Oldest-Known Holocaust Survivor Dies; Pianist Was 110

This blog would be incomplete if I failed to include references to the good, the bad, and the uglies of this world. So when I came upon this story of Alice Herz-Sommer, I realized it had all of those features and many more. Alice's spirit, in only moments, touched my heart. I believe she survived …

How Well Does Your Family Know It’s History?

How well do you think you know your family's history? More importantly to me, I'd like to confirm that there is practical value in my documenting and sharing my family’s story.    I sure hope so, because this blog site, as my legacy to future generations of my family, is intended to provide accurate reflections …

What’s in a Name…

As Shakespeare so eloquently wrote: What's in a name? That which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet... But... Were you aware that there is statistical information even about your surname or first name that you can use to have some fun or interesting discussions?  (And, yes, you also can …

ISO Family Athletes and Olympians

Origin of the Olympic Games The Olympic Games began in ancient Greece about 3,000 years ago.   From the 8th century B.C. to the 4th century A.D., the Games were held every four years in Olympia, in Southern Greece's western peninsula, Peloponnese.  The Games honored the Greek God Zeus, who was the god of the sky and ruler of …

From “Baby Boomer” to “Sandwich Generation”

The Baby Boomer Generation I am proud to be a part of the "Baby Boomer" Generation, whose moniker is changing to the "Sandwich Generation." The happenings of our Baby Boomer generation were a mix of exciting and melancholy times. The number of historical events which took place in the last 60 years is unprecedented. Take …

100 Year Old BFFs

Best Friends Forever (BFFs) Last week I wrote a post on this blog, "Our Kent Island Experience," that was a story about my best friend of about 20 years (at that time) and our husbands' day of "boating." Some of the events of the day tested our relationship. Yet, nearly 40 years have since past …

“A Sad Mistake”

Each January I renew my subscription to Ancestry.com.  This year my annual fee increased by nearly 30 percent.  However, two additional tools were incorporated into my Worldwide subscription: full access to Fold3.com (the web's premier collection of original military records) and also newspapers.com (digital access to 2,200 U.S. Newspapers dating from 1700 to current day).  And, I …

What’s All This Fuss About a Groundhog Named Phil and Punx’a’what?

From my May 26, 2013, blog post, Busted "Brick Wall" Reveals More "Chambers" "…So again yesterday morning, I decided to start over once more with basic research techniques for the elusive Chambers within our family's ancestors. Among my review of earlier research and findings of Frank Maynard Chambers, through my contacts with the Las Vegas Bunker …