Happy National Candy Cane Day!

Just when and how candy canes got their start is a bit more uncertain than their popularity today: 1.76 billion candy canes are produced worldwide each year. According to Carly Schildhaus of the National Confectioners Association, “legend has it that the candy cane dates back to 1670, when the choirmaster at the Cologne Cathedral in …

Wild Times in “The Wilderness” of Spotsylvania

My paternal great grandfather was Edward "Bud" Vincent Bowling/Boling (1872-1946). He was born in Parker, Spotsylvania County, Virginia. According to the 1880 Census, "Vincent," as he was called at eight years old, lived on a tenant farm with his father Lawrence T. Boling (42), and his mother Sara Elizabeth Bettie Tapp (45), and his sisters …

Family Matters…

As a result of the clean up and out of my parents items in their home for up to 61 years, to prepare for its sale, I made a specific promise/decision to myself and my children. That decision: not to leave my family with such a task when I go home to be with Our …