Tuesday, August 31, 2010

The Wright Stuff

A distant cousin has been nudging me back into doing some genealogy work lately. It is so frustrating though because for every tantalizing lead I find, there are a hundred other leads I could pursue. How to narrow down the useful/interesting ones presents a problem.

My maternal grandfather's line goes back to a man named Samuel Creed Wright. He died in Memphis in 1860. Last night at dinner I was talking about this to my son and his suggestion is that I start with THE Wright brothers and research back from THEM, to see where we intersect because it would be very cool to be related to them, however distantly. Have I mentioned that my son is a flight zealot?


I guess if you go distant enough, we're all related anyway, so why not?

Muffed Target

Because I like Thom, and he's such a prolific poster I can't keep up with all his stuff, I've decided to choose ONE meme he hosts and try to do it. Afterall, I have PLENTY of bad photos!  So here's my muffed target for this week. Thanks Thom for keeping this alive!


From last November for son's birthday. I was trying to show that the candles had colorful flames. We'll have to see if I can do better this year with the new camera!


Monday, August 30, 2010

Microfiction Monday

The talented and lovely Susan promises she'll visit this week so I must make my Microfiction Monday worth reading! So, 140 characters, including all spaces and punctuation, riffing off the illustration she provides...




The sign seemed backward. 
The teen boys thought 
that their great belpres 
were what got them to Coolville.




*I'll be late visiting - gotta go help with the teachers' back to school breakfasts at both schools.  I will visit this afternoon though!

Sunday, August 29, 2010

Seen on A T-Shirt

At the booksale I saw a guy in a T-shirt that made me laugh out loud. He was a 2-XX size kind of guy, had earbuds in, and was heads-down texting or something on his electronic device as he walked by.  The T-shirt said.

SHE says I don't listen . . .


. . . or something like that.

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Random Dozen



Linda from Second Cup has our favorite question meme up again. You can join us by going to her blog to copy the questions. Answer them on your blog, and then link back to her tomorrow -- Wednesday!


1. What is your favorite Mexican dish?
Carnitas
2. When you were a kid, did you get started on your homework right away after school, or did you procrastinate?
I finished all my 'home' work at school through about 8th grade so it was a horrible shock to get to high school and realize that the teachers designed the day so that was NOT possible. Once I got over the shock, I did the things I liked right away and procrastinated on the rest...which explains the good grades in the things I liked!
3. What is your favorite store for home furnishings?
I like to browse at Restoration Hardware, and World Market, and others -- but when I actually buy (which is rare), I find the best deal. That is NOT usually at Restoration Hardware (even the so-called outlet store here is buku bucks!)
4. When you were young, did you like school lunches? 
No. I took my lunch. My kids are the same way although part of their motivation is that they don't want to spend their social time standing in line to get something that passses for food.

5. Is religion a crutch?
I think it can be...a crutch is something you lean on only when you need it. But a living faith is more like a force field that fills you and surrounds you 24/7.

6. In your region, what is the "big" (most popular in the community or state) high school sport? 
In Northern Virginia, I think the "big" high school sport is competitive college hunting. All the other more conventional sports are pretty much spread evenly.

7. Do you consider yourself rich?
In things of man, we're amazingly blessed -- not the richest people in the area by far -- but provided for most adequately.  In things of God, the riches are beyond measure. 

8. Which of these would you have the best chance for success in administering:
A) CPR
B) Heimlich Maneuver
C) Changing a flat tire
I had training for the first two about two years ago, so they're more recent, but I do know how to change a flat tire if I absolutely must.

9. Which dance would you prefer to learn & why: 
A) Salsa
B) Hip Hop
C) Waltz
D) Swing
Probably salsa because a little bit of unconventional movement due to lack of coordination would be less noticeable!

10. What's the worst news you've ever delivered to someone?  
Telling my husband and children that a dear friend of ours had died suddenly.

11. Name something you learned in college that had nothing to do with classes or academics.  
Jazz is an acquired taste.
12. New variation on an old question: If there's a song in your head that just won't get out, what is your favorite (or most repeated) line in that song?
For some reason, as I write these, I'm hearing "We're not going to take it" by Twisted Sister in my head. I have no idea why that's there. It's a very rebellious attitude song -- I probably need to go have some quiet time with God to figure out what He's trying to get me to look at in my life!

Sunday, August 22, 2010

Microfiction Monday

The lovely, talented, and recently beleaguered by American school rules, Susan at Stony River, has once again provided us with a challenge. Using 140 tweetable characters or fewer, provide a story to go with the illustration she posts. This is a worthy endeavor, so join us!



Sweeney Todd* contemplated the best use of his time and energy. Revenge is a dish best served cold... 

*For those of you unfamiliar with the reference, click here.

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Wherefore Art Thou, Emajean?


Wherefore Art Thou, Emajean?
A Friends of the Library Mystery
Part VII
 (To Review, Part I)
(To Review, Part II)
(To Review, Part III)
(To Review, Part IV)
(To Review, Part V)
(To Review, Part VI)

The researcher pursed her lips in frustration. It had been two weeks since she’d had time to work on the mystery of the photos. Now she had a house guest. Why is it that the call of the computer was loudest when the time was the least available?

In desperation she turned to her houseguest. He had done a lot of genealogical research in his day. Maybe he'd have some ideas.

“Dad,” she started, “would you look at this photo and tell me whatever you can about it?” She handed him the photo of the man in large clothes.

His eyes brightened, and he pulled out his jewelry loupe. The researcher started to clue him in but he said, “No! Don’t tell me anything about it!” She shrugged, smiled, and left the room.

When she returned he was furiously writing notes in longhand. She got a cup of coffee, refilled his, and tiptoed from the room.

As she was finishing her last work e-mail of the day, he knocked at her office door upstairs.
She turned to him with a big smile. “What have you found?”

His report was detailed and thorough. It was the type of report that had made him a successful military officer.

Near the time of the maximum growth season: the trees and shrubs are in full growth. What appears to be tomatoes are on the vine; but have not darkened to show the red. Tomatoes are typically a late August ripener in the middle latitudes. The tree on the left is showing some non-productive limbs and the other visible limbs are sparsley leaved. Could well be dying.

The house appears to be a two story structure. There is a window at the upper story level. It shows most likely the rear of the structure. Note the posts with wire climbing limbs to facilitate vine climbing to his right as he faced the photographer. The plant supports to his left are sturdier as indicated by the dowel top support which would be natural with tomatoes. The vines to his right look to be two grape vines which were cut as you walked between them.

There is what appears to be a lean-to outbuilding with one open side (south) for feeding animals. Could be pigs. Note the slop bucket with partially closed lid made of galvanized metal. Usually slop buckets were containers that had outlived their normal duties. To spend money on a commercial “garbage can” is an indication there may have been some money to spare.





Looking at the young man starting at his head, he has a typical haircut of the late 20’s/30’s. A high & tight and combed back in the “valentino” style. His wing type white collar is high and larger than his neck and may be a transferable collar that fit on a usually light blue collarless shirt. The collars and tie were worn for special events (such as a picture taking). The tie collar combination typically was secured at the back of the neck by hook and eye. He has a sporty tie pin which enters the tie at the top, under the front of the tie and emerges about an inch further down and had a cap that fit over the sharp end of the pin.

His bib overalls have a pencil pocket and he has a pencil secured in the pocket. Typical button fly. These may well be used by more than one member of the family. If they were used by one individual the cuffs were usually cut, turned, and secured to the individual’s length. For a family where there was more than one individual working, the cuffs were turned by the using individual when he or she went out to work. They often hung by the back door and were put on or taken off near the main house entry. Under the coveralls the individuals wore house clothes -- light or heavy depending upon the season. Typically a flannel shirt was worn even in the summer to facilitate wicking, evaporation and cooling.

His shoes seem to be his best shoes – they are soft round toe and reflect a shine. There is not any evident wear which would come from wearing mucking boots during the course of a days work in a barnyard.

The hat is leather, lined cap with pull down ear flaps for cold weather. It is billed to provide a bit of sun glare protection.

His jacket is very typical of the more prosperous county man of the time. Heavy denim like material. It has rivet style buttons. The collar can be fastened across his throat as protection against the cold. His cuffs can be fastened down to avoid getting hung up while working. They appear to have a flap, buckle, slide size adjustment capability. The chest pocket has a slash opening without a flap which made for easy access and retrieval of items. The lower pocket has a flap to help keep items from falling out. On his left arm is a slash pocket which has some sort of Identification #. The number 811 is large and can easily be read at a distance. It could well be connected with his employment away from the family.

The jacket seems to be new. It is clean, unsoiled, unpatched, sized both for growth and accommodation of multiple layers of sweaters or undergarments in cold weather.

My guess is he is a younger man 18 to mid-20’s in the early 30’s and the photo was taken as part of an “event’ with a box camera. The clothing, hat, shoes, collar, tie, would indicate a young man who is bridging farm and city world. He appears to be quite serious and determined. He is clean shaven and appears to have come from or is getting ready to go to some special event the family wants to have a memento of.

He is very typical of the young man I used to see as a child in the 30’s in the mid-west, Iowa and Missouri. I am assuming he is from somewhere in the Midwest along the area between northern Iowa or Nebraska and Southern Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, or South Dakota. My strongest guess would be Iowa, southern Michigan or Wisconsin. The steepness of the roof is an indication of heavy snow fall. The family appears to be somewhat better off financially than the average of the time. End.

The researcher put the report down and shook her head. “Dad,” she asked, looking at him. “How on earth do you do that? And what do I do next?”

He just smiled.

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Random Dozen



1. What is your favorite fair/carnival food?
I love trying different asian noodle dishes. Not much for the typical fried fair stuff.
2. Are you holding onto something you need to let go of?
Ouch! Does perennial irritation with in-laws count? Yep.
3. What is your favorite gift to receive? Something that shows the person thought about who I am and chose accordingly.
4. When was the last time you tried something new? I've joined a writer's group that will begin meeting this fall. I've never done that before.
5. What is your favorite and least favorite book genre? Mystery is my favorite. Self-Help is my least-- and it's the genre with the most left-overs after our Huge Semi Annual Sale for Friends of the Library.
6.Silver or Gold? Gold. With sapphires.
7. What makes you sigh? This week, it's the ridiculous waste of time and energy associated with getting health care.
8. If you didn't know how old you are, how old would you claim you are? 35 -- I don't feel younger or older than that.
9. Would you break a law to save a loved one? To protect a loved one? A law of man, yes. A law of God, no.
10. If you had to teach something, what would it be? Like a subject?  Probably history. As a life lesson? Be kind.
11. You're having lunch with 3 people whom you respect and admire. They begin to criticize a close friend of yours, not knowing she is your friend. What do you do? I've had this happen, and only as a mature (hah) adult have I had the courage to say, "hey, I'm not comfortable with this." And this refers to a close friend. I think we should stop it whoever it is, not just a close friend.   In truth, I don't hang around with a lot of people who would do that anyway. I've worked hard to teaching my teen daughter to find the courage and words to express the same in her circle -- or at least to walk away and not join in. 
12. Which of the 5 Love Languages is your prominent means of experiencing love?
Quality Time
Physical Touch
Acts of Service
Gifts
Words of Affirmation
I've never been into this whole Love Languages thing. 


If you want to play Random Dozen, just hop over to Lidna at 2nd Cup of Coffee, copy the questions, answer them on your own blog, link back up on Wednesday, and then visit other players and be nice!

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Oops, It is the Arm!

Took the son to the ortho doc today. She viewed the films and said, nope, not a Salter-Harris wrist fracture. Instead, it's a fracture in the arm itself. Small, and very common. She reassured us that we ALWAYS want to have a common medical issue. In fact, she stated, "you never want to hear your doctor say, 'I've never seen one of those!'"

At any rate, because of where it is, complete immobilization is required for 4 weeks and no waterproof cast. That translates to a cast up over the elbow, with elbow at 90 degrees.  Techs were great, and everyone was kind, but it pretty much ends his football season...before it started.

We did find a cool product call DryPro that is guaranteed 100% water tight that he can wear over the cast to go to the pool and shower.

The color he chose: black.  Why? "so no one will try to sign it."

That's my boy.

An interesting thing has happened though. Although he's not a lot more snuggly (he IS 13!), he is acting like he appreciates mom attention. He even thanked me for taking him down to the base where the doc was and getting all that done. Maybe he's growing up. Or maybe it was the new Wii game I bought for him. Mother guilt, right?

Monday, August 16, 2010

Microfiction Monday

Very late today. My son broke his wrist in his football game on Saturday so we've spent the day jumping through all the hoops required by the insurance company to get him into an orthopedist. In the meantime, in a soft cast, he's a little bit . . . um . . . cranky!

Microfiction Monday is the brilliant Susan's attempt to get those of us who are otherwise inclined to be wordy, to instead be BRIEF. One hundred forty characters worth of brief, riffing off the illustration she provides.

Here's this week's illustration followed by my caption:



Carapace of steel, other men's dreams have rendered you obsolete…but the ideals your occupant embraced are still righteous.

Friday, August 13, 2010

Role Models for Young Men

This whole football thing is turning out to be a blessing. Not only is it making my son more physically fit, but the men who are coaching are working hard to bring out the best in each player.

It has also expanded my son's horizons and interest in men who play football. Today I found a news article that a week ago, I wouldn't have bothered to forward to him. He wouldn't have been interested. But now things are different.

This isn't a story about football though. It is about integrity and taking responsibility for your actions. That is the kind of role model I hope my son embraces.

Here's the link to the article:


Stallworth: ‘Be cognizant of your decisions’



Thursday, August 12, 2010

Wherefore Art Thou, Emajean?

Wherefore Art Thou, Emajean?
A Friends of the Library Mystery
Part VI
 (To Review, Part I)
(To Review, Part II)
(To Review, Part III)
(To Review, Part IV)
(To Review, Part V)



The names in Ancestry.com were all indexed – not just the adults. When the researcher went to the 1920 Census and put in Emma Jean Mahoney with Michigan as the state, she got exactly one record. Located in Berrien, Michigan, the record showed a nine-year old Emajean’s name, listed with her parents, Frank and Frances Mahoney. Both parents had been born in Michigan, both of immigrant parents. His were from Ireland, and hers from Canada. Emajean’s father’s occupation was listed as a supervisor for the railroad.

The researcher knew that most of the work and expense that had gone into making Ancestry.com's databases so rich had been done by members and supporters of the Mormon Church. Because of their theology, it was very important to them to locate and record ancestors. The result was a fantastic mine of possibilities for genealogists;
and it just showed facts - no shading of truth like so many family histories. The researcher loved dealing with facts.

After recording all the information from the 1920 Census form, she moved to 1930. Ancestry was fully indexed which made the task much easier, and gave lots of leads. Entering "Emma Jean" did not yield any matches. However, when the researcher put in Mahoney and Jackson Michigan, the record came up with a big surprise.

At 529 Crescent Road, Emma J. Mahoney was listed as living with her parents, Frank J. and Frances V. and a younger sister, Frances M, age 9. The census was conducted during her last year of high school, before she went to Loyola to train as a nurse. By 1930, Frank’s occupation was listed as a retail coal merchant. Brrr! I’ll bet he was in great demand in Michigan about nine months of the year, the researcher thought.

On a whim, the researcher put in the parents' names for the 1910 census and discovered another surprise. In Berrien, Michigan, back in 1910, a son, Walter, was listed living with Frank and Frances. Frances was listed as the mother of zero children, and the record said they’d been married two years. Then the researcher saw the notation that indicated this was Frank’s second marriage. Walter was Frances’ stepson.

The researcher dutifully recorded all the information and closed her laptop. The library was closing soon and she wanted to pick up a couple of books on CD for the travel she had ahead of her the next week. She found some that sounded interesting, used the self-checkout, and headed out the automatic doors.  But as the researcher walked out to her car she began to think about Emajean again.

I wonder . . . could the photo of the young girl be Frances, Emajean’s younger sister? And perhaps the photo of the man is her older stepbrother, Walter? But who was the baby?



The difficulty now was that the last census that was indexed by Ancestry was 1930. If Emajean had never married, she might be searchable in the 1940 index when it came out. But if Emajean married after graduation, the census records of 1940 wouldn't be much use without a last name. And that last name was what the researcher needed next.


At home, the researcher fired off an inquiry to Loyola's nursing program hoping it would land in the in-box of a genealogy or mystery buff -- or even someone who volunteered for their local library friends group!


In the back of the annual there were advertising pages. The photographers for the yearbook had a full page ad. Just for grins, the researcher quickly searched for them on Google and discovered that amazingly, they were still in business! She sent an e-mail to them as well, on a fishing expedition at best. So far, the researcher had spent only time on the project, and no actual funds. To go the next step might require some money for birth records, etc. To research her own family, the sleuth would have gladly paid. In this case, she wasn't sure that going that much deeper would be worth it.


As her final task for the night, the researcher methodically went through every page of the annual, gently separating those that resisted her ministrations. She kept an eye open for the girls in the three person photo she had but nothing jumped out. And just when she thought the annual had given up all of its mysteries, she came across another photo. It wasn't significantly different than some of the others, but it made the researcher laugh again at the pull this mysterious 1933 Loyolan had on her.

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Random Dozen is BACK!



Random Dozen is back! After a well-earned summer break, Lidna at 2nd Cup of Coffee delights us with her questions, and we hope that you will enjoy the answers. If you'd like to play, copy the questions, answer on your own blog, link back to hers.  Visit a few people (at least a random dozen) and say nice things. Simple? Yes!


1. When was the last time you laughed until you cried? I'm not sure -- I know I've done it, but I can't remember the last occasion.  Obviously I need to watch more youtube.
2. If you found $10 today, what would you do with it? Probably stick it in my pocket like I did with all the change I got today while shopping.
3. Do you volunteer anywhere? Oh yes.
Friends of my Regional Library
My Church
Community Bible Study
Both my kids' PTA organizations
4. What is your favorite summertime veggie or fruit, and how do you eat it? I love peaches. I bake them a little to break down the enzyme that causes me to have an allergic reaction and then I feast. I also love the tomatoes we can get in the summer. They just ruin the rest of the year! 
5. Is your social sphere (circle of friends) small, medium or large? Medium. More than just my family, but not so big that I run into people I know all the time. But here's a weird one. I'm talking to another football parent that I just met for the first time tonight. She volunteers at the local aviation museum. I ask if she knows a person I know who also volunteers there. She does -- and I tell her that he was my base commander when I served in Europe and I was his JAG -- how cool is that?  Then we find out that not only are our sons on the same team and their parents are both prior USAF, but the boys are both nuts about planes and allergic to nuts.  Small, weird world.
6. When was the last time you attended a family or school reunion? How did that go? Never. I think part of the military child mantra is "don't look back."
7. When you're feeling blue, what is the best way someone can cheer you up?  I am rarely blue, but if I am, it means I need time and space. Acknowledge my mood (sorry honey) and then leave me alone.
8. Have you taken a vacation this summer? Does the day canoeing with my DH while the kids were both away count?
9. What is the most unnecessary item you carry with you all the time? My cell phone. Really. It is unnecessary. I hardly ever get calls and when I do, they are almost always things that could have waited.
10. What is the best summer flick you have seen so far? We only saw Toy Story 3, so I guess that's it.  It was good.
11. Describe a perfect summer day. One where the humidity is low and the Congress is out of town.
12. Please a share a favorite photo from the summer so far!


We found a new Thai Restaurant!  Yippee!

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

If You Think It's Hot . . .

. . . try being one of the young men who showed up for the first day of football practice yesterday. Although practice didn't start until 6, the day had not really started to cool down.


It was really wonderful though to see all the eager boys and men. There were some women there but we were vastly outnumbered by dads. Very.Eager.Dads.  I won't say they were all reliving their glory days, or trying to be football heroes through their sons, but there were a few that . . .

The league my son is playing in is a developmental league. That means they are separated by weight classes within age groups, and the focus is on skills development. Everyone who wants to try it carries the ball. Everyone who wants to play has to a) keep their grades up and b) stay out of trouble at school. As the main coach bellowed last night, "This is NOT the stepping zone to the NFL. Stay out of trouble and do your homework!"

For a while I watched the 9-10 year olds. Their coach is built like a fireplug, but there's not an ounce of fat on him. He looks and sounds like a former Marine drill instructor. He had them in a circle and was walking around the circle. He wasn't very tall, but taller than them! He cracked out, "when I say 'eyes', you say 'sir'"! The dialogue of 'eyes' and 'sir' gained volume even as I went to the next group.


The anklebiters are the under 75lb players. They have to be at least 6 years old. Some of them were clearly ready to tackle MUCH bigger kids. Some of them looked like they wanted to be anywhere else but there! There were a lot more moms near this group.

And finally, the big guys. The 150-170lb group, all 13 and 14. That's my son - 170 and 5'11". Not much fat on him, just a really big kid and still growing. I'm really proud of him. I think it shows tremendous character to try something new when you're 13.

One of the things we discussed before he went to practice is that he has a choice every time he's out there -- to be a follower or to be a leader. And that he will be hot, tired, hurt, and angry, but that his witness is more important than any of those things. I think he gets that, but we'll see.

He did tell me there was one other boy who has as little experience as him and knows even LESS about football. But that kid is black, so the other black kids were really harassing him about being clueless. Then my son said, "but I also don't open my mouth and let them know how little I know."  Ah yes . . . better to keep your mouth closed and be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt. That is indeed, my son!

Sunday, August 8, 2010

Microfiction Monday

Ahhh...Microfiction Monday.  I missed last week. Things were just a little too busy around here. I could have posted, but not visited, so I abstained from either.

But this week I'm back again to participate in Susan's challenge.  Use the illustration she provides and tell a story in 140 characters or fewer. The count includes all spaces and punctuation, so be succinct!

Here's the illustration:



And here's my story:


Where you can launch a cultural revolution with violence and people will apologize for making you feel so bad that you had to do so.

Note: I usually go funny, but this whole Mosque at Ground Zero discussion has removed what little sense of humor I had about New York City.

New Adventures

It seems that everyone in this household is embarking upon new adventures this year.

Daughter went to Governors School this summer. And at the end of the summer she'll be flying (by herself) to Vancouver, BC for a visit with friends and some French immersion.

Son is playing football for the first time with a youth league. He starts tomorrow, and is struggling with the old "what was I thinking of?" question that we all wonder when starting something new.  Update: when I took him to get his equipment this morning the men there made such a big deal of his size (only 13 and nearly 6 feet tall) it really built him up. He's not nervous anymore because, in his words, "they made me feel like I'm going to be an asset."  Can I say that I LOVE grown men who model positive encouragement to young men?

Husband . . . well, nothing really new there except his office has moved.  Within the building. I guess we'll let that count as new.

And I will be joining a Writer's Group beginning in September at our local Rec Center. If nothing else, I'll discover whether I like peer review or not. I really hope that these people will know how to be constructively critical. I don't need a bunch of new friends telling me I'm a 'great writer.' I want people to help me LAND THE PLANE! No more circling above the airfield waiting for a great conclusion to occur; just land the blasted plane.

We're supposed to show up with a 'piece' to share. I'm tweaking the Friends of the Library mystery, and will take that.  If any of you have noticed anything in that piece that you recommend I tweak, feel free to tell me! You can do it by comment or by e-mailing me via my profile!

This could be fun or painful! Stay tuned!

Thursday, August 5, 2010

Another Military Child Post

Published again:

http://www.militarybratlife.com/articles/culture-shock-2.html

Wherefore Art Thou, Emajean?

Wherefore Art Thou, Emajean?
A Friends of the Library Mystery
Part V
 (To Review, Part I)
(To Review, Part II)
(To Review, Part III)
(To Review, Part IV)

Strolling into the library the researcher smiled at the hum of activity around her. Children were busily perusing books in their brightly colored area. It was so cool that it had furniture designed for tiny kids and books at eye levels for all ages.

Skirting around the reference desk, the researcher approached the wi-fi bar at the back of the library. She sat and opened her lap top and began organizing her stuff while it booted up. Entering her library card number she had instant access to HeritageQuest and Ancestry.com.

She started with HeritageQuest, and clicked “Search Census.” The screen asked for a surname, first name, census year, and a state. Mahoney was a pretty common name, but Emajean may have been spelled lots of different ways in the census, she reasoned. She typed in Mahoney for the surname and left the box for the first name blank.  The annual showed that she was a college graduate in 1933, so the 1920 census would be the first target.  She left the state blank as well.

Whoa! The screen showed 8894 Mahoneys! She scrolled down to Michigan where there were only 230 and clicked through. Although there were two Emmas, neither was the right age. But then the researcher realized that all of the ages listed were over 18. They must only index the adult names. Darn! In 1920 Emajean would have been a minor child and the researcher did not know her father's name. Okay, time for logic. Jackson is in Jackson County. If I go back to the Jackson County subpage, I can try to look for a father's entry. The researcher tried that and got nine results. She quickly clicked through each of them, rejecting the records one by one. Time for a new approach.

Going back to the main screen, she changed her selection to the 1930 census. Rats! Only a few states were listed. The others had a notation “this state is not yet loaded.”Probably a budget thing, she grumbled to herself.

She sat back for a minute to clear her head and organize her next attack. Searching through the photos she pulled out one that showed what she thought was a new nursing graduate, proudly posing with friends and compared it with the yearbook photo. Then the researcher pulled up the close-up she had made by scanning the original and using Photoshop to crop and re-size the face.  Emajean was clearly the girl on the left, and it looked like the other two were sisters. Research note: go through photos of class to find other girls. May provide more clues.








Wow, thought the researcher. These are the women who in a few short years would be nursing the wounded when the war came. I wonder if any of them went to the Pacific...

She shook off her imaginings. As she sat forward to begin again, the researcher glanced to her right. The library had just opened a new “Young Adult” reading area for teens. Each oddly-shaped chair could fit one child only, and each chair was full. In most, the kids had their legs tucked up underneath them, and the kids were each lost in a book. One girl had dark eyes and curls, reminding the researcher of the first photo she had found.

She smiled thinking what Emajean might have thought of today’s students, and what today's students might think of this rabbit trail the researcher was following. Turning back to her screen she backed out of HeritageQuest and switched to Ancestry.com. Finally, she struck gold.