Chasing History

  Week 50: The theme for Week 50 is “Family Heirloom.” Heirlooms don’t have to be expensive to be valuable. Grandma’s mirror that she kept on her nightstand? The milk bottle from the dairy where Uncle Harold worked? This is a good week to write about it and the person it’s associated with.  Let me tell you about the infamous Gross family Christmas cactus. The cactus originally belonged to my maternal great-grandmother, Lillian. Lillian Mae Taylor   Born: 8 Sep 1895 Newberry, York, PA Died: 11 October 1981 Etters, York, PA For my entire life and for many years before that, the cactus grew in the windowsill in the casual dining room at my grandpa's house.  My great-grandmother, Lillian, died 13 years before I was born. When she passed away in 1981, my grandfather, Clair E. Gross, inherited the house, which he had grown up in, and then lived there until his death in 2009. He kept the cactus for the remainder of his life.  Over the years my mom and I would prune an...

  Week 49: The theme for Week 49 is “Written.” Who is the writer in your family (besides you 😉)? Did they write books, keep a diary, or have a habit of sending letters to the editor? What about someone who had lovely handwriting? This is their week.  In 2016, I found a great stash of letters in my maternal grandpa's trunk. They were folded into small rectangles and stuffed into an envelope meant for fire insurance from 1932. The penmanship in all of the letters is absolutely beautiful.  The letters range from 1868-1899.  The letters were written to Fredrick and Ellen Sipe, my maternal 3rd great-grandmother's relatives. The Sipe's lived in Newberrytown.  I have taken measures to preserve the letters. They have been gently flattened and are being stored inside of acid free plastic sleeves.  Ellen Fink Sipe 1853–1935 wife of 3rd great-granduncle Frederick Sipe 1847–1926 3rd great-granduncle

  Week 48: The theme for Week 48 is “Family Recipe.” Who made the dish that made holiday meals “complete”? Who was the best cook in the family? (Or who was the worst?) This would also be a good week to write about a favorite family recipe and the memories you have surrounding it.  The first book that I self-published was a community cookbook that included a lot of my family’s recipes. I eneded up publishing a second volume which included more recipes because it was so popular.  I'm a lucky person to come from a family of talented cooks. My mom and grandma definitely belived that feeding people is a love language.  I never got to meet my paternal grandmother, paternal great-grandmother or my maternal great-grandmother, but I've been told that they were very good cooks.  The men in my family have also been known for their cooking skills. One of my favorite memories of my Uncle Grady visiting our house is that we would always make biscuits together.  Grady How...