Speaking of Full Moons, We Were, Weren't We?

Copyright 2021, CABS for Reflections From the Fence

Recently, during a cleaning seige, Man and I pulled a old suitcase out of one of the closets.  And, yes, that is a rope handle.

It was time to rediscover what goodies it was protecting.

Lots of wedding photos, portraits, photos with family significance, almost all of which I had previously scanned and linked to my database.  

Still, what fun we had looking at them all once more.

I frankly did not remember this photo, but, we know it was taken and processed in Man's parent's basement darkroom by his father.  We have no date, but, around 1960ish is close enough for us.  

And, since we just had the February "snow" full moon - - 

I'm not quite sure why all the black around the outside is strangely shaped.  But, when I think of the state of photography equipment in that era, plus his printing in his own darkroom, I'm soooo impressed.

We were speaking of full moons, weren't we??  Of course we were.

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Memories From the Past, The Mountain Road and That One HUGE Step

Copyright 2018, CABS for Reflections From the Fence

When I was a wee bit of a child, sometimes my parents, but usually, my mother, would take us to Virginia and North Carolina during the summer to visit my grandparents. 

This was before you could drive hard for one 12 hour day and get from our home in SE Michigan all the way to Rockingham County Virginia.  It used to take us 2 days to drive that route.  I remember the Ohio Turnpike (built between 1949 - 1955), and the Pennsylvania Turnpike.  As wonderful as those turnpikes were, they were not the same as they are now.  Now the tops of several mountains have been blown off and trucked away, doing away with several tunnels.  But, basically the pikes were and are the pikes, 4 lane highways, limited access and "service plazas".

This was, however, before the 4 lane wonder known as I-70 went from Breezewood to near Harrisburg. I-70 between Breezewood and Harrisburg opened around 1964 from what I have been able to determine. This was also before I-81 went through the Shenandoah Valley. I-81 was built between 1957 and 1987.

During our trips I remember driving Route 11,  which runs basically parallel to I-81 for many miles in West Virginia and Virginia. Route 11 was a two or three lane highway.  I am fairly sure we jumped on Route 11 around Winchester, Virginia.  We took Route 11 south into Rockingham County.

The route between Breezewood and Winchester was unclear, as in, my mother, nor I can remember the route numbers.  So after several hours of research, and chatting with friends, I feel it is likely that when we got off the Pennsylvania Turnpike that we drove the PA 126, to 643 to 522, through the towns of Hancock, Berkley Springs West Virginia and Winchester Virginia where we connected to Route 11.

And, I remember the trailer home on the top and side of a mountain somewhere between Breezewood, Pennsylvania and Winchester, Virginia.  This was basically a two lane highway at that time.  The roads twisted and turned up and down the mountains.  This is not the Rockies, but, mmmmmm, if you went off the side one could still get rather beat up, and mmmmm, hurt.

Yes, I remember that trailer home, and let me tell you, it was right on the very edge of the mountain.  What I remember, correct or not, was that the back door of this trailer opened and there was a drop straight to the ground, as there was no deck or porch or stoop or anything.  Just air!  OK. Lots of air!  The door hung over the mountain side, eh??  Every time we drove by that trailer home we would gasp in amazement, and my mother would say, in wonder and with a bit of a black sense of humor (hmmm, like mother/like daughter?), "Can you imagine, stepping out that back door after a few drinks?  That would be a doozy of a first step!"

And, every time we asked that question, we would go to a fit of giggiles.

Ah, the memories - -

* (No, that is NOT Tana, in case you were wondering!   LOL)

** Image of trailer thanks to Pixaby and  Wokandapix.

*** Image of I-70 thanks to Wikipedia.  (Link broken as of October 2018)

**** Yes, I am aware that highways that were 2 lane become 4.  Four lanes may become 6 or 8.  As our population and traffic increase, so do the lanes.  So, what I refer to as a 2 to 3 lane highway, may in fact now be many more lanes.  This is a piece on memories, eh??  Happy travels.

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And, Then, There Were Two

Copyright 2016, CABS for Reflections From the Fence

There were 4 of us, first cousins.  

Here we all are with our grandmother, Minnie.  In the back is yours truly on the left and cousin R, on the right.  In the front, left, with his finger in his mouth, is my brother Don and front and center, our cousin L.  R & L were siblings, Don and I the other set of siblings.

Don passed in 2014 and last week we received news that cousin L had passed.

And, then, there were two.

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Throwback Thursday :: Let's Cook

Copyright 2016, CABS for Reflections From the Fence

I so remember this cookbook, and I now have it back in my possession.  There are torn pages, a few food stains, memories, and a recipe or two I really did love.

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The Red House

Copyright 2016, CABS for Reflections From the Fence

Part of a letter, dated 1973, found during the document review project:

Man’s "working - - as usual.  He’s been working 6-10 hr days every week ‘cept two since we moved in.  At times it sure gets to be a drag but the $$ is great, specially when you have to make a $200 house payment each month."

Yes, you read that correctly, $200.00 a month, included taxes and insurance too!

We lived there almost 8 years.  It was a 3 bedroom, 1 bath, full basement home.  No family room.  And, yes, the payments went up as time went by. Insurance rates increased and you know taxes did.  I don't remember how much.  I actually did not remember what the payments started out as, till I found this letter.

Oh, and that auto in the drive, I loved that car.  Man hated it with a passion. I believe it had to do with the car and it's need of frequent repairs.  But, I did love that car.

And, those that know me will guess, that red paint on the house, it was my idea.  I totally loved that red.

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One Memory, My Best Genealogy Day, Well, One of the Best

Copyright 2015, CABS for Reflections From the Fence

DearMyrt and Randy Seaver are teaming up on me.  LOL  DearMYRTLE asked/begged us yesterday to write something on these blogs at least once a week.  And, last night, Randy, in his Saturday Night Genealogy Fun challenge asked for Your Best Genealogy Day Ever.  OK, you two, I'll give it a shot.  Life has been crazy crazy, so, this surely will not be considered stellar blogging.  We can all live with that. 

Now, I have had a few great genealogy days, like the day that Man and I walked into two of the churches in Devonshire where his Lashbrook ancestors, married and baptized their babies.  Outstanding day.

Research trips where I break through a brick wall, everyone of those days were great.

However, I have decided to share this little story for one of my best genealogy days.

This was back in the dark ages of genealogy, when we actually did the majority of our research IN libraries and archives.  When we spun microfilm to find our ancestors in the census.

So, one day in the dark ages, research friends gathered at the Library of Michigan.  This day, I was on the hunt for one of Man's lines that originated in Canada.  In a previous research day, at the Westland FHC, someone handed me some film from York County, Ontario, Canada, and suggested I scroll/roll through it.  In an act of pure unexpected wonderfulness, I found the marriage record of Charles Clifford and Plutheria (or Phoebe with many spellings) Clifford.  Yes, Clifford to Clifford.  (And, yes, that day is also one of my best genealogical days, a record literally falling off the pages of the microfilm.)

So, at the Library of Michigan, I was going to attempt to find Mr. and Mrs. Clifford on the 1851 census.  When I looked up Whitby in a finding source, I found it is in the Durham area.  I believe what I did was pull the census for that district.  I scrolled and scrolled and found nothing.

At some point, as I was restless, and feeling cold in my research heart (I cannot explain this, it just happens sometimes, you just KNOW you are in the wrong place at the wrong time and you will not find your ancestors), I went back to some finding aids. I bounced around the library, gazetteers and the wonderful huge plat books from early Canada that show households, churches, just fun and wonderful things.  At some point, I realized that Whitby may actually be found in early Ontario County, Ontario, Canada.  You know, the town stays in one place, but the official civil hierarchy changes.

So, back to the plat books.  I literally sat on the floor in front of about 20 or more of these huge plat books.  I started pulling them off the shelves.  Nope, need Ontario County. I pulled several from the pile, not in order, say from left to right, just helter skelter.  When I finally found Ontario County, I started flipping through the book helter skelter, no plan, just this page and that.  But, in fairly quick order the book just literally fell open to the town of Whitby.  My helter skelter research just became a good approach.  It isn't always.  As we all know.  Better to have a plan.  This was no plan, it was just research angels leading me on.

OK now, lets get back to that census, but, let's pull Ontario County.  Back at the film reader, with the Ontario County film loaded I start spinning.  My heart started beating hard, I was getting physically quite warm.  I spun, my heart beat faster.  I spun more, I was starting to literally sweat.  I spun more and told my research friends, if I don't find them soon I may have a heart attack.

Spun 3 more pages.

BINGO! 

There they are.  Mr. and Mrs. Charles and  Phebe L. Clifford. And, a Joseph Clifford, age 55, too.  I still all these years later have not figured out who Joseph is.  SIGH.  (Please note this image digitally edited for limited space.  It is not the full page.)

In the 1861 census, they are still living in Ontario County, I recorded in my data base the following:

1861 census for Oshawa, Ontario County, Ontario, Canada shows Charles Clifford (bottom of page 28), finisher, born UC (Upper Canada), Christian, age 32, living in a frame home.  On page 29, at the top, is the rest of his family: Phebe, born US, age 30, Christian; Ada, born US, age 6; Charles born UC, age 4; Letta, born UC, age 2; and Flora, born UC, age 1.

(That little girl Letta, would grow up some day to be Mans' great grandmother.)

After the 1861 census life for the Clifford clan would become confusing.  Those stories for another day.

Yes, that day in the Library of Michigan and the cold and hot feelings and the serendipity of opening books to the right page in a non-logical manner.  One of my best genealogical days.

* You can read a short history of Whitby, here, in Wikipedia.

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Bitter Sweet Memories, The History of a Family Home

Copyright 2014, CABS for Reflections From the Fence

Yesterday, four years to the day of Man's mother's passing, the family home was sold.

There is no doubt it was bitter sweet.  Man's parents purchased the home, brand spanking new, in 1952, four years later, we have this photo.  That is Man and his Mother on the front porch.

About five years later, Man's father built a detached garage, framing in place.

The finished garage, although, not sure there are windows??  Do love the clothes line in the foreground, don't you?

About 1970, photo from old slide.  Shutters gone, house had been painted white.  Seems Man's father liked to take photos of the house in the winter/snow.

About 1980, window and porch awnings have been added, new screen door, new siding, eagle on the peak.  Interesting, there is what looks like a step ladder on the ground, wonder if that was used for installation of the eagle?

Since 1980 new shrubbery was planted, and it too has grown large. New windows were installed, new doors.  The last photo, taken yesterday after the closing.  Our last drive by.

Man lived in this home from the time he was about 4 or 5 till he left for college.  We stayed there a few times for weeks and/or months when we were "between" homes, like when he was in boot camp, or traveling to Morocco.

We brought our first born son home to this house after his birth.  Man's mother gave him baths in the kitchen sink.  Awww.  (Note the platex bottle system in the background.)

We celebrated births, deaths, and a marriage or two at this home.  There are many memories, family visits, sad and happy.

This was Man's family home for well over 60 years.

Yesterday was bitter sweet.




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