Showing posts with label bow ties. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bow ties. Show all posts

Monday

"The Book of Me, Written by You" - What is your most treasured possession?

This is a journey of finding yourself and how your loved ones see you in their eyes. Further, this can be online and carried forward to share, if you wish, to future generations.
This is a journey of finding yourself and how your loved ones see you in their eyes. Further, this can be online and carried forward to share, if you wish, to future generations. - See more at: http://joannfitz.blogspot.com.au/2013/09/the-book-of-me-written-by-you-topic-1.html#sthash.2TuO2bVu.dpuf
This is a journey of finding yourself and how your loved ones see you in their eyes. Further, this can be online and carried forward to share, if you wish, to future generations. - See more at: http://joannfitz.blogspot.com.au/2013/09/the-book-of-me-written-by-you-topic-1.html#sthash.2TuO2bVu.dpuf
The prompt for the week is:    
What is your most treasured possession?
The Brief:

  • This could be something that you have bought from an inheritance
  • A gift from a family member
  • An item that you have been left by a friend or family member
  • How do you plan to secure it's survival with future generations?
I have 3 mostly treasured possessions besides my research that I have been doing.

I have spoken about these many times in past posts, so it shouldn't become as a shock. However, this might change if I was able to find out anything more or "rescue" pictures or paperwork I didn't know about.

Treasured Possession 1:

The tiny cup my grandmother gave to me growing up. She gave this to me when I was very young. In fact, it was part of a bigger set including a tiny teapot but as we moved the set was broken and all lost except for the cup I've glued back together.

Treasured Possession 2:
The recipe for Bow Ties or Cruschiki which my grandmother used to make. I hope to pass this along to my nieces and their children. Unfortunately, to date, we haven't been able to have children, so this will have to be passed along to my nieces.

Treasured Possession 3:
My great cousin's, James J Sherman, silver WW2 Air Force wings. These are a very rare and have been loved by my mother and myself since they've been given. They were with me when I married in 1997 as something old and it was like having part of my family with me when the marriage happened as no one else was there in person - only in spirit.
As for my research, I'm not sure who that will go to. I do know I am going to start writing up life stories on the ancestors I've found. At the moment I'm working my way through all my time lines and making them very detailed.

  Check back for the continuation of "The Book of me, Written by You" series.    

Thursday

"The Book of Me, Written by You" - Inherited Items

is a journey of finding yourself and how your loved ones see you in their eyes. Further, this can be online and carried forward to share, if you wish, to future generations.
This is a journey of finding yourself and how your loved ones see you in their eyes. Further, this can be online and carried forward to share, if you wish, to future generations. - See more at: http://joannfitz.blogspot.com.au/2013/09/the-book-of-me-written-by-you-topic-1.html#sthash.2TuO2bVu.dpuf
This is a journey of finding yourself and how your loved ones see you in their eyes. Further, this can be online and carried forward to share, if you wish, to future generations. - See more at: http://joannfitz.blogspot.com.au/2013/09/the-book-of-me-written-by-you-topic-1.html#sthash.2TuO2bVu.dpuf
The prompt for the week is:    
Inherited Items
The Brief:

There is something very special about inheriting an item from a family member. It doesn't have to be the riches, in terms of monetary value, or in the finest condition. Sometimes, just knowing that an item has stood the test of time in whatever shape it is now, is enough.

That link between the past, present and future as you in turn pass it along.


This week share those thoughts, memories and pictures. Lets having a trip down memory lane as with the passing along of each item there is always memories attached.

Items passed along
Inherited Items are something that cannot every be replaced. Its not the cost of them, its who the item has represented. In fact, things haven't exactly been explained to me when they have been handed down.They were here you go. It wasn't until I was older I understood what happened.


Grandma Jean
Grandma Jean I spent alot of time with growing up. I used to spend two weeks of the year with her, which was interesting as I never knew what we'd get up to, but I did know we would drive some place in her car, watch "Days of Our Lives" and play cards. These things she loved to do.

One of the other things she passed along was Polish foods - usually what we term Bow Ties and another dumpling type of food. She did make pickled pigs feet, but I never liked them. Now every Christmas, or when I'm thinking about her, I make the Bow Ties.
Bow ties or chrusciki I made

When I was about 9 or 10, she once gave me a small pot with some small cups. She said she played with them when she was growing up. She then gave them to me. Because of our constant moving, they were broken over time, which always made me sad. Out of the whole set, I only have one tiny cup left which I've glued together.
Great Cousin James (Jimmy)
The other thing that was given to me by my mother, was her cousin Jimmy's air force wings. I have mentioned these before in my posts. He gave these to her on his last night of his leave before he was shipped out. About 3 weeks later, he was killed in a flight.
Great Cousin Jimmy's wings

What makes these so much more important was when I asked my mother what happened to him and why was he killed and buried, she didn't know. This was one of the two persons (the other was my Grandma Jean) who got me started in genealogy. Because of this, I feel a special connection to them both.
Mystery solved - what happened to Great Cousin Jimmy

Great Grandpa Adam
I do know my great grandfather Adam (Grandma Jean's father) had left my father a watch which was powered by the pulse in your arm. My father then gave it to my brother, Charlie, as he was the only male heir. I'm not sure where it is today.

Our "Children"
Since the children were confirmed, we celebrate these each year by remembering them when we put an ornament on the tree. As its looking more and more likely we won't have children, I'm not sure if anyone will continue this tradition once we are gone.
Our 2 confirmed pregnancies - angel is our Feb baby I miscarried and the bootie is for Jamie Sweetpea who was our ectopic pregnancy.


Mental / Emotional Abuse
Unfortunately, this is one of the things that must be talked about when you mention things passed down in my family. It must be talked about in order to stop the cycles. From what I've been able to find, on my maternal side, my grandfather did it (but so did my great grandfather to him and his siblings too), my great grandfather Jagodzinski (mother's mother's father) I believe did it as well (because none of his children wanted anything to do with him), my father wasn't a sterling example either, but I'm not sure if his father could have passed it down as well. As you can tell, each time the abuse occurred it was carried down the line. Its time it has to stop. Thankfully, as far as I can tell, this has been done with my generation for the most part.
The Future
Rings
I know one thing my grandmother wanted was to pass down rings to each of the girls in the family. The rings were solitaires of their birth stone. My grandmother bought one for me and had me promise to hand it down. However, the stone came out and then upon moving the band part of the ring was lost. I have plans to replace this as soon as I can.

Further, once I am able, I will buy my 3 nieces rings and they all can be passed down from them to their children. Again, if we are ever blessed with a living child, they too, will get a ring or watch as well to pass down.

Ornaments
Also, in the past 2 years, as I've been finding out more about my backgrounds, I have bought unique Christmas ornaments for each name of the family. I have then labelled them with the family name and have it labelled in both English as well as the language that was common to them. Note: I haven't been able to source any from Belgium or Denmark, so I haven't been able to do those sides of the family. If I don't find them soon, I will have to get the ornaments from another place close to those countries.



















Stories
I have plans to write up each persons life story as far as I can find it and give those out as well. However, this might take me a lifetime to do to do everyone as I am still in the research mode.

As you can see, you have many different ways you can remember people. As they are part of you, they should be remembered - from the good to the bad. This is the only way to stop the circles of abuse and meanness that has been passed down from one generation to the next.

  Check back for the continuation of "The Book of me, Written by You" series.