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!

Writing Your Story - Techniques of Writing

Announcements

Computer Classes continue every Sat. mornings 10-12. "Open House" Whatever you need. Drop in anytime during those two hours.

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Genealogy tip for the day: Writing Your Story – Techniques of Writing

The Techniques of Writing

We have been looking at writing our family story and what it takes to get it done. 

The mind is a funny thing. If you have a lot of white space, as we talked in the last post, the text won’t look as heavy. People are more apt to read something that looks light and easy.

There are many ways you can accomplish this. You can use shorter paragraphs, wider margins, side bars and indented quotes. Quotations in a different font or italics serve many purposes. It gives variety to the page and makes it obvious it is something different from the rest of the page. There are other things we talked about in our last post, as well.

What else can you do? You can use standard fonts for the body of the work. These are fonts with serifs or little flags on the ends of the lines of letters. Use bold for chapter titles, captions and the like, but sparingly. 

When it comes to editing, the very best idea is to have someone else read what you have written. If that is not possible set it aside for a few days to a week, at least, and let it get ‘cold’. Amazingly, reading it out loud does many things. You can hear the “voice” of the writer or the tone. You can detect where it sounds stilted. It slows you down to read out loud and you are more apt to catch mistakes.

As you write chapters I would suggest you save one chapter to a file, and save all files in a folder with the name of your book. If you want more help you can go on line and find lots of help for authors, tips on writing, finding a publisher and lots of more. 

By this time, you will need to have printed out a copy of your book, or what is called a manuscript. When you think you are ready to send it to a publisher, read it one more time – at least. You might save yourself from embarrassment before you see it and your name in print.

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

If any of these posts are helpful drop us a line in the comments section below. We just want to know if the information we provide to you is beneficial in anyway.

US Postal Service

Today in History

February 20

1513		Pope Julius II dies. He will lay in rest in a huge tomb sculptured by Michelangelo.
1725		New Hampshire militiamen partake in the first recorded scalping of Indians by whites in North America.
1792		The U.S. Postal Service is created.
1809		The U.S. Supreme Court rules that the power of the federal government is greater than any individual state in the Union.
1831		Polish revolutionaries defeat the Russians in the Battle of Growchow.
1864		Confederate troops defeat a Union army sent to bring Florida into the union at the Battle of Olustee, Fla.
1900		J.F. Pickering patents his airship.
1906		Russian troops seize large portions of Mongolia.
1915		President Woodrow Wilson opens the Panama-Pacific Expo in San Francisco to celebrate the opening of the Panama Canal.
1918		The Soviet Red Army seizes Kiev, the capital of the Ukraine.
1938		Hitler demands self-determination for Germans in Austria and Czechoslovakia.
1941		The United States sends war planes to the Pacific.
1942		Lt. Edward O'Hare downs five out of nine Japanese bombers that are attacking the carrier Lexington.
1943		German troops of the Afrika Korps break through the Kasserine Pass, defeating U.S. forces.
1954		The Ford Foundation gives a $25 million grant to the Fund for Advancement of Education.
1959		The FCC applies the equal time rule to TV newscasts of political candidates.
1962		Mercury astronaut John Glenn becomes the first American to orbit the Earth.
1963		Moscow offers to allow on-site inspection of nuclear testing.
1965		Ranger 8 hits the moon and sends back 7,000 photos to the United States.
1968		North Vietnamese army chief in Hue orders all looters to be shot on sight.
1971		Young people protest having to cut their long hair in Athens, Greece.
1982		Carnegie Hall in New York begins $20 million in renovations.
Born on February 20
1726		William Prescott, U.S. Revolutionary War hero at the Battle of Bunker Hill.
1808		Honore Daumier, French caricaturist.
1838		Ludwig Boltzmann, atomic physics engineer
1888		Marie Rambert, ballet dancer and director.
1894		Curt Richter, biologist.
1898		Jimmy Yancey, American blues pianist.
1901		Rene Dubos, microbiologist, developed the first commercial antibiotic.
1901		Louis I. Kahn, architect.
1902		Ansel Adams, American landscape photographer, especially of western wilderness and mountain panoramas.
1904		Aleksey Nikolayevich Kosygin, Premier of the Soviet Union (1964-1980).
1924		Gloria Vanderbilt, fashion designer
1925		Robert Altman, film director (Nashville, The Player).
1927		Sidney Poitier, American actor, first African American male to win an Oscar (Lillies of the Field).

Sidney Poitier

Word for the Day

A right word is the most direct route between two minds. Sure, you can take a circuitous path, but it's easy to get lost on the way. You can say Nina can't stop laughing after she has heard a joke or you can simply say that she is a hypergelast. You can complain that Neil suffers from an inability to remember names or you can say that he has anomia.

This week we'll feature five words that will help you succinctly convey what you wish to say, though we can't help if you have dysanagnosia (an inability to understand certain words).

escutcheon

PRONUNCIATION:

(i-SKUCH-uhn)

MEANING:

noun:
1. An ornamental or protective plate surrounding a keyhole, light switch, door handle, etc.
2. Used in the phrase: blot on one's escutcheon (a stain on one's reputation).
3. A shield or shield-shaped surface bearing a coat of arms.

ETYMOLOGY:

From Latin scutum (shield). Earliest documented use: 1480.

USAGE:

"Georgina drew the bolts on the front door and turned the large key in its handsome escutcheon."
Gina Rossi; The Wild Heart; The Wild Rose Press; 2012.

"I've never been arrested. I did get a parking ticket last week, but that's about the only blot on my escutcheon."
Lawrence Block; A Week as Andrea Benstock; Arbor House; 1975.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

They know enough who know how to learn. -Henry Adams, historian and teacher (1838-1918)

Today’s Recipe

February - Chocolate Lover’s Month

Marbled-Chocolate Banana Bread

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup butter, softened

• 1 1/2 cups mashed ripe banana (about 3 bananas)
• 1/2 cup egg substitute
• 1/3 cup plain low-fat yogurt
• 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• Cooking spray

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°.
Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt, stirring with a whisk.
Place sugar and butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended (about 1 minute). Add banana, egg substitute, and yogurt; beat until blended. Add flour mixture; beat at low speed just until moist.
Place chocolate chips in a medium microwave-safe bowl, and microwave at HIGH 1 minute or until almost melted, stirring until smooth. Cool slightly. Add 1 cup batter to chocolate, stirring until well combined. Spoon chocolate batter alternately with plain batter into an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Swirl batters together using a knife. Bake at 350° for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pan on a wire rack; remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack.

February’s Recipes:

3^rd Molten Chocolate cake

4^th Chocolate Chip cookies – Alton Brown’s

5^th Chocolate Truffles

6^th Slow Cooker Chocolate Fondue

8^th Chocolate Sheet cake

10^th Brownie Tart

11^th Gooey, Decadent Chocolate cake

12^th Chocolate Covered Strawberries

13^th Chocolate Baklava

18^th Mexican Chocolate Cream Pie

19^th Chocolate Chunk Bread Pudding

20^th Marbled-Chocolate Banana Bread

ENJOY!

Now You Know!

Writing Your Story - Eye Appeal

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Based on eye appeal which of these would you pick up first? last?

Genealogy tip for the day: Writing Your Story – Eye Appeal

We use computers so much these days, not just for genealogy, but pretty much for everything. So to literally put pen to paper can be an adjustment for people. (I have heard that cursive is not even being taught in some schools.) It is good exercise, and it makes your thinking slow down to the speed of your hand as it writes. This can be good as it helps you formulate and even revise what you want to say, sometimes even before you get it written.

To make your book even more interesting, there are genealogy charts and forms that you can include in the book, along with pictures of family and other images. You may already be familiar with the family group sheets and generations charts. A generation/ancestor chart helps readers to see how people are connected to others. It ‘kinda’ acts as a roadmap.

I’ve read a lot of historical fiction and when charts like these are included it is much easier to keep track of who is who. This is helpful when you the reader are new to all the names and you are trying to keep them all sorted in your head. The author or writer will know the topic inside and out, but it may be totally new to the reader. Keep this in mind as you write. Make it as simple as you can. Include charts and forms for the reader to make the book more interesting and aids in illustrating what is being talked about when you can.

There are also charts and forms that will help you track your work. You will find correspondence logs, interview sheets, individual forms, time line forms, relationship charts and more. Some of these could also be included in your book. Here is a google search with a list of sites you can go to for these.

We talked about ‘white space’ on a previous post. The opposite of that would be how much room your text takes up on the page. When you add pictures or illustrations it also helps reduce the text space. You can still have just as much text in the book as a whole, just spread it out so that the amount of text per page is reduced. This gives the eye the feeling that it will be a quick read.

Pulled quotes and enlarging them on the side is another element you can use. It grabs attention, as well as creates “white space.” All in all, when you think you are done with the book and have a copy printed out, look through it for eye appeal (not to mention things like editing and revising…but that’s a topic for another time). Esthetics goes a long way in selling your product.

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

If any of these posts are helpful drop us a line in the comments section below. We just want to know if the information we provide to you is beneficial in anyway.

Aaron Burr

Today in History

February 19

1408		The revolt of Henry Percy, Earl of Northumberland, against King Henry IV, ends with his defeat and death at Bramham Moor.
1701		Philip V of Spain makes his ceremonial entry into Madrid.
1807		Vice President Aaron Burr is arrested in Alabama for treason. He is later found innocent.
1847		Rescuers finally reach the ill-fated Donnor Party in the Sierras.
1861		Russian Tsar Alexander II abolishes serfdom.
1902		Smallpox vaccination becomes obligatory in France.
1903		The Austria-Hungary government decrees a mandatory two year military service.
1915		British and French warships begin their attacks on the Turkish forts at the mouth of the Dardenelles, in an abortive expedition to force the straits of Gallipoli.
1917		American troops are recalled from the Mexican border.
1919		The First Pan African Congress meets in Paris, France.
1925		President Calvin Coolidge proposes the phasing out of inheritance tax.
1926		Dr. Lane of Princeton estimates the earth's age at one billion years.
1942		Port Darwin, on the northern coast of Australia, is bombed by the Japanese.
1944		The U.S. Eighth Air Force and Royal Air Force begin "Big Week," a series of heavy bomber attacks against German aircraft production facilities.
1965		Fourteen Vietnam War protesters are arrested for blocking the United Nations' doors in New York.
1966		Robert F. Kennedy suggests the United States offer the Vietcong a role in governing South Vietnam.
1976		Britain slashes welfare spending.
1981		The U.S. State Department calls El Salvador a "textbook case" of a Communist plot.
1987		New York Governor Mario Cuomo declares that he will not run for president in the next election.
Born on February 19
1473		Nicholas Copernicus, Polish astronomer who introduced the idea that the earth revolved around the sun.
1683		Philip V, King of Spain.
1817		William III, King of the Netherlands.
1859		Svante Arrhenius, Swedish chemist, founder of physical chemistry.
1902		Kay Boyle, short story writer ("The White Horses of Vienna").
1911		Merle Oberon, film actress.
1917		Carson McCuller, writer (The Heart is a Lonely Hunter).
1940		Smokey Robinson, American singer and songwriter.
1952		Amy Tan, novelist (The Joy Luck CLub, The Kitchen God's Wife).

Nicholas Copernicus

Word for the Day

acedia

PRONUNCIATION:

(uh-SEE-dee-uh)

MEANING:

noun: Apathy; boredom; sloth.

ETYMOLOGY:

From Latin acedia, from Greek akedia, from a- (not) + kedos (care). Earliest documented use: 1607.

USAGE:

"Acedia plagues the novice much more than the experienced solitary; unlike some of the new guards, I do not suffer from boredom or listlessness."
Chloe Aridjis; Asunder; Mariner Books; 2013.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

Barricades of ideas are worth more than barricades of stones. -José Martí, revolutionary and poet (1853-1895)

Today’s Recipe

February - Chocolate Lover’s Month

Chocolate Chunk Bread Pudding

Ingredients

1 3/4 cups (1/2-inch) cubed Hawaiian sweet bread

2/3 cup 2% reduced-fat milk

2 tablespoons sugar

1 1/2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa

1 tablespoon Kahlúa (coffee-flavored liqueur)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 large egg, lightly beaten

Click to see savings

Cooking spray

1 ounce semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

2 tablespoons frozen fat-free whipped topping, thawed

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°.

Arrange bread cubes in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake at 350° for 5 minutes, or until toasted. Remove bread from oven; decrease oven temperature to 325°.

Combine milk and next 5 ingredients (milk through egg) in a medium bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Add bread, tossing gently to coat. Cover and chill 30 minutes or up to 4 hours.

Divide half of bread mixture evenly between 2 (6-ounce) ramekins or custard cups coated with cooking spray; sprinkle evenly with half of chocolate. Divide remaining bread mixture between ramekins; top with remaining chocolate.

Place ramekins in an 8-inch square baking pan; add hot water to pan to a depth of 1 inch. Bake at 325° for 35 minutes or until set. Serve each pudding warm with 1 tablespoon whipped topping.

3^rd Molten Chocolate cake

4^th Chocolate Chip cookies – Alton Brown’s

5^th Chocolate Truffles

6^th Slow Cooker Chocolate Fondue

8^th Chocolate Sheet cake

10^th Brownie Tart

11^th Gooey, Decadent Chocolate cake

12^th Chocolate Covered Strawberries

13^th Chocolate Baklava

18^th Mexican Chocolate Cream Pie

19^th Chocolate Chunk Bread Pudding

ENJOY!

Now You Know!