Hello! It's me again!

Today marks two years ago that I wrote my first blog.  Where have I been, you might be asking?  Why haven't there been any blogs for the last 7 months?  Well, we were off making memories. We were blessed with lots of family and friend time, and great trips.  Our most recent trips were so fabulous that we mentioned several times that we wished we could stay in both places.

The Fab 4 in Liverpool, Englan

RAF Bar behind the Eagle
The Eagle Pub in Cambridge

First, we went on a cruise that circled the British Isles. My recent DNA testing said I was 97% from the British Isles.  A wonderful reason to see that area of the world.  We were blessed to be able to visit many wonderful cities in England, Scotland, and Ireland.  I always wanted to visit Scotland and Ireland and it is was great fun to go back to England. We stayed in London two nights before heading to Southhampton to get on the ship. One of the days we were in London, we took a train and went to Cambridge.  It was such a fun town, full of history, educational facilities, churches and restaurants. We had heard of The Eagle Cambridge  Pub from some friends, so we looked  for it and had lunch there. At the back of the pub is another bar where the  pilots used to hang out, back during World War II, called the RAF Bar.  They would write their names on the ceiling and to this day, the names are  still there.  A very nostalgic spot and the food wasn't too bad either.

 As we ventured around the British Isles, we visited Dublin, Glascow,  Liverpool, Edinburg, Belfast and Inverness.  Each having their own  unique  characteristics.  We liked them all but only had a short time in  each port.  I  would like to go back some day and spend more time.  We also visited  Stirling and Blarney Castles.  Stirling most famous for  Robert the Bruce of  Braveheart fame and Blarney for the famous  "Blarney Stone" that you  practically hang upside down to kiss.  There  is not enough antibacterial gel  in this world to get me to do it.  However we did do a photo op!  We had fun on that cruise!

Blarney Castle

We got to spend some time in Hawaii in January,  A really nice time to be there, even though the weather in Texas was pretty good during that time.  We were on the island of Maui and had lots of fantastic beach time and great seafood!

We loved these trips but our time spent with family was by far the best.  We have been from one end of this continent to the next over the last six months, for weddings, graduations, birthdays and more.  From Seattle, to Georgia, to Michigan, Missouri, Colorado, Nevada, Hawaii, and Houston.

Maui, Hawaii

So as you can see, we have been very busy and, unfortunately, my blog writing time went by the way side.  So did my genealogy research.  But I am back at it and hope to get some more blogs out soon!  In my spare time I have still been trying to find my great, great great grandfather on my maternal grandfather's side, father to John Garrison, Browntown/ Abbott's Creek, Davidson County, North Carolina.  I have searched, what I feel like is every possible place, and still have no proof of who he is.  We all speculate who we think he is, but I want proof positive.  I am going to have to spend some time at our local Family History Place because I have cancelled my Ancestry.com account, for now. (too costly)  Fact finding is tedious work but work I enjoy doing!

There are lots of other avenues I want to pursue, so I will be back soon!

The Things that Make Me "Me"

Today is the first anniversary of this blog. I can't believe that I started it a year ago! And as it turns out, this is also the 50th entry. It has been a fun experience and one that has allowed me to share a lot of my family history with my children and others. I hope to pull it all together in book form one day, to share with generations to come, but I still have tales to tell.  

Clara Jean Garrison Hatch, Feb 10, 1939-Aug 21, 1991

Today would have been my mom's 77th birthday.  I started this blog because she passed away at such a young age and there were so many questions I wish I had asked her about her family and her years growing up.  So I set out to make sure my kids, and theirs, would know about her and all the rest of their family.  The blog has been a great way to share all I have found.  Happy Birthday Mom!

I went to see my son and family this past weekend and when I travel to their home, I listen to a lot of podcasts from some of my favorite genealogy gurus. I was listening to Lisa Louise Cooke's Genealogy Gems Podcast, and heard about a contest she had (it ended in December) that consisted of writing a poem about "Where I'm From." My mind immediately started racing and I knew I would have to take a few minutes and try this out for myself. 

The idea came from George Ella Lyon, the poet laureate of Kentucky, who was a guest on Lisa's show that day. George Ella wrote a poem on her own family identity, which has inspired people around the world to do the same.  Click here for her website and poem.  I thought it was a really fun idea and that I would take a stab at it. 

Where I’m From

I am from the shadows below Mount Rushmore
the sandhills of North Carolina
the big dunes of Michigan
the northern lights of Alaska
a one square mile base in Pakistan
the Show Me State of Missouri

and the home of the Alamo in Texas.

I am big sister to two brothers,
mom to Steph and Chip,
Mimi to my grandkids,
and wife to my wonderful husband, John.

I am from Grandma’s persimmon pudding and applesauce cake
and mom’s homemade enchiladas and pies.

I am from the Garrison, Hatch, Hayworth, and Marley bunch.
From coffee drank from saucers and applesauce in oatmeal.
From big family reunions and
games like Kick the Can and Capture the Flag.

I am from a family that came to America, from England, in 1699.
Who ran mills and farms and fought in wars.

I am from a family of golf, a grandfather who worked the courses 

and a mom who played them.

I am from snow and homemade igloos,

from Scotch-Guarded jeans and old skis,

bumpy ice rinks and ice hockey with brooms.

Zucchini that was grown during the summer in Alaska.

I am from earthquakes that shake,

volcanoes that blow, 

and veggies and flowers that grow huge,

thanks to the Midnight Sun. 

From campgrounds with tents and later a camper 

and walks through streams with our own pair of waders.

I’m from Jim who served his country around the world
and Jean who took care of us, through it all.

I am an Air Force brat, moving lots,
making new friends, leaving those friends.
Hard at the time, but grateful now.

I love playing in the dirt, watching things grow.
Working on my family tree,
creating things through cross stitch,
and seeing new places in the world.

I am blessed beyond measure and can’t wait to see 

what God has planned for my future.

That was fun!  I challenge each of you to come up with a little poem of "Where You Are From" and share it here in the comments!  It sure brought back a lot of wonderful memories for me.  Hope it does the same for you.  

Until next time...

High School Revisited, Part 2

I had a lot of fun in high school but I worked hard too. As soon as I was 16 years old, I asked my mom to take me to get my driver's license and from the day I got it, I started working. My first job was at the Ponderosa Steak House in Grandview's Truman Corners. The day I was hired, my boss told me that if I did a good job, in three months he would give me a raise. I got good reviews those three months and no raise. Three more months went by and still no raise, so I went looking for another job. I found one around the corner from Ponderosa, at Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC). They hired me for more money than I would have received with the raise that was promised me. So I went in to give my notice and my boss was shocked that I was leaving. He asked me why and I told him about his promise for the raise. He said, "I'll give it to you now." Too late! Off to KFC I went.

That turned out to be the best job for me in high school because they would work with me and my schedule of extra curricular activities: wrestling cheerleading, choir, plays, etc. They were always very good about that and in return I worked as many hours as I could when I didn't have those things going on. I came home very greasy after every shift but it really was a good job. The hardest day? Mother's Day! We went through so much food on that day. People would be lined up out the door.

I remember when I first started at KFC, we had a regular old cash register. With that register, we had to count people's change back to them. So, when we got the fancy register, that gave the change back automatically, we thought it was pretty cool. I also learned a life lesson or two, while working there.  One was that humans are not always honest.  I got short changed on one of my shifts by a guy who was so slick. I never figured out how he did it exactly but he walked out with $20 more than he came in with. I was very careful and very suspicious after that. It didn't happen again.

My first car was a 62 Chevy 2 and I loved it! It was white and had push button gears with four doors. Perfect for my first car. When my brother Kevin got his license a year later, we started driving a teal station wagon, which is in the picture above.

Riding in the Homecoming Parade.

My senior year went by so fast. I was very busy with lots of different things and loved every minute of it. Besides working, I was in the Gold Choir, which did performances and went to competitions, was the Vice President of the Senior Class, a baseball cheerleader and was a candidate for Homecoming Queen. It was a high honor for me to be nominated and although I didn’t win, it was an exciting time and I felt blessed to be a part of the event. I got to ride in a convertible in the Homecoming parade, I got a beautiful dress made of royal blue satin with a light blue silk top, and I went to the dance with a guy I had a crush on who was a star football player. It was a Cinderella type of night. I didn’t end up dating that guy but we had fun at the dance.

From the Ruskin yearbook. (1)

I was selected to give a speech at my graduation ceremony, which had me nervous as a cat. We graduated at the RLDS Auditorium in Independence, Missouri. It was a huge auditorium, where many schools held their graduations. The graduates would all march in and sit up in the front, in an area where a choir would be. It was a great facility to have that kind of ceremony.  My speech was on the Three P’s; Performance, Perseverance and Possibilities. People said that I sounded like I was going to cry throughout the whole speech, but I didn’t. However, when the Gold Choir got up and sang the traditional graduation song, I lost it. This was it…high school life was coming to an end. The real world was about to begin.

From the Ruskin yearbook. (2)

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(1) Ruskin High School, The Mirage, 1976, Kansas City, Missouri, Page 119.  
(2) Ruskin High School, The Mirage, 1976, Kansas City, Missouri, Page 201.

New Home, New State, New Beginnings

We finally arrived in Kansas City, Missouri, in the summer of 1973. When we got there we lived in an apartment in Grandview for a couple months, while we looked for a house. I wanted to get a recent picture of them but they have since been torn down. The picture to the right is my mom and dad coming out of those apartments. Ours was the one on the second floor.  There were a lot of changes at once that summer: new state, new home, new school and new friends.

We found a house and all of us were ready to move in but we had to clean the place first. We also did some painting. It took several days to get the house clean because the previous owners were smokers. I can remember my mom taking the venetian blinds to the bathroom tub, spraying them down with 409, and the nicotine turning the water yellow-brown from the build up. It was so gross. I don’t think they had ever been cleaned. 

Our subdivision, Terrace Lake Gardens, was quite a ways from the school so I had to ride a bus, which I hadn’t done in years (since I was in grade school) so that was going to be a new experience. I can still remember the first day of school, getting on the bus, not knowing anyone and before we got to school, having several friends. They knew I was the “new girl”. Things traveled fast around our neighborhood. 

Our house sat on a corner lot and was right across the street from where the bus stopped. My bus driver also happened to be my neighbor. That was helpful at times, because if I was running a little late, she would usually wait for me, whereas other drivers probably would not have. There was a really cute boy that lived in our neighborhood, that I kind of liked. He started hanging around and I have to say, my parents weren’t as fond of him as I was. Nothing became of that, other than friendship.

Our house in the Terrace Lake Subdivision.

My sophomore year was a busy one. I tried out for several plays and had small parts. I still remember my drama teacher saying, “there are no small parts, just small actors”. Supposedly Ed Wynn, the actor/comedian said that. But I have seen it attributed to a Russian actor named Konstantin Stanislavsky, too. I loved being in the plays and with each one came a great group of people to work with. I was a nun in the Sound of Music and had a one-word line in it. I got to call out “Maria” during one of the scenes. (I still get teased about that) I didn’t have much to do in that play but it was a lot of fun and quite a production. A lot of the seniors were in it and I thought it was cool to be able to hang out with them at rehearsals.

I was chosen to be the understudy for the lead female role in the play “Mary, Mary” during that year too. I was the understudy for Cheri Buie, who was so awesome. She was a senior and so talented. Anyway, they decided to do an Understudy Night that would be performed the night before the regular opening night. It was so scary. David Dahm played the male lead, my ex-husband, Bob.  We made it through the evening and I got to experience my 15 minutes of fame. 

David Dahm and I rehearsing for "Mary, Mary'.
Don't you just love the pants?

That same year I was nominated for an award with two other students. I think it was a DAR award.  I didn’t get it but one of the other people nominated was Sheila Smith, who went on to be one of my dearest friends. We both lost to a guy in our class.

I didn’t have to take any PE classes during high school because my credits transferred over from my junior high and were enough to get me through. I was ecstatic! I did have to take some electives like Spanish and drama class. I took Spanish all three years but can honestly say that if you don’t use it, you lose it. However, I can still ask where the bathroom is. Important, right? I wish I had paid more attention and had a way to practice what I learned, because I could sure use it in many ways now. I have been saying I am going to try Rosetta Stone. I have had it for several years and haven’t done it, so the odds are probably not in my favor. Oh well, if anyone needs to know where the bathroom is located, in Spanish, give me a call.

Ruskin High School, my alma mater.  
It has changed a lot over the years. 

Today's Terri's Tidbit:  The United States Census Bureau has a really fun website, with lots of valuable information, including a running meter of the current population, US and World.  Check it out here.  It is a great source for those working on their family history. I usually go to Ancestry.com or familysearch.org to look at the actual census forms but you can do it through this website.

Not all census takers enjoyed their job or had the patience needed to deal with many different people.  One of those individuals was a man named Frank Wilkeson, who had some interesting entries on his forms. Check them out here, in an article on Lisa Louise Cooke's Genealogy Gems website. Based on my research, this was a very important job that was not always taken seriously. The assessor would go house to house, taking notes and many times would then transcribe that info onto the forms.  They didn't always get transferred exactly right and many times the names were spelled phonetically or just plain wrong, so it makes a genealogy researcher's job more interesting and many times more difficult.  The most recent census that is available online, free to the public, is the one from 1940.  They have to wait 72 years after the census to release it, which means the 1950 one should be available in 2022. Will your name be in that one, or will you have to wait, like me, for the 1960 census to come out in the 2032 timeframe?

Kansas City, Here We Come

My family with the Young's, somewhere along the 
the Alcan Highway.  Look how dirty our vehicles are. 

We left Alaska in 1973 and headed for Missouri. We were driving the same car down the highway that we had driven up four years earlier. However, this time it was summer. No snow, just a whole lot of gravel and dirt. Traveling with us were our friends the Young’s. Their son Chris was my age and he had two younger sisters. Just the opposite of our family of two boys and a girl. Some of the Young’s now live in Illinois, at least Chris and his family do, and his parents are in California. We all still keep in touch on Facebook. The trip down the AlCan would end up taking almost two weeks.

This was an exciting trip because we were going through Canada in the summer and the flowers there were so beautiful.  I remember thinking how clean it was.  There seemed to be no litter, anywhere. We had a brief stop in Calgary to visit with a "Hatch" family, that we knew from our congregational church in Anchorage. 

One of the most exciting things about the trip was the opportunity to go through Rapid City, South Dakota, where I was born.  I had not been there since I was a baby so it was fun to see the town of my birth as a teenager.

Google Earth photo of the corner I stood on when
I was 16, when it was the hospital where I was born. 
See previous blog for that pic.

We visited the hospital where I was born sixteen years before.  I wrote a little bit about this and had a picture in an earlier blog Honeymoon High Jinks.  As I mentioned there, it is no longer a hospital but is now an apartment complex.  

When you think of Rapid City, you think of Mount Rushmore and of course, we took time to go and see it for ourselves. Until you actually see it in person, you can't believe the enormity.  How did they do it? It almost seems to be an impossible endeavor but there it was, and it was magnificent! Below is a picture of us standing in front of the Presidents.  My brother Kevin looked so cool in his shades. It was a beautiful day to visit and one I won’t forget.   We also visited Yellowstone during this trip and saw Old Faithful. 

We had been in Alaska for four and a half years, so this was a hard move to make. We had lots of friends, some who we would never see again. We were going to a new place, where I would start high school, and we would not know a soul. Unlike schools on military bases, we would now be in a public school, where most of the kids grew up together. We would be deemed outsiders. But one thing you learn, as a Military Brat, is how to go up and introduce yourself to new people.  That was so important, when moving from place to place.  The kids at my school were very welcoming.  But it was still a scary time.

Today's Terri's Tidbit:  I discovered a really cool website that is great for genealogy but also has so many other possible uses.  It is the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA).   DPLA is a platform or a hub for many different resources bringing them altogether for easy access.  I have already found many references to things I have talked about in other blogs.  One was the Wilson County Tobacco Festival in the previous blog, Southern Pines Teen Shot in Hunting Mishap. The DPLA website has a bunch of pictures from that event, dating back to the 1940's.  It was fun seeing that Festival captured in time through those photos.  Some other things I found were old postcards of different towns that I have referred to. I found an old card with the Southern Pines train depot here, and this is what it looked like several years ago. (Please pardon the car mirror!)

There is a tab on the DPLA Homepage that says "Map" and if you go to the state you want, it will bring up all the info they have on their platform for that particular area.  This site has some terrific info but beware, it can be addictive!  

Alaska: Even Better the Second Time Around, Part 3

Our family loved to camp and we would go out a lot during the summer months. Our favorite place to go was Quartz and Crescent Creek Campgrounds. We would go out rain or shine. Mom, dad and Kevin loved to fish but I found it very frustrating as I didn’t have the patience. As a teenage girl, I couldn't figure out where the fun was in standing on the side of a river, waiting for a fish to jump up and take my bait. But there must be something about fishing because so many people liked to do it. My mom and dad loved to fish and it was rare if my mom didn't come back with a bunch she had caught.  So I decided that there was only one way to find out what they saw in this sport and that was to join them.  Before I left Alaska, I was going to catch a fish, no matter how long it took. So I got my rod and headed down to the creek. 

I have to say, it is not something that I would seek out to do now but the thrill of the catch was pretty exciting.  I got a bite and fought my catch for a little while and reeled in my prize.   I had caught a 22 inch Dolly Varden trout.  After that day, I never caught another one near that size but I was happy I had finally seen what everyone loved about fishing.  

We all owned waders in my family.  The tall water boots that you wear to get in the water to fish.  Lots of times we would just wade out in the creek and play in the water or build a dam and then take it down.  

There were a lot of girls in the families we camped with, so we would get together in one of the trailers and play Canasta for hours. Or we would take hikes, never straying far from camp.  We didn't want to run up on any bears.

We had awnings that we would put up over the picnic tables so we could eat outside, even if it rained.  Mom cooked a lot of our meals right on the campfire.  We had a big piece of stainless steel, that was about the size of the fire pit and we would cook pancakes, bacon, eggs, hamburgers, etc. on it.  Some of the best eating came off that big old piece of seasoned metal.  

During the cold months, we didn't camp much but that didn't stop us from being outside, enjoying different activities.  It was not unusual for us to get a bunch of families together and go out to the Rec Area, on base, for sledding or snowmobiling. We would build a fire outdoors and we might cook hot dogs or other things for lunch and would use it for warmth too. We always had so much fun on those outings.

We were very active while in Alaska this second time.  Kevin and I learned to snow ski at Elmendorf's, Hillberg Ski Area, which had beginning and intermediate slopes. It was the perfect place for new skiers.  They had the disk and t-bar lifts, which were a challenge, but before long we had no problems on them.  We used to ski in our jeans.  We would use Scotchguard to help waterproof them but after being out all day, they still got soaking wet.  We didn't care.  We loved it. I think it was $12.00 a day to rent skis and for the lifts.  A real bargain compared with today's lift ticket prices at other places. 

Our family in Alaska the second time.

One of the things we did for PE during the winter was play Broom Hockey, also known as Broomball.  There was a rink right at the school that we would use.  The game is very much like real hockey but with a broom and a ball. You are on skates and you try to get the ball in the goal.  

We liked to roller skate too.  The base had a Roller Rink and it was very popular with the junior high age group.  All our friends would meet up there and we would do all kinds of different fun "skates", like skating backwards.  We would get together with our friends for the holidays and by mid afternoon all of us kids would want to go skating. Our parents would act like they weren't going to take us but would finally give in.  We think they were glad to have us go but were just playing with us.  We always had a blast when we went.  

My Grandfather Hatch passed away in 1972, so we went back to North Carolina for the funeral. I remember there were so many people there that they were standing outside. A lot of people came out to show their love for ole Skybo.  We got to see family while there.  It had been three years since we had been back to the Lower 48 and North Carolina.  I left Alaska with long hair but had my cousin cut it into a shag while back there.  Shags were very popular then.  

I was on the Student Council and served as Secretary.  We got so much accomplished that year but our biggest success, according to the students, was the acquisition of a soda machine.  Everyone loved it.  We also sponsored several dances.  We had a set of twins in our class, Vince and Wayne Watson, and they were both officers too.  They were active in so many things and were lots of fun and always cutting up.  Where are they now?  I would love to know where a lot of the people that went to Orion are now.  (If you happen upon this blog and you were there, let me know.)   

The soda machine we worked so hard to get.
Someone, when signing my yearbook,
wrote in the "Beer" as a joke. (1)

I went on my first "date" in my ninth grade year.  His name was Rick and he was older than I was.  I couldn't car date so we walked to the movie theater to see whatever was playing at the time.  That relationship didn't work out but his family moved to Missouri at the same time we did so we went out again there.  Still nothing.  

I did meet a boy from my grade that I liked and, of course, I fell head over heels for him right before we moved away.  His name was Eddie Bannick. He was a basketball player and very quiet. My heart broke to have to leave him.  I thought my world was ending.  He promised that he would come to Missouri one day to see me.  I thought, yeah right, easy to say now.  But sure enough, three years later, when I was a freshman in college, I got a call that he was in town.  He was driving from Alaska to Texas and stopped by.  He came back through again a few years later but by that time I was in a serious relationship.  It was still great to see him though.  I think he went back to Alaska but I lost track of him along the way.  Unfortunately, that happened with a lot of my friends over the years, during our many moves.  And we were about to make another one.

Today's Terri's Tidbit:  I love doing genealogy and I follow a lot of other genealogists and their blogs.  One of them is Jana Iverson Last and her blog Jana's Genealogy and Family History. Recently she posted the cutest video that I thought was worth sharing.   Watch "Grandparent's Little Secrets", from Studio C, by clicking here.  Do you have a skeleton or two in your family history closet?
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(1)  1973 Arctic Highlights Yearbook, Orion Jr. High School, Elmendorf AFB, pg. 7