52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Week 4 Prompt - Close To Home

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks

Week 4

Prompt – Close to Home

My oh my; I misspoke myself!

Last week's blog had some errors and I will try to correct them in this week's blog. My sister, Betty helped me figure out those things that weren't quite correct. Sometimes when I try to piece together the scant information I have; I don't get it right. Along with the corrections, Betty was able to go on and tell more stories which brought many more memories. 

In last week's blog I said;

“Initially Vivian and her daughters lived in a room at the back of a coal shed across from her mother's home in the 500 block of Avenue K in Saskatoon.”

It was not an actual coal shed. It was however in the coal yard's office which had two rooms at the back of this office. This was the place they lived. 

This is a google map reconstruction of the area in Saskatoon. Placements are approximate and those businesses did not exist in the 1940's, but you get the gist. Betty remembers running across the field of community planted gardens to get to Grandma's house. Vivian did work odd jobs at this time. However, Betty feels that they would have been financially stable because part of dad's war pay would be sent directly home to mom.

The next statement I made that was incorrect was the following:

“Eventually Vivian and her two daughters moved back into her mother's home until Jake came back from the War.”

Betty says they never ever lived with Grandma McLaughlin and her husband Benjamin. Grandma's home was tiny. I figure it was 600 square feet more or less. At this time there was Grandma, Grandpa McLaughlin, and her son Wallace. Grandma also had a border named Fred. He was the next door neighbor's son. That family went through some domestic problems and eventually went their separate ways leaving grandma to take on 12 year old Fred as a border. So two adolescent boys and two adults already made for tight quarters. 

Circa 1930's - Mary and Benjamin McLaughlin On The Porch of Their Home

Also Benjamin and Vivian did not get along and that might just be an understatement. Benjamin did not want “those brats” in his house. Besides this all out battle, Benjamin's health was deteriorating. Benjamin was about 32 years older than Mary. In his last few years he developed dementia and proved to be quite a handful for Mary to take care of. Benjamin died Feb 1, 1945.

The following statement that I made turned out to be not quite right.

“By late 1959, Jake and Vivian bought their first house on Witney Avenue. It was a dream come true for them and there family.”

Betty feels that Jake and Vivian's first owned home was the home they had after Jake returned from war. It was 1100 Ave K. South and was a wartime house. Betty remembers it had 2 bedrooms, a kitchen and bathroom. This house was within walking distance of Vivian's mother's home. 

Row of Wartime Houses in Saskatoon.

Wartime homes. They are quite distinctive and easily picked out of a lineup of homes. Typically they are small wooden homes that have no eaves and no basements. Between 1941 – 1947 a crown corporation was started to deal with Canada's housing crisis. It was called Wartime Housing Limited. The crisis came about because of the war. Canada was part of the war effort by manufacturing war armaments. Factories popped up to produce them. Many factory workers did not have adequate housing. The government came up with a plan to mass produce these modest prefabricated homes so that they could be quickly built usually within 3 days. There was about 5 to 6 basic house plans. They were rented out for 22 – 32 dollars a month.

It soon became obvious that the returning veterans were going to be in need of homes. Since this government corporation was already making, building and collecting the rent of the wartime houses it became an obvious choice to continue by placing them in the cities of returning veterans. They were built on properties that had water, sewage and power systems in place. Also they had to be built on land owned by the city. Thus the homes were spread throughout the city. These homes were meant to be temporary homes however they are still standing to this day.

They could also be bought out after several years at a significant price break.

Jake and Vivian had Robert while living in this first home. Soon Vivian became pregnant again and they moved to a bigger two story wartime house just a few blocks north of their first one. Betty remembers the house was 905 Avenue K South. It had 3 bedrooms. They had a coal and wood stove with a coal shed out back.

Betty has memories of this home as being only 4 or so blocks from Grandma McLaughlin home. Also Betty's school – King George – was halfway between the family home and grandma's home. 

Saskatoon King George Public School

So Jake and Vivian may have bought these wartime homes for their ever growing family. They were definitely a good deal to purchase for the war veterans.
It was interesting to me when I was placing these homes on the map to have a better visualization,  how close they were to Grandma McLaughlin's home. If I had to guess I would say that this was done on purpose.  Grandma was a big part of her daughter and grandchildren lives.

Circa 1953 - Diane, Dennis, Grandma M., Robert and Betty

I use to think that photographs were the best memory joggers for those family members that I interviewed. But I have discovered a new way to get information from family members.  That is write something that is not quite true and the corrections along with new stories and memories will flow.

Wendy

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Week 3 Prompt - Long Line

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks

Week 3

Prompt – Long Line 

A little genealogy humour!

 

In this week's blog I have decided to include a 6 generation Ancestral Chart of my mother, Lydia Vivian Peters (nee; Sullivan). It is what I consider as a long line of dead people in my genealogy tree. 

Maybe 1950's - Lydia Vivian Peters

This week will be 33 years since my mother, Vivian died. She died January 24, 1987 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. She was 64 years old when she died – younger than me!

May 20, 1978. Vivian and Jake Peters On The Occasion Of Bonnie and Doug's Wedding

She was known by her second name – Vivian or Viv. Vivian was born in Winnipeg on April 19, 1922 to Mary and Robert Sullivan. Vivian's father is the same black sheep that I have blogged about in the past. On Vivian's birth certificate he is listed as a “prisoner” living at The Stony Mountain Penitentiary.

None the less her father and mother got back together and moved to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. They had another child – a boy called George Windsworth Sullivan who only lived a few months. Vivian was growing up in a home where the marriage of her parents was falling apart. Vivian became a big sister to her brother, Wallace in 1927.

For the next 4 years Vivian and her brother were raised by their poor single mother. I am not sure where they lived or how Mary made money to support the family. At this point Mary's parents and most siblings lived in the United States although some remained in Winnipeg.

Vivian's mother worked as a housekeeper and fell in love with the gentlemen she cleaned for. They married on April 1, 1932. Vivian did not approve or pretend to like her mother's husband (Benjamin McLaughlin).  Later in life in discussion with her brother, Wally,  he stated that Vivian remained in the car for the entire wedding ceremony. Vivian gave her mother a very hard time over the next several years. Vivian quit school when she was in her 9^th grade. Vivian loved to sing and play her guitar and in fact she sang on the local Saskatoon radio station. She ran away from home at the age of 15, but returned. Vivian married at the age of 16. She married Jacob Peters. The very next spring she lost her first baby. Her and Jake struggled to make ends meet and depended heavily on both sets of parents. Vivian's husband worked odd jobs but times were tough in the job market.

Vivian's husband was enlisted into WWII in January, 1942. At the time of his enlistment Vivian and Jake had one daughter with a second child on the way. Jake was overseas in wartime until his discharge in March of 1946. Initially Vivian and her daughters lived in a room at the back of a coal shed across from her mother's home in the 500 block of Avenue K in Saskatoon. Vivian worked at odd jobs such as chopping wood or shoveling coal. Eventually Vivian and her two daughters moved back into her mother's home until Jake came back from the War.

Vivian and Jake lived in many different rental homes over the years. Jake worked at the meat packing plant to support their growing family. Vivian also worked helping her mother who was a cook at Quaker Oats Mill.

In the mid 1950's my mother was working at Joe's Diner. Their oldest daughter, Betty looked after the children while mom worked mostly after school and on the weekend.

By late 1959, Jake and Vivian bought there first house on Witney Avenue. It was a dream come true for them and there family. They had 7 children ranging from toddlers to high school ages. Vivian's last child was tragically born stillborn.

The house was an economic strain on the family. Vivian had very little choice but to go to work. She worked as a cook in various locations including her final employer, St. Paul's Hospital. Vivian went to work long before it was a thing that women with children did. In the early 1960's no one in Saskatoon locked their doors. However in a way Vivian's children were latchkey kids long before it was coined. The older siblings and sometimes grandmother helped out with lunches. School went to 4 pm and Jake came home by 4:30. Thus there was very little time that the kids were left alone.

Vivian did what she had to do to keep the house and make it a home. It could not have been easy. However she saw her children grow and thrive and eventually marry and move out. Soon her home was filled with grandchildren.

Vivian's husband of almost 45 years died in September of 1983 of cancer. Jake died at home as was his wish. Vivian was devastated and heartbroken. She was lost.

Vivian was a smoker for most of her life. She had numerous medical problems that probably were a result of this. She had Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), angina, atherosclerotic heart disease (ASHD). She developed late onset diabetes at this time. She had blood clotting issues over the years. Medically she was complicated which got worse after her husband died.

Vivian lived a little over 3 years after her husband died. In the final month of her life, Vivian spent more days in the hospital than outside. She died on January 24 of 1987 of Myocardial Infarction (heart attack). However many of those who knew her said she really died of a broken heart. 

Wendy

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Week 2 Prompt - Favourite Photo

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks

Week 2

Prompt -Favorite Photo

Back Row: Diane Lutz, Wendy Hoffart, Don Peters, Rob Peters, Dennis Peters

Seated in Front from Left; Bonnie Cuthbertson, Vivian and Jake Peters, Betty Olajos.
Taken April, 1979 at a Saskatoon Photo Studio. To the best of my knowledge or at least in my collection, this is the last family picture of us all together including our parents.

I do not know what the occasion was to bring us all together. Obviously it was a planned occasion as we had an appointment and look at us all dressed up. I can't believe that this was taken 40 years ago. I still think I look the same!

At this time, mom and dad were still working. Dad worked full time at Intercontinental Meat Packing Plant as an “ham boner”. In March of 1979, dad had just received his “Quarter Century Club Service Award.”

My mother was also working full time. She was working at St. Paul's Hospital kitchens as a Journeyman Cook II.

My oldest sibling is Betty Olajos. She was born Mary Elizabeth Peters. Betty was a nurse and at this time was working part time at Calgary General Hospital. Betty and her husband, John had two school age children at this time – Glenn and Cathy.

Diane Barbara Lutz is the second oldest of the siblings. Diane and Art were living in St. Albert, Alberta. They were very busy raising four children – Sandy, Sue, Sarah, and Scott who was just a newborn.

My oldest brother, Rob was third oldest sibling. Born Robert Bruce Peters, but he has always been Rob to us. Rob had just received his Bachelor of Social Work in 1978 and was working as a Social Worker in Saskatoon. Rob did not have children at this time but over the next 12 or so years he had 3 children - Greg, Trent and Alyss.

Next in line is Dennis Alan Peters. Dennis had a Bachelor of Computer Science and was working for Saskatoon Federated Co Op. Dennis and his wife Sandy have no children. This past summer they celebrated their 50^th Wedding Anniversary.

Donald Gregory was the fifth child of Jake and Vivian Peters. Don was working at The Bank of Montreal at this time and I believe he was living in Medicine Hat, Alberta. Don and Sylvia had two children at this time; Joelle and their son Ben who was born two months before this photo. I believe before the year was done they had moved to Calgary where he became a postal worker until his retirement. Since his retirement, Don has traveled and lived in Costa Rica, Ecuador and is presently living in Kiev, Ukraine.

I am the sixth child. At the time of this photo. I was working part time in The Bank of Montreal. I had given up nursing already. Bill and I had our first child, Jill 4 months before. We had another girl, Jackie, two years later.

The baby of the family is Bonita Louise. Only when she was in trouble would she be called that. We called her Bonnie. Bonnie had married Doug the year before this photo in Saskatoon. Bonnie and her husband were working at The Bank of Montreal in Winnipeg. They moved back to Saskatoon in 1979 where they have lived since that time. They had no children at the time of this photo but would go on to have 4 children, Murray, Matthew, Lynn, and Michael.

We were in the prime of our lives. We were successful and happy. Mom and Dad had to be proud of their children.

I am including two more photos of our family. 

Back Row: Rob, Mom, Dennis, Don

Front Row: Wendy, Bonnie and Betty. (Diane is missing from this photo).
The above photo  was taken September 26, 1983. The day of our father's funeral.

Back Row: Don, Rob, Wendy, and Dennis

Front Row: Betty, Bonnie and Diane

Taken January 28, 1987. It was taken the night of Mom's funeral. Strangely, I have often thought of this photo as The Peters' Orphan Photo.

Wendy

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Week 1 Prompt - Fresh Start

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks

Week 1

Prompt – Fresh Start

As another New Year has come we all think of those things we might do to improve our life or make us a better person. Resolutions. Personally I rarely make any because they are too easy to make and very hard to keep. None the less, the calendar I hang on my wall seems like a blank page for the coming year full of potential. It is indeed a fresh start or a new beginning of our own making. 

Bill's maternal great grandfather is Johann Friedrich Jahnke. He married Ernestine Emilie Heyn in Bromberg, Prussia on April 20, 1890. Johann's brother Leonhardt married Emelie's twin sister – Amalia. Johann and Emelie's first son, Leonhard Ferdinand Jahnke was born in January of 1891. Later that same year Johann and family and his brother Leonhardt and family decided to immigrate together to the United States. They heard it was a land of opportunity and “free land”. They initially settled in Winthrop, Minnesota where Bill's grandfather, Arthur Johann Jahnke was born in 1894. When Arthur was just two years old, his parents decided to move 350 miles away in Ulen, Minnesota. In the oral history of Arthur Jahnke taken by Bill's sister, Elaine it was explained like this.

“They made this trip in a covered wagon, with very little in the line of equipment. They bought a farm and built a fairly large two story frame house with nothing but a hatchet and a saw as tools. The foundation was made of stones.”

Arthur and Ida's Visit to The Home Arthur Was Born In.

They started over by breaking land and building a farm. This would be only the first of many moves to find better opportunity for Johann and his family. In 1903 Johann moved his family to Killaly, Saskatchewan and bought a quarter section of farm land for $10.00. The proceeds from the sale in Ulen also gave him enough money to buy lumber to build a home. This move they made by train. John and his older son, Leonard stayed with the cows, horses and machinery in the freight part of the train. So in one sense they were starting over in a new country but with more than a hatchet and a saw. Johann sold this farm in 1911 and moved to Entwistle, Alberta (60 miles west of Edmonton) to help his oldest son, Leonhard start his own homestead. One year later after Leonhard was established, Johann, Emelie and Arthur moved on to Hatton Saskatchewan (20 miles northwest of Maple Creek). His fresh start in this location was to build a general store and another new home. His was the only general store in a 70 mile radius of Hatton. Further Hatton was on the main C.P.R. Line. All this made for good business. 

Circa 1912 - Johann and Emelie Hatton House

1913 Circa - John Jahnke's Hatton General Store

In 1913 when Bill's grandfather was 19 years old he went to Regina to take a 3 month Business course. I believe this was a decision based on taking on the business of the general store. Obviously things were good as Arthur bought a brand new 1915 Model T for $600.00. 

1915 Model T With Arthur Jahnke

By early 1916 itchy-footed Johann had decided to move back to Winthrop where this all started for him and his family. He sold his Hatton store, but decided at the last minute to make a trip out of it and took the train from Hatton to Seattle. In Seattle Johann bought a brand new 1916 Maxwell for $740.00 and they did the rest of the trip in their new car. They meandered through northern California and finally decided to start afresh in a place called Gibbon, Minnesota where Johann bought a store. 

Sometime over the next few years Bill's grandfather, Arthur, went back to Hatton, Saskatchewan and shared ownership of the store with possibly an uncle or cousin named Julius Jahnke. In June of 1917, Arthur married Ida Bachmann. In early 1918, Arthur bought out Julius' half of the store and he became soul owner of the Hatton Store.

Sometimes a fresh start is forced upon us by circumstances not in our control such as disasters. The oral history of Arthur Jahnke explains the sad news like this. Grandpa in this story is Arthur Jahnke.  The Bachmann is Ida's parents. 

"It happened that there was Grandpa's General Store on one lot, then an empty lot, then an hardware store on the next lot. The owners of the two stores decided to build the empty lot into a warehouse for both of them by adding a roof, a front, and a back to the existing walls of either store. In January, 1920, a fire started in the hardware store, spread through the joint warehouse and into the general store, totally wiping out everything they had. 

Grandpa decided against starting up again in the store because money was tight all over and it wasn't proving to be very profitable for the others just starting out.  This was because of a new C.P.R. line 25 miles away - taking a lot of the business.  (Hatton is now non-existent).  So he decided to buy a farm back in Killaly - two 1/2 sections of unbroken soil, 2 miles apart.  The price of the land was $35.00 an acre (final payments were made in 1944). While Ida and little Elsie stayed at Bachmann's, Art bought a tractor, broke the soil, and planted a crop, as Ida's father built a frame house (14x24); only a kitchen and bedroom.  They moved in by October."

Arthur and Ida started over after the fire of his store. Their fresh start involved going back to the land and becoming farmers in Killaly, Saskatchewan. 

1921 Circa - Arthur and Ida's First Two Room Farm Home in Killaly, Sask.

Arthur's father, Johann certainly began his fresh start by immigrating from Prussia to United States in 1891. After that Johann and family moved quite regularly always looking for something better or bigger which in most cases he did.

Wendy

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Week 52 Prompt - You

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks

Week 52

Prompt – You

Amy Johnson Crow, the author of 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks said about this prompt; “we have to remember that we are part of our own family history.”

Jackie gave me an awesome present for Christmas this year. She presented me with a published book of my 2018 genealogy blogs. It is named Turtle Lady Genealogy 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks (2018). To say the least it was very emotional to see my blogs in book form with its own ISBN. That stands for International Standard Book Number which is a unique number identifier for the book.  All published books have their own unique ISBN.  It's incredulous to me that words I have written end up in a book that is published with an ISBN. 

The Front Cover of My Genealogy Book

The Back Cover With ISBN.

I have been asked many times where I got the name “turtle lady”.

When I was about 8 years old I got two live pet turtles for my birthday. Our family already owned a cat and dog. But these two turtles (Hokey and Pokey) were mine and I was the one looking after them. It had one of those small plastic bowls with a green plastic palm tree attached to it. It was my responsibility to feed them and clean the bowl. I am sure that mom and dad did most of the cleaning up after them. I don't know how long I had them but I believe it was less than a year. One day they disappeared. I was sad but when you are that age things come and go out of your lives so often.

Over the next few years I would be attracted to various ornaments of turtles. I was given some of these ornaments as special presents but many I bought for myself.

Shortly after I started dating Bill in 1972, he presented me with two live turtles and built an aquarium size tank to put them in. He had read that turtles needed to eat under water so it had to be deep enough for them to submerge in. Also we built an island on one end of the aquarium and put a light bulb over top of it so that the turtles could climb up out of the water to dry off. Initially we put some fish in the aquarium to add some interest. However one by one the neon fish disappeared. I guess my turtles thought they were delightful snacks. Besides sushi, aka the neon fish, they loved eating meat such as hot dogs and chicken. We fed them and they grew. They moved with us to our first apartment after we were married and one year later they moved with us to Regina where Bill got his first engineering job. In the meantime my collection of ornamental turtles was ever expanding.

I don't believe we ever gave the live turtles names and I don't know why. We had them for about 7 years. They were about loonie size when we got them and grew to be about the size of our hand. One grew a bit bigger than the other. He bullied the smaller one. The smaller one seemed to have trouble staying right size up in the tank. The bigger one took to chomping on the little ones toes relieving the little one of part of his back toes. Really!  Eventually we decided to take him to a vet and have the little one put down. I know we kept the remaining turtle for a bit longer after Jill was born because I have pictures of her leaning against the tank tapping the glass to get the turtle's attention. I think in 1979 or 1980 we gave him to Bill's sister and brother in law to have. A few years later I think they passed it on to some friends. I do not know the fate of our turtle.

I realized that turtles were very symbolic in my life. As a preschool child whenever we had company I would run and hide. I remember hiding under mom's apron once. I also hid under our kitchen table. If one was to startle a turtle the first thing they do is disappear inside of their hard shell. Over time they would slowly “come out of their shell”. The turtle understood my need for safety, security and solace. In solace I gather my strength to move forward in my endeavors. Like the turtle, I would eventually come out.

Turtles have long lives. This could be symbolic of it's persistence and endurance. Longevity is not a strong gene on the Peters side of my family. I would like to think that I was very persistent through my life to achieve goals such as being a nurse. Isn't there an old adage that “slow and steady wins the race”?   I would like to think that I lead my life living by these principles.

When I turned 50 I decided to get a turtle tattoo. I had always admired my father's arm tattoo that he got while at war. Apparently he and some buddies got drunk, got the tattoos and dad was just damn happy that he got the right name on the tattoo – Vivian! None the less I did not get drunk to get my tattoo. I wanted to do something that was so out of character of my shy, quiet, unassuming person. Tattoos at the time seemed rebellious. While in Vancouver visiting my daughter, Jackie we had got tattoos at the same time. I got a cartoon type turtle just above my left outer ankle. 

2004 - My Turtle Tattoo.

I have never regretted getting tattooed. In fact a few days after getting the tattoo, my co workers at the Doctor's Clinic presented me with a turtle shape birthday cake. One of the doctors came in and asked why the turtle. The ladies encouraged me to lift my pant leg to show them my tattoo. The doctor's jaw dropped and he choked out a “ of all the people in this room you would be the last person I would have guessed of getting a tattoo!” That right there was what I wanted. I wanted not to be taken granted for. 

However it did take a couple of years before I would show my tattoo off to my mother-in-law. That is I consciously wore long pants when around with her. However one hot summer day in Saskatoon I was wearing capris and her very sharp eyes which had not yet succumbed to macular degeneration spotted my turtle tattoo. Not much was said.

From my first live turtles and through the years I have received and bought many turtle ornaments, plushies and every other knick knack one could possibly think of. So in a way I became that proverbial “cat lady” only I was the “turtle lady” and my turtles aren't living.

Wendy

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Week 51 Prompt - Future

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks

Week 51

Prompt – Future

Do genealogist look to the future? Rarely. We are too busy looking back into our history.

There is no doubt that how we do genealogy is always changing. In 2005 when I first started on this genealogical journey, I went to the library to look up things because they had the special computer programs linked to the major genealogical databases of the time. This was the start of scanning historical documents into large databases which could be accessed at the library free of charge. Fifteen years later and I rarely go to the library. I find many significant genealogical documents online. I can download and save them on my laptop for future use. The use of paper has significantly decreased in this respect. I just have to remember to back up my work on my computer from time to time. I cannot imagine what changes the future will have and what that will look like for future genealogists. Will they seek, find and gather family information without computers?

Of course that implies an assumption that our children and grandchildren want to know about their ancestors. I believe that a lot of the younger generation don't want to know about their past (just yet) because they are too busy blazing a new trail for themselves. I know this because I was the same. That is not a bad thing and in fact it is probably good. However in my opinion it is important to understand where we come from. Further it is important to know the history of that time to add context to their lives. My maternal German grandmother called all Russians – Bolsheviks. Not an endearing term at all. However she lost many relatives in her Russian Volga homeland during the revolution, wars and famines due to the politics of Russia Revolutionaries of the time.

One of the things that frustrates me in researching my family is that I do not know or speak German. So many documents are available world wide written in their native language. It is just a matter of finding a translator. As I have pointed out before it's not just that it is in German, but it is also handwritten in “script handwriting” which fewer and fewer people can read. This got me thinking about our documents for future generations. I understand that they do not teach cursive writing in school anymore. Does that means that in one or two short generations our documents will be illegible to them.

In many of my genealogical classes, the topic of planning for the future of your family tree was discussed often. I can't force my family to take on this work although to me it is not really work but just an avid passion to learn and know more about my family. I would have no problem leaving it to anyone who wanted it.

It has occurred to me over the past two years of writing my blog that I seem to know more about my family than I thought I knew. It always make me take pause when a family member who reads my blogs says to me “I didn't know that about...” From time to time my blogs jog the memories of my siblings who share more information with me. It is all so beautiful. In the end I write the blogs to share this information with those interested. Unlike a family tree written on paper which can be passed along, the information I gather on my computer tends to stay there without ever seeing the light of day. This is my way of sharing it. To me genealogy is about sharing information. You would be surprised at how many genealogists do not want to share their finds with others including their own families. What is the point if you can't share it?

I predict that the future of genealogy will be DNA. If this is true then I must make a concerted effort to learn more about it. I look at my DNA results on Ancestry from time to time but have failed to do anything with it. I guess this means that I will need to take more tutorials and read more on DNA and Genealogy. Therefore looking to my future in genealogy I will make a resolution to work on it and hope that it will make more sense to me and shed some light on family.

I also resolve to carry on with my blogging in 2020. Are you ready for year 3 of 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks? If you are, I will try not to disappoint. 

Wendy

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Week 50 Prompt - Tradition

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks
Week 50
Prompt – Tradition

Christmas is all about traditions. It is those beliefs that our parents had and their parents before them. They fall through time without question to be done because that is the way it always was done. Some traditions are forever while others fall by the wayside only to be replaced by new ones. I do not know how my great grandparents and their ancestors celebrated Christmas. I have to assume that some of things we do and celebrate today were traditions they handed down.

As a child Christmas was a magical time for me. We knew Christmas was close when mom began baking. My sister, Bonnie wrote in her Christmas letter this year that mom always started her fruit cakes around Remembrance Day. It was a complicated recipe that took most of a day to finish. They had to be done early in order for the flavors of the dried fruit and spices to mature and keep the cake moist. My mom's Christmas cakes were non alcoholic, but I know it could be infused with rum or brandy to give it that moist flavorful edge. Did my Mennonite ancestors add the alcohol? Probably not.

 

Over the next month my mom would do her special Christmas baking. It included shortbread cookies, icebox cookies, jam jam cookies, fudge plus more. The house smelled divine however we could not even sample them as they were packed up and stored (hidden) until Christmas eve. From time to time they would be found and perhaps eaten by one of us, but that indulgence usually met my mother's wrath. 

Mom wrote Christmas cards every year. We got to help by licking the envelopes closed and licking the stamps to put on. Both leave disgusting tastes in your mouth. When I was older I got to address the envelopes because of my “neat handwriting”. Mom did not really enjoy this part of the Christmas tradition. It was a lot of work and expense. However everyone did it and thus she did it. Strings of Christmas cards hung on our walls as kind of a status of how many family and friends one had. It would usually be around 50 or so. To this day I write cards with a family news letter. This tradition is dying. I get less cards each year. Cards were a way to stay in touch with far away family and friends. Now we have instant real time communication with the family and friends through our I phones using Facebook, Instagram, twitter, and more. 

1971 - My Mother After Reaching Her WW Goal Weight.  Note the Christmas Cards on the Wall.

We had “real” Christmas trees when I was a child. In fact Bill and I had real trees until the early 1980's. The smell of the tree was unforgettable. We got our real Christmas trees at the local tree lot. I never had the pleasure of cutting one down to bring home. Dad would bring it home and saw off the bottom of the trunk to be placed in the tree stand usually with much soft cursing. When it was in its place in our living room in front of the window, the strings were cut and it fell open in a “ta-da” moment. We never knew until this moment if dad got a great full tree or a “Charlie Brown” tree. However my father loved Scotch Pines so we rarely had anything but a full beautiful trees. We decorated with our lights. Remember the string of lights that if one bulb burned out they whole string was out. Oh what fun it was discovering which light was burned out. That is why it was always checked before it was put up on the tree. The last thing after it was decorated with the Christmas ornaments was the tinsel. To hang individually or throw with wild abandon was a contentious issue at our house. 

Circa 1960 - Christmas. Lt to Rt Don, Dennis, Wendy, Rob & Bonnie. Posed in Front of Our Tree

As I have said before my father worked for Olympic Meat Packing Plant. Early in December the company sponsored a Christmas party for all of the employee's children. They rented a downtown theatre for a Saturday morning. Sometimes it was the Roxy theatre and sometimes the Capital theatre. We watched cartoons on the large screen. They had magicians and clowns that made balloon animals. We sang Christmas songs. And of course the highlight was Santa. As we left the theatre we were given a candy bag, a Christmas orange and a wrapped present. The presents were exceptional. My first Barbie was a gift from this work Christmas party.

We attended church when we were younger. The big thing was the Christmas Eve Sunday School concert for the congregation. We would practice every Saturday afternoon through December to be ready for the program which in our family was a highlight to enjoy. We would all dress up in our best clothes. The candlelight service was beautiful. We went home and mom would finally put out the candy and baked goods which we all enjoyed. One Christmas mom had put out the goodies before we went to church. When we came home we discovered our Samoyed dog had got into and ate half of the fudge. The poor dog was so sick. At the time we did not know that chocolate was poison to dogs so I guess we were lucky the outcome wasn't worse. 

1994 - Christmas Eve After Church. Lt to Rt Jackie, Jill, Bill & Wendy

Gifts were never put out before Christmas Eve. We opened our gifts on Christmas morning. We weren't even allowed to open one present Christmas Eve. The excitement was excruciating. There was more than one Christmas morn that we were awake and ready to open the presents by 5 A.M. And usually mom had only made it to bed by 1 or 2 A.M.

Christmas day was hectic and crazy noisy in our family. My grandmother wore a hearing aid. It was the type that had a wire that attached the hearing aid to the battery which she hid in her bra. We knew when things were too much for her when she was digging down the top of her dress to turn off or at least to turn it down. After that grandmother just sat with a quiet smile on her face. Mom, Dad, 7 children with their spouses and their children and grandma in a 3 bedroom home which was less than a 1000 square feet and no basement was frenetic at best. There was no where to hide. Mom made the turkey and all the fixings. It was a feast that we all appreciated. The special china and silverware was spread upon the table clothed table. It was all over too quickly. The clean up was done by all the women in shifts to make the process quicker.

Christmas cakes, baking, real trees, work parties, church plays, special clothes, Christmas cards,early morning gift opening and the Christmas feast of turkey were the traditions I grew up with and for the most part I am still enjoying. For me the best tradition of all was the gathering of family. 

Circa 1973 - Sue & Sandy Lutz; Cathy & Glenn Olajos. Taken at Grandparents' Peters Home.

2006 - Family Photo (Before Kelsey & Robyn)

I am looking forward to Christmas this year when we can update our family Photo. 

Wendy