Writing Your Story: Maps and House Plans, 2

Genealogy tip for the day: Writing Your Story: Maps and House Plans 2

Yesterday we talked about how helpful it is to draw out house plans, or maps of where you lived. The same is true of other family members. As you research your ancestors it might be helpful to research the topography of the area where they lived. Drawing out a map of the area might even help solve some of those brick wall issues.

Let’s say that Grampa lived by a river. Across the river is a town that is closest to him, (as the crow flies). But is that where the family shopped? Maybe there was not a bridge close by, or you had to go over mountains to get to a crossing. A town that is further away, but easier to get to, may be your answer.

If you are looking for documents and don’t find them in what seems like a logical spot, to you, look around and see what other towns are in the area. If you can compare this with maps of that time or draw some yourself, maybe you can discover the reason for going further away.

If you are having no luck finding those records in a nearby town, look at the maps or the geography or the topography and see what was easier to reach. That might solve your problem. We all prefer the road of least resistance. So take a look, or draw a map yourself and see what Grampa may have been thinking. Also check city directories and see what businesses are where and what may have fit his needs. If he needed garden tools he wouldn't go to a nearby town that has no gardening supplies! See if you can come up with a city map, if you can’t find one yourself gather what information you can and draw one, yourself.

“History is who we are; Genealogy is who I am” sg

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ANNOUNCEMENTS

Are you a Lord of the Rings lover? Today’s movie is:

The Desolation of Smuag

Summer Reading Program will be starting soon. Watch for announcements on that and registration information. This is for ages Adults through young children! Come Join Us - and explore new worlds. There will be programming for Adults as well as the Children.

You can find our website at rogerspubliclibrary.org 

And our other blog at RPL's Movies and Music

Ludwig Van Beethoven

Today in History

Today in History
March 26

1517		The famous Flemish composer Heinrich Issac dies.
1799		Napoleon Bonaparte captures Jaffa, Palestine.
1804		Congress orders the removal of Indians east of the Mississippi River to Louisiana.
1804		The territory of New Orleans is organized in the Louisiana Purchase.
1827		German composer Ludwig Van Beethoven dies in Vienna. He had been deaf for the later part of his life, but said on his death bed "I shall hear in heaven."
1832		Famed western artist George Catlin begins his voyage up the Missouri River aboard the American Fur Company steamship Yellowstone.
1885		Eastman Film Co. manufactures the first commercial motion picture film.
1913		The Balkan allies take Adrianople.
1918		On the Western Front, the Germans take the French towns Noyon, Roye and Lihons.
1938		Herman Goering warns all Jews to leave Austria.
1942		The Germans begin sending Jews to Auschwitz in Poland.
1950		Senator Joe McCarthy names Owen Lattimore, an ex-State Department adviser, as a Soviet spy.
1951		The United States Air Force flag design is approved.
1953		Eisenhower offers increased aid to the French fighting in Indochina.
1953		Dr. Jonas Salk announces a new vaccine against polio.
1954		The United States sets off an H-bomb blast in the Marshall Islands, the second in four weeks.
1961		John F. Kennedy meets with British Premier Macmillan in Washington to discuss increased Communist involvement in Laos.
1969		The Soviet weather Satellite Meteor 1 is launched.
1969		Writer John Kennedy Toole commits suicide at the age of 32. His mother helps get his first and only novel, A Confederacy of Dunces, published. It goes on to win the 1981 Pulitzer Prize.
1979		The Camp David treaty is signed between Israel and Egypt.
1982		Ground is broken in Washington D.C. for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
1989		The first free elections take place in the Soviet Union. Boris Yeltsin is elected.
1992		An Indianapolis court finds heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson guilty of rape.
Born on March 26
1819		Louise Otto, German author.
1850		Edward Bellamy, writer (Looking Backward).
1859		A.E. Houseman, poet (A Shropshire Lad).
1874		Robert Frost, poet, multiple Pulitzer Prize-winner.
1880		Duncan Hines, U.S. restaurant guide author
1904		Joseph Campbell, folklorist and writer.
1911		Tennessee Williams, American dramatist (Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, A Streetcar Name Desire).
1914		William Westmoreland, U.S. army general during the Vietnam War.
1923		Bob Elliot, radio comedian, one half of Bob and Ray.
1930		Gregory Corso, beat poet, discovered literature in prison.
1930		Sandra Day O'Connor, U.S. Supreme Court Justice.
1933		Vine Deloria, Jr., writer, activist.
1942		Erica Jong, poet, novelist (Fear of Flying, How to Save Your Own Life).

Robert Frost

Word for the Day

house of cards

PRONUNCIATION:

(hous uv kardz)

MEANING:

noun: Something insecure or insubstantial that is subject to imminent collapse.

ETYMOLOGY:

Alluding to a flimsy structure made with playing cards. Earliest documented use: 1645.

USAGE:

"'We have to find a new balance,' the pope said. 'Otherwise even the moral edifice of the church is likely to fall like a house of cards.'"
Michael Gerson; Francis the Troublemaker; The Washington Post; Sep 24, 2013.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

Mistakes are part of the dues that one pays for a full life. -Sophia Loren, actress (b. 1934)

Today’s Recipe

March - Breakfast Foods

Raspberry and cream cheese muffins

Ingredients

up (5 ounces) 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened

Click to see savings

1/3 cup butter, softened

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 large egg whites

Click to see savings

1 large egg

Click to see savings

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk

2 cups fresh or frozen raspberries

1/4 cup finely chopped walnuts

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°.

Combine cream cheese and butter in a large bowl. Beat with a mixer at high speed until well blended. Add sugar; beat until fluffy. Add vanilla, egg whites, and egg; beat well.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. With mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture and buttermilk to cream cheese mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Gently fold in raspberries and walnuts.

Place 24 foil cup liners in muffin cups. Spoon batter evenly into liners. Bake at 350° 25 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from pans; cool on a wire rack.

Cooking Light
JUNE 2003

Mar 4^th Corned Beef Hash

Mar 5^th Sunday Morning Muffins

Mar 6^th Breakfast Pizza

Mar 9^th Buttermilk biscuits and Mushroom gravy

Mar 10^th Baked Fruit – 3 ways

Mar 11^th French Toast Sticks – Kid Friendly

Mar 12^th Mini Quiche

Mar 13^th Red Velvet Waffles, with cream cheese gravy – (I didn't say they would be healthy!)

Mar 14^th Triple Berry Smoothie – not just for breakfast any more.

Mar 17^th Homemade oatmeal, 9 ways

Healthy recipes:

Mar 18^th Arugula and Chicken sausage Bread Pudding brunch

Mar 19^th Baked Apple-Cinnamon French Toast

Mar 20^th Cranberry Muesli

Mar 22^nd Eggs Italiano

Mar 24^th Golden Polenta and Egg, w/ mustard sauce (looks like it would be good for supper, too.)

Mar 25^th Spanish Tortilla (Egg and Potato omelet)

Other recipes

Mar 26^th Raspberry and cream cheese muffins

ENJOY!

Now You Know!

Writing Your Story: Maps and House plans

Genealogy tip for the day: Writing Your Story: Maps and House plans

Simple Map

When writing your story or that of a recent relative knowing the layout of the house and property can help you in telling a story. Do you go out the back door and turn left to hang up clothes? Or do you turn right? Where is the car parked? Where is the garden? Did you have one?

Buildings in 3D, & color

If you want to talk about your grandparent’s house or someone else’s, you may need to talk to your older living relatives. It might be a good idea to talk to more than one in case of someone’s faulty memory, (whether they admit it or not).

This would be a good idea for any location or building: your school, your church, main street down town or any other place. Even if you don’t include them in your book, it will help with your accuracy.

If you do want to include it in your books, don’t worry about exact scale or architecturally accurate drawings. It adds a more personal touch to see hand drawn pictures for the grandchildren to see.

Pence, Kansas, 1957

Here is a small community in western Kansas, named Pence where we lived for almost 1 year (a school year). My Dad was pastor of the church and the one room school house was behind the church which I attended. Across the street (to the right) was a Catholic family with a girl who was in the 5^th grade. (I was in the 3^rd). She could already use the sewing machine and made her own doll clothes. Wow! Behind us (top of the page) was a Mennonite family and they were not allowed to have pianos in their home. We didn't know them very well and the girls did not come to our school. I remember knocking on the door once. I was scared to death. Mom sent me over there but I don’t remember why. (You can click on any of these pictures to see them in a larger format.)

Floor plans

I could also tell you of the warm January, of ‘58 – in the 80’s – and the snow that came in March. The drifts were so high that they covered the fences and you could walk over the top of them. When spring came, the dirt roads turned to mud. Mom said they were like Crisco because you could not get any traction in the bottomless mud, and so on…

It’s amazing, actually, what memories a map drawing will bring back to you. Plus they help your readers to visualize more accurately what you are telling them.  We've given you several examples (illustrations) that suggest many ways you can do this, whether it's simple or detailed, color or black & white. What ever you choose. Does this get you itching to do one for yourself? Don't worry about perfections; just do what is yours! Give it a try and see what it does for you.

Exterior, pen and ink

Interior, color

 

"History is who we are; Genealogy is who I am” sg

                 

Like what you read? Let us know. 

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Are you a Lord of the Rings lover? We are having a LOTR marathon through out this week!! Don't miss it!

Summer Reading Program will be starting soon. Watch for announcements on that and registration information. This is for ages Adults through young children! Come Join Us - and explore new worlds. There will be programming for Adults as well as the Children.

You can find our website at rogerspubliclibrary.org 

And our other blog at RPL's Movies and Music

frigate USS Essex

Today in History

March 25

708		Constantine begins his reign as Catholic Pope.
1634		Lord Baltimore founds the Catholic colony of Maryland.
1655		Puritans jail Governor Stone after a military victory over Catholic forces in the colony of Maryland.
1668		The first horse race in America takes place.
1776		The Continental Congress authorizes a medal for General George Washington.
1807		British Parliament abolishes the slave trade.
1813		The frigate USS Essex flies the first U.S. flag in battle in the Pacific.
1865		Confederate forces capture Fort Stedman, during the siege of Petersburg, Va.
1879		Japan invades the kingdom of Liuqiu (Ryukyu) Islands, formerly a vassal of China.
1905		Rebel battle flags that were captured during the American Civil War are returned to the South.
1911		A fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Company, a sweatshop in New York City, claims the lives of 146 workers.
1915		The first submarine disaster occurs when a U.S. F-4 sinks off the Hawaiian coast.
1919		The Paris Peace Commission adopts a plan to protect nations from the influx of foreign labor.
1931		Fifty people are killed in riots that break out in India. Mahatma Gandhi was one of many people assaulted.
1940		The United States agrees to give Britain and France access to all American warplanes.
1941		Yugoslavia joins the Axis powers.
1953		The USS Missouri fires on targets at Kojo, North Korea, the last time her guns fire until the Persian Gulf War of 1992.
1954		RCA manufactures its first color TV set and begins mass production.
1957		The European Common Market Treaty is signed in Rome. The goal is to create a common market for all products–especially coal and steel.
1965		Martin Luther King Jr. leads a group of 25,000 to the state capital in Montgomery, Ala.
1969		John Lennon and Yoko Ono stage a bed-in for peace in Amsterdam.
1970		The Concorde makes its first supersonic flight.
1975		Hue is lost and Da Nang is endangered by North Vietnamese forces. The United States orders a refugee airlift to remove those in danger.
1981		The U.S. Embassy in San Salvador is damaged when gunmen attack, firing rocket propelled grenades and machine guns.
1986		President Ronald Reagan orders emergency aid for the Honduran army. U.S. helicopters take Honduran troops to the Nicaraguan border.
Born on March 25
1133		Henry II, King of England (1154-1189).
1767		Joachim Murat, Napoleon's brother in law who became king of Naples in 1808.
1797		John Winebrenner, U.S. clergyman who founded the Church of God.
1839		William Bell Wait, educator of the blind.
1867		Gutzon Borglum, sculptor of Mount Rushmore.
1868		Arturo Toscanini, Italian conductor.
1906		Alan John Percivale Taylor, English historian.
1908		David Lean, British film director (Bridge on the River Kwai, Lawrence of Arabia).
1925		(Mary) Flannery O'Connor, novelist and short story writer.
1934		Gloria Steinem, political activist, editor.
1942		Aretha Franklin, American singer, the "Queen of Soul."

Mary Flannery O'Connor

Word for the Day

vole

PRONUNCIATION:

(vohl)

MEANING:

noun:	1. Any of various rodents of the genus Microtus and related genera.
	2. The winning of all the tricks in some card games.
verb intr.:	3. To risk everything in the hope of great rewards. Typically used in the phrase "go the vole".
	4. To try every possibility.

ETYMOLOGY:

For 1: Short for volemouse, from Norwegian vollmus, from voll (field) + mus (mouse). Earliest documented use: 1805.
For 2-4: From French voler (to fly), from Latin volare (to fly), which also gave us volatile and volley. Earliest documented use: 1680.

USAGE:

"So, as I was determined to go the vole, I have taken care you shall dip as deep as I."
Sir Walter Scott; Tales of My Land; 1819.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

Ultimately, literature is nothing but carpentry. ... With both you are working with reality, a material just as hard as wood. -Gabriel García Márquez, novelist, journalist, Nobel laureate (b. 1927)

Today’s Recipe

March - Breakfast Foods

Spanish Tortilla (Egg and Potato omelet)

Spanish Tortilla

Don’t confuse this with the flour or corn tortillas you use to make wraps. A Spanish tortilla is a potato-and-egg omelet found on numerous menus throughout Spain. Traditionally these are cooked in heaps of olive oil. Our version uses less oil, so it’s lower in calories, and if you use precooked diced potatoes, it’s faster too.

Serves: 6
Preparation time: 40 minutes

Ingredients
3 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 small onion, thinly sliced
1 cup precooked diced red potatoes
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
6 large eggs
4 large egg whites
1/2 cup shredded Manchego or Jack cheese
3 cups baby spinach, roughly chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Preparation
1. Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a medium nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring, until translucent, 3-4 minutes. Add potatoes, thyme and paprika and cook for 2 minutes more.

2. Lightly whisk eggs and egg whites in a large bowl. Gently stir the potato mixture into the eggs along with cheese, spinach, salt and pepper until combined. Wipe the pan clean; add the remaining 1 teaspoon oil and heat over medium heat. Pour in the egg mixture, cover and cook until the edges are set and the bottom is browned, 4-5 minutes (it will still be moist in the center).

3. To flip the tortilla, run a spatula gently around the edges to loosen them. Invert a large plate over the pan and turn out the tortilla onto it. Slide the tortilla back into the pan and continue cooking until completely set in the middle, 3-6 minutes. Serve warm or cold.

Enjoy!

Nutrition Facts
Per serving:
178 calories
9 g fat (3 g sat, 0 g mono)
217 mg cholesterol
10 g carbohydrate
12 g protein
2 g fiber
433 mg sodium
210 mg potassium

Nutrition Bonus: vitamin A (35% Daily Value), selenium (29% DV), vitamin C (15% DV)

Mar 4^th Corned Beef Hash

Mar 5^th Sunday Morning Muffins

Mar 6^th Breakfast Pizza

Mar 9^th Buttermilk biscuits and Mushroom gravy

Mar 10^th Baked Fruit – 3 ways

Mar 11^th French Toast Sticks – Kid Friendly

Mar 12^th Mini Quiche

Mar 13^th Red Velvet Waffles, with cream cheese gravy – (I didn’t say they would be healthy!)

Mar 14^th Triple Berry Smoothie – not just for breakfast any more.

Mar 17^th Homemade oatmeal, 9 ways

Healthy recipes:

Mar 18^th Arugula and Chicken sausage Bread Pudding brunch

Mar 19^th Baked Apple-Cinnamon French Toast

Mar 20^th Cranberry Muesli

Mar 22^nd Eggs Italiano

Mar 24^th Golden Polenta and Egg, w/ mustard sauce (looks like it would be good for supper, too.)

Mar 25^th Spanish Tortilla (Egg and Potato omelet)

ENJOY!

Now You Know!