Last night I attended a play at the Plano High School Auditorium. My grandson had a role in the play "These Shining Lives" by Melanie Marnich. The story is about real people and real events in their lives. The Radium Dial company hired young women to paint, with radium, the faces used in watches. In order to get a fine point on their paint brush, they formed their brushes by running them through their lips. The radium exposure caused cancer and eventually death.
The play was moving, disturbing in its subject; but, these teens did a wonderful job of portraying the characters - with the excitement of being able to join the workforce in the 1920's, the melding of friendships with the other girls at the workshop, the fear and realization of their situation. The marriage between Catherine and Tom (my grandson) runs through a list of concerns, from Catherine's need to work or not, to his doubts of her pain, to his support and understanding through her need to take the company to court.
I grew up near Ottawa in the 40's and 50's and heard about this factory and the radium, but not the depth of danger and death that came with working there.
Congratulations to the theatre department for a wonderful production and a "well done" to my grandson on his very first play!
Friday, March 15, 2013
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Genealogy Weekend
What a great conference! I spent two days at the Illinois State Genealogy Society's Fall Conference in Rockford. I attended six intense lectures facilitated by experts in their field's and came away with so much information I am on "overload".
Now it is up to me to put into practice all the things I learned. That is easier said than done! I enjoy finding living relatives as much as discovering those from the past. So, I took a session on using social networking sites to connect to relatives I might find there. Now the information was quite detailed, but I am still not able to even change my profile photo! OK, so I need to spend some time in trial and error.
Brick Walls - a term for that relative or problem in genealogy that brings you to a dead end! My "brick wall" is my great grandfather. I have no idea what city in Prussia he came from. I came home with quite a few ideas for seeking clues to this problem and I am looking forward to trying them.
Photo editing and repair was the third area I covered in my sessions. He made it look so easy. I'm sure with some more of that 'trial and error' thing I can improve the condition of some of my old photos. In fact, sometime in the near future I may share some of my attempts. (Stay tuned.)
Not having been to a conference for at least two years, this one was invigorating and motivating. It instilled new enthusiasm for my favorite hobby!
Now it is up to me to put into practice all the things I learned. That is easier said than done! I enjoy finding living relatives as much as discovering those from the past. So, I took a session on using social networking sites to connect to relatives I might find there. Now the information was quite detailed, but I am still not able to even change my profile photo! OK, so I need to spend some time in trial and error.
Brick Walls - a term for that relative or problem in genealogy that brings you to a dead end! My "brick wall" is my great grandfather. I have no idea what city in Prussia he came from. I came home with quite a few ideas for seeking clues to this problem and I am looking forward to trying them.
Photo editing and repair was the third area I covered in my sessions. He made it look so easy. I'm sure with some more of that 'trial and error' thing I can improve the condition of some of my old photos. In fact, sometime in the near future I may share some of my attempts. (Stay tuned.)
Not having been to a conference for at least two years, this one was invigorating and motivating. It instilled new enthusiasm for my favorite hobby!
Saturday, September 29, 2012
Surname Saturday - I changed mine!
I was reading my favorite genealogy blogs this morning and noticed it was Surname Saturday according to GeneaBloggers. So I thought I would share a little about my current surname!
On Saturday, September 29, 1962, I changed mine and for the last 50 years it has been Olson. A good Scandinavian name that means that somewhere along the way a grandfather of my husband's was most likely named Ole!! We find him in 1817, Ole Thorsen (his father's name was Thor) when he was born in Norway; in 1842 he married Berthe Thorsdatter (her father was Thor, too, but not the same one!); and in 1845 their son Theodore was born. Theodore Olson sailed to America in 1868 with his wife and daughter. And from then on the surname has remained Olson.
So as we celebrate our Golden Wedding Anniversary today, neither of us can figure out how the years have gone by so fast. Tomorrow we will celebrate with family and friends, and remember the last 50 years. And on Monday we will start on the next 50!
On Saturday, September 29, 1962, I changed mine and for the last 50 years it has been Olson. A good Scandinavian name that means that somewhere along the way a grandfather of my husband's was most likely named Ole!! We find him in 1817, Ole Thorsen (his father's name was Thor) when he was born in Norway; in 1842 he married Berthe Thorsdatter (her father was Thor, too, but not the same one!); and in 1845 their son Theodore was born. Theodore Olson sailed to America in 1868 with his wife and daughter. And from then on the surname has remained Olson.
So as we celebrate our Golden Wedding Anniversary today, neither of us can figure out how the years have gone by so fast. Tomorrow we will celebrate with family and friends, and remember the last 50 years. And on Monday we will start on the next 50!
Friday, September 7, 2012
Our Annual Trip to the Sandwich Fair
Thursday, we made our one and only visit to the Sandwich Fair for this year! We stayed for four hours and managed to see all that we needed to. After so many years, its the same thing we have seen for the last fifty years. (Please note that this was my husband's 73rd year of attending the fair.) Oh the people change, but the exhibits remain the same for the most part. Most of them even in the same place they have held for years. Now, I know that is a good thing - people can find the places they like to visit.
It is me that has changed. When the kids were young we visited often, worked the various booths and even exhibited our handiwork, canning, and garden flowers. The fair was the highlight of the fall. Now it is too far to walk, too hot to manage, and too many things we don't need or want.
The best part of the fair has always been the food. Even yesterday we managed to have lunch at the United Church stand, Lemon shakeups from the Open Door and pie and ice cream. We might have stayed longer if our hips had held out and our stomachs weren't on overflow!
But, even though we go into sensory overload after a short time, we could see the excitment and enthusiasm on all the younger faces - children and parents alike. And that is what has kept people coming to the fair for the last 125 years and will keep them coming for 125 more!
It is me that has changed. When the kids were young we visited often, worked the various booths and even exhibited our handiwork, canning, and garden flowers. The fair was the highlight of the fall. Now it is too far to walk, too hot to manage, and too many things we don't need or want.
The best part of the fair has always been the food. Even yesterday we managed to have lunch at the United Church stand, Lemon shakeups from the Open Door and pie and ice cream. We might have stayed longer if our hips had held out and our stomachs weren't on overflow!
But, even though we go into sensory overload after a short time, we could see the excitment and enthusiasm on all the younger faces - children and parents alike. And that is what has kept people coming to the fair for the last 125 years and will keep them coming for 125 more!
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Beginner's Blogging Block
Talk about "good intentions"! I promised myself that if I started this blog, I would be consistent with my postings. I may not write everyday, but I didn't mean less than once a week either. I'm not sure very many people know about this blog yet, so I'm working up to my schedule. But, once I inform all my friends and family about this site, I need to have my commitment in place. So please be patient with me.
Anyone who knows me, knows I am good at organizing but my usual "flow" has "flown". I just can't seem to find the rhythm of posting blogs on a regular basis. (Of course, like many things I do, I couldn't just start one, I started five different blogs!)
You know that saying "too many irons in the fire" was probably written just for me.
Anyone who knows me, knows I am good at organizing but my usual "flow" has "flown". I just can't seem to find the rhythm of posting blogs on a regular basis. (Of course, like many things I do, I couldn't just start one, I started five different blogs!)
You know that saying "too many irons in the fire" was probably written just for me.
- I started the summer by cleaning the attic - now the junk is in the hallway waiting for a decision on what to do with it.
- I have decided to scan as many family photos as possible - they lay partially sorted, partially scanned, and totally a mess.
- I have hours worth of research to enter into my Roots Magic database. And attach the photos I
have scannedwill scan. - I'm making a photo montage to celebrate our 50th Anniversary - it's coming along nicely, thank you.
- And I'm writing my life story (boring, but I felt the need).
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
Good Intentions
Met with my girl friends for coffee as usual this morning. I had good intentions of eating well - an asiago bagel (not too many carbs) and low-fat cream cheese (morning protein) along with my juice of choice, Hazelnut coffee! Nice, sensible choices.
So we enjoyed our breakfast and shared two weeks worth of catching up (one of us, not me, spent last week with her family having fun at her cabin). Not that I didn't have fun - I was watching facebook for photos of my brand new great-granddaughter! (I meet her tomorrow.)
But, I digress. About an hour into our intense conversation, a lovely girl on staff at the coffee shop came by offering free samples of their different flavor danish. Of course I had to try one, infact mine had a small slice of apple, cheese filling and one cherry, so I got to taste all three flavors! Now, there went my good intentions.
But, wait there's more! About an hour after that (I know, about now you are wondering what we have to talk about for two hours) another lovely young lady came by and sweetly said, "Would you care to try our new coffee cake?" Not wanting to offend her, "Of course", I said. So after that the only thing left to do was plan to start with the good intentions "tomorrow" when I see Penelope for the first time!
So we enjoyed our breakfast and shared two weeks worth of catching up (one of us, not me, spent last week with her family having fun at her cabin). Not that I didn't have fun - I was watching facebook for photos of my brand new great-granddaughter! (I meet her tomorrow.)
But, I digress. About an hour into our intense conversation, a lovely girl on staff at the coffee shop came by offering free samples of their different flavor danish. Of course I had to try one, infact mine had a small slice of apple, cheese filling and one cherry, so I got to taste all three flavors! Now, there went my good intentions.
But, wait there's more! About an hour after that (I know, about now you are wondering what we have to talk about for two hours) another lovely young lady came by and sweetly said, "Would you care to try our new coffee cake?" Not wanting to offend her, "Of course", I said. So after that the only thing left to do was plan to start with the good intentions "tomorrow" when I see Penelope for the first time!
Friday, August 3, 2012
The Steeple Chase
Now tell me, if your daughter told you that a former student of the school where my son-in-law teaches was at the Olympics and would compete Friday in the Steeple Chase, where in the schedule would you look? The Equestrian List, right?
After searching the list for a while, with no luck in finding it, I decided to use the search box. Now why would I think it was a Track and Field Event! Here are men taking the place of the horse - jumping hurdles and water pools. My grandsons have been in track meets and I have never heard of this before. Not in this context. The closest I have been to a Steeple Chase is while reading Dick Francis books, which include murder and mayhem in the world of racing in England!
Now that I had found it, I watched the video of the Olympic trials which he won. And found the results of his first preliminary race where he is second. Congrats to Evan and good luck as you go for the gold!
Note to self: You are watching way too much Olympic coverage!
After searching the list for a while, with no luck in finding it, I decided to use the search box. Now why would I think it was a Track and Field Event! Here are men taking the place of the horse - jumping hurdles and water pools. My grandsons have been in track meets and I have never heard of this before. Not in this context. The closest I have been to a Steeple Chase is while reading Dick Francis books, which include murder and mayhem in the world of racing in England!
Now that I had found it, I watched the video of the Olympic trials which he won. And found the results of his first preliminary race where he is second. Congrats to Evan and good luck as you go for the gold!
Note to self: You are watching way too much Olympic coverage!
Check out the photograph at the bottom of the page!
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