Category: Miscellaneous
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Reflections on the preservation of memory
The colonization of North America is so relatively recent that our notions of what’s “old” and “worth preserving” are a little different from those of our European counterparts. Similarly, a fascination with family history, while not unique to Americans, takes on an oddly obsessive quality among some in the U.S. (ahem…. guilty as charged). Any…
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A sense of place
I’m in Southern Wisconsin for a few days, wandering around some of the towns and farms where ancestors of mine have dwelt for 170 years. I haven’t lived here since I was five, but deep down in the fibers of my being, this place has always felt like home. And of course it isn’t my…
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The greats
During my formative years (i.e., the early 1980s), I recall a flurry of genealogical interest on multiple sides of the family. My paternal grandpa’s sister Carol (Rude) Luiso had been interviewing her father John Rude and other older relatives about the family’s early years in the US. She and her cousin Judi collected a wealth…
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An early memory
When I was four or five, I asked my mom about her “mommy and daddy”. She explained that this is who “grandma” and “grandpa” were. Then I asked her about grandma and grandpa’s mommy and daddy. She patiently explained that too. And their parents, and their parents’ parents…? Where did it end? I wanted to…
Deep Roots 