home. We don't have the snow, yule logs, red-berried holly and roaring log fires which are associated with a northern hemisphere...

The summer of 1977 saw a change of professions from Village Kitchen Bakery manager to microfilm operator and records negotiator for Salt Lake City based Utah Genealogical Society (now FamiySearch) and training to microfilm in the Midwest--specifically Iowa, Illinois and Michigan.  I left my pregnant wife, Diane, who was expecting our...

Mandane and her siblings Poor health seemed to plague my great-grandmother's family, the Dicks of Greenland Farm, Darby Township, Pickaway County, Ohio. My great-grandmother Mandane and her younger sister Blanche, for example, were married in a double wedding ceremony on October 19, 1892. Less than a year later, Blanche was dead!...

Describe one of your favorite holiday traditions or celebrations Holidays help to provide a sense of continuity in our lives and a respite from the hectic uncertainty that life throws in our path. A family's traditions are the glue that binds one generation to the next. Take time now to write...

It was my mother's idea that I go "into nursing".  The Episcopal priest from the church we attended  visited us one hot  August day prior to my entering high school.  He suggested a particular school in New York City.  Over time I sent for information, jumped through the hoops to apply...

The best decision I ever made was to marry Catherine Glenn. WeI met  at a dance called" The Oaks". While in the Navy and training at Fort Mammoth in New Jersey and then New York City, I was able to get home on weekends and I would to go to the...

The song sung by the Judds, "Grandpa, Tell Me About The Good Old Days" makes me yearn for my Grandpa Higgerson. Although he departed this life in 1973, in so many ways, he lives on. In 1952, Grandpa was involved in a serious automobile accident and suffered several broken ribs. While...

My mother had many stories to tell about her mother in-law, my 'Maw-Maw' Wagner.  As I put things in perspective now, I must say my grandmother was brave enough to be her own person.  My mom and dad out of economic necessity lived with his parents for several months after their marriage...

Describe a dream job you would like to have pursued but didn't and why -- As I think of my past experiences, I have spent a career in education teaching science in the middle school setting.  But I also had a "minor" in religious education at Utah State University through the...

Describe a dream job you would like to have pursued but didn't and why Some of us are fortunate to be working or have worked in the career we are passionate about. Others wish they could but haven't for a number of reasons. Still others look back at decades of employment...

After last Friday's class, week 3 of my 6 week 'Unlock Your Family Stories' workshop at the Campbelltown Library, one of my students came up to me and said "I wish I'd met you a few months ago, before I had to move my 98 year old mother out of our...