Last Christmas, my maternal grandparents' Sunday School teacher asked them to submit favorite Christmas memories from their childhood. My grandparents were the only ones who submitted anything and she shared their stories with the larger church body and then presented my grandparents with something tangible from their memories. They know that I'm a family history nut and love anything vintage or Christmas-related, so they made a copy of their memories for me and my grandma even gave me the 'gift' that she'd been presented with. I thought I'd post their memories here.
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I'm always looking for ways to incorporate genealogy into my everyday life, even more so at Christmastime. Though arguably the busiest time of year, Christmas puts genealogy at the forefront of my mind. The emphasis on family, memories of past Christmases, my curiosity about traditions from around the world . . . Most years it takes the form of gifts for my grandparents who are all still living (#TBTG) and gift requests on my own Wish List. This year it took the form of decorations and food. Old family photos aren't the only way to recognize your ancestry through your decor, especially during the holidays. Some of the ways my family has celebrated with the past in mind has been through traditional ornaments. Most notably German glass-blown ornaments. My dad's mom had expressed a wish to have one of the glass-blown birds. She loves birds, but she was also very close with her German grandmother and remembered these ornaments from her childhood. My mom's parents live near an impressive year-round Christmas store called Tis The Season and they have a substantial collection of ornaments of all kinds. My dad almost always buys a new German glass-blown ornament either for Grandma or himself whenever we've had the chance to stop there. The various birds being the first.
I'm always looking for ways to incorporate genealogy into my everyday life, even more so at Christmastime. Though arguably the busiest time of year, Christmas puts genealogy at the forefront of my mind. The emphasis on family, memories of past Christmases, my curiosity about traditions from around the world . . . Most years it takes the form of gifts for my grandparents who are all still living (#TBTG) and gift requests on my own Wish List. This year it took the form of decorations and food. I came across some picture frames, while browsing my local Salvation Army store, that I knew would pair perfectly with ancestral photos. I even had specific photos in mind. The next step was finding where to place them. I had already found a diminutive white Nativity scene that fit well on the first tier of our two-tiered 'coffee table', but the rest of it was bare. With a music box (picked up on the same shopping trip as the frames), a few figurines, and a rogue Christmas pick, I found a way to make it all work together. The photos I chose for the frame were 1) a wintry picture of my great-grandma Mae Montgomery (then Deem, née Viola Mae Thorne) holding my great-aunt Sara Ellen. Based on Aunt Sara's age I would date the photo as Winter 1931/2 and 2) my Granddad Cramer's uncle, Perry Cramer, with his Christmas gifts (what appear to be a harmonica, toy stagecoach, and slippers) next to a Christmas tree decorated with candles that are lit. The bottom half of one of his sister's is pictured in the background. I'd date it as one of the Christmases during World War I as Uncle Perry was born in 1907.
I'm always looking for ways to incorporate genealogy into my everyday life, even more so at Christmastime. Though arguably the busiest time of year, Christmas puts genealogy at the forefront of my mind. The emphasis on family, memories of past Christmases, my curiosity about traditions from around the world . . . Most years it takes the form of gifts for my grandparents who are all still living (#TBTG) and gift requests on my own Wish List. This year it took the form of decorations and food. My paternal grandmother's maternal grandparents, Johann Dembowski (John Dembosky) and Luise Schnittka Dembowski (Louise Dembosky) emigrated from Germany (East Prussia) to the United States at the beginning of the 20th Century. They had been on my mind since Thanksgiving when I had been translating some documents at my grandmother's that had been Johann's. This gave me the idea of making something that most likely would have been a Christmas treat for them during their Prussian childhood. I searched the internet for some suggestions and then Pinterest for the recipes. I eventually decided on this Pfeffernüsse recipe from La Fuji Mama.
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About GoldilocksI love cats, books, Diet Coke, and genealogy. My SurnamesCramer/Kramer/Kraemer
Morse/Moss Smith Deem/Diehm Wakefield Dembosky/Dembowski Dennis Thorn/Thorne Lower/Lauer Mack Thomas Schnittka Rogers Easton Keener Shuman/Schumann Clapper Brady Murphy Hanson Schwite Pitcher Roberts Lewis Weekley/Weekly Parks Archives
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