Recipes

 

It's been a year and a half since mom died.  It's time to clear her house of the contents. I won't say its been an easy task.  At times I am overwhelmed by the task as she saved everything and other times I am overwhelmed with feelings of loss.  Sometimes, I'm just overwhelmed with the thought that I don't know what I'm doing.  Julie Hall, The Estate Lady, has helped tremendously with her posts that I read.  See the link to her blog under the tab for Blogs I Follow.  She is simply amazing!

Some of the origins of the recipes are and their relationship to my mother:

• Aunt Lena was Lena Mae Carrington Rose, her husband's cousin's wife
• Aunt Roxey was Mildred Roxey McNeilly Perry, her maternal grand aunt
• Grandma Harder was Mary Jane McNeilly Harder, her maternal grandmother 

 

The next few recipes I include because they just seem so like my mom.

 My dad, Walter J. Schnack, had a favorite food.  It was peanut butter.  Yes, you'll remember that he wrote about peanut butter in one of the Vietnam era letters!  My mom used salted Spanish peanuts in the cookie recipe and the contrast of the salt and sugar was mouth-watering delicious!

A multi-generational family favorite is Unbaked Cookies.  I can remember making them so often that I didn't need to look at the recipe when preparing them!

And last of all, folded and tucked between dividers in mom's recipe box was this page torn from a magazine or pamphlet.  I don't know if its something she saved or someone else ahead of her but reading it made an impact on me.

A perfect prayer for an empty-nest mom and an aging mom.   I know my mom missed having me around once I was grown and had a family of my own.  I often miss my own daughters.  But, I am so very proud of what my girls have accomplished in their lives.  They are resourceful, intelligent, funny, beautiful, caring, and so much more.

Are these the same families?

While researching a 3x great grandfather, I found two 1880 census reports that I believe enumerate the same family.  The focus of my research here is John Henry Clayton.  John Henry's first wife was my 3x great grandmother, Sarah L. Baxter.  Sarah died in New York between 1855 and 1859.  At the time of the census reports in question, he had been married to his second wife, Elizabeth, about 21 years and they had lived in Iowa for about 11 years. 

 

The census above is dated 1 June 1880 and records the residents of Sugar Creek Township in Poweshiek County, Iowa.  The John H. Clayton household is boxed in red and included John H., Elisabeth, Adel, and Floid F.  John Henry's occupation is recorded as hotel keeper.  Of particular interest to me are the birthplaces.  The family members were born in New York, as were their fathers and mothers with the exception of John Henry's mother; she was recorded as born in New Jersey.

The census above is dated 23 June 1880 and records the residents of 6th Ward, East Des Moines, Polk County, Iowa.  The John H. Clayton household is boxed in red and included John H., Elizabeth, Adel, and Floyd.  John Henry's occupation is recorded as hotel keeper.  Of particular interest to me are the birthplaces.  The family members were born in New York, as were their fathers and mothers with the exception of John Henry's father and mother.  His father is recorded born in New Jersey and his mother in Pennsylvania. 

I believe these two families are one and the same.  What do you think?

 

Grandpa's Pearl Harbor Pictures 1924-1927 part two

As you learned in my last post, my paternal grandmother's nickname was Dot.  Where exactly the nickname came from, I don't know.  I assume it was given her by my grandfather.  Grandma wasn't much bigger than a dot, that's for sure!

This is a smaller collection of photographs but these pictures were specifically addressed to Dot. 

Place names in this collection include:

• Diamond Head, Oahu, Hawai'i
• Waikiki Beach, Waikiki, Honolulu, Oahu, Hawai'i
• Punch Bowl, Honolulu, Oahu, Hawai'i
• Pearl Harbor, Oahu, Hawai'i
• Moanalua Park, Honolulu, Oahu, Hawai'i
• Statue of King Kamehameha I, Honolulu, Oahu, Hawai'i

Dot: This is the Statue of King Kamehameha I, the first king to have full possession of all these Islands.  All this happened about the time Captain Cook discovered the Islands.  The Marine in the picture is Mace, a friend of mine.  Wallie

Dot: This is a picture of a golf course near Moanalua Park.  I developed it and overexposed it.  I hate why its so dark.  The white spot is a finger print.  Wallie

Dot: The Marine Barracks, Pearl Harbor, Territory Hawai'i, rear view looking north.  The wooden affair is a handball court.  Wallie

Dot: Here's one I'm ashamed to send.  But, it's all I have at present.  I overexposed this when I printed it.  The houses are some plantation homes and are just off Schofield Road.  You can see a truck just past the houses and Diamond Head and the Punch Bowl in the distance, both extinct craters 1/2 mile from Moanalua.

Dot:  The famous landmark of "Oahu." Iit is Diamond Head, an extinct crater taken from Waikiki Beach looking East.  Wallie