October, 2008
The Truth About The Phantom Funeral
As one of my favorite humorists, Dave Barry, would say, “I’m not making this up!” The tale is reported by folk historian John W. Allen in his book, Legends and Lore of Southern Illinois (Carbondale, Ill.: Southern Illinois University Press, 1963). It’s retold in the excellent volume, History As They Lived It: A Social History of Prairie du Rocher, Ill., …
October 22, 2008 Wednesday at 6:58 am
Why I Blog: No. 17
See the comments here and here! Thanks! Learning, Sharing, Enjoying, Appreciating!
October 22, 2008 Wednesday at 6:27 am
Still Running A Bit Behind
I’m still a bit behind my usual schedule here, but I’m getting caught up! Stay tuned!
October 22, 2008 Wednesday at 6:22 am
Five Things Meme
I’ve been tagged three four times for the Five Things meme, by Donna Pointkouski at What’s Past is Prologue, Schelly Talalay Dardashti of Tracing the Tribe, Denise Olson at Moultrie Creek, and John Newmark of Transylvanian Dutch. So I play: 10 Years Ago, I was: clueless as to the names of any of my great-grandparents. a Superior Court judge in …
October 19, 2008 Sunday at 2:49 pm
The Phantom Funeral of Southern Illinois
Readers recall that in the summer of 2007, GeneaBlogie’s research trip took us to the St Louis area and southern Illinois. We visited the Micheau family ancestral homeland of Prairie du Rocher, Illinois, a village founded by the French in 1722. I didn’t know then what I know now: that in 1889, a phantom funeral was first seen near Prairie …
October 15, 2008 Wednesday at 3:12 pm
Newspapers in Genealogy: I Learn Something About My Father
This is something I was going to finish by the Carnival deadline, but my brief hospitalization interfered. By the way, the Carnival of Genealogy, 57th Edition, I Read It in the News, is posted at Jasia’s Creative Gene blog. I’ve blogged before about the value of newspapers in genealogical research. As the old saw goes, “Journalism is the first draft …
October 7, 2008 Tuesday at 7:42 pm
Getting to Know Me–Getting to Know GeneaBlogie
Terry Thornton, the renowned Hill Country of Monroe County story-teller, suggested that it would be good to have genea-bloggers introduce themselves and their blogs, so we can keep up with our growing community. Terry has collected all the posts submitted by September 27, 2008, I had intended to finish mine up on September 26, but I ended up in the …
October 5, 2008 Sunday at 10:37 am
1968: A Personal Memoir: Presidential Politics
Part IIIb of a multi-part series [The author and his pal, Fred Lancaster, had agreed on the "inevitability" of one of them being elected Student Council President. The Very Fabric of the Universe was threatened when a girl, newly arrived from a military base overseas, decided to test the Pre-Ordained Order of Things.] Mary Wolak’s family lived on 25th Loop …
October 2, 2008 Thursday at 1:20 am
1968–A Personal Memoir: Van Buren Junior High School
Part IIIa of a multi-part series At school, life was humming along with the usual start of the year energy, but made all the more intense for me as a ninth grader. How had I arrived here so fast? There was quite a lot to be done as a ninth grader and if ever a class took ninth grade with …
October 2, 2008 Thursday at 12:53 am
1968–A Personal Memoir: Life in the Duke City
Part II of a multi-part series. In 1968, my family lived in Albuquerque, New Mexico, at the then-semi-secret installation known as Sandia Base, a place I have referred to as “the ultimate gated community.” We attended Albuquerque Public Schools both on and off the base. In 1968, I attended Van Buren Junior High School at 700 Louisiana Boulevard SE, very …
October 1, 2008 Wednesday at 6:51 pm
