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Saturday, June 18, 2022

FATHERS DAY 2022

 

 In honor of Fathers Day I'm posting pictures of some of the fathers on my family tree. From the Wests:

Our Dad, Floyd E West, Jr.




 

Great grandfather Philip J. West, Cousin Stanley & Grandfather Floyd E West, Sr.







2x great grandfather Jonathan P.West & wife Louisa Almata (Richardson)West
3x Great grandfather John Cutter West
Some of the maternal grandfather's from Dad's family:

2x great grandfather Asa F Ellingwood & wife Florilla (Dunham)Ellingwood.

2x Great grandfather Amos Hastings Barker & wife Betsy Jane (Moore) Barker.
3x Great grandfather Philip Richardson





4x great grandfather Moses Coburn


 And the only pictures I have from Mom's side of the family:
Great grandfather John McFarland & wife Annie (Kelley)McFarland.

Great Grandfather Edward J White.


Happy Fathers' Day!

Friday, June 17, 2022

ELISHA HOUGHTON HAD A GUN....AND THEN HE DIDN'T.

  ((Today is the 247th Anniversary of the Battle of Bunker Hill. Several of my ancestors took
part in the battles, including my 5x great grandfather Elisha Houghton. I first posted this on 21
August, 2012:)) 

I mentioned my ancestor Elisha Houghton the other day and
that he was a veteran of the Revolutionary War. I found this
story about him in History of the Town of Harvard, Massachusetts
1732-1893 by Henry Steadman Nourse (p323):


"Coliney of the Massachusetts Bay.

To the Honnorabel General Coart seting at Watertown the Petion
of Elisha Houghton a Solder under Comand of Captan Hastings in Conl
Whitcomb's Rigement in the year 1775 and I was in the fight on Bunkers
hill So Called in Charlston on the 17 of June in the year 1775 as above
sd and on my Return I and others Lited on one Jacob Davis who was
wounded who requested our help and in tacking Care of the sd Davis
Caused me your Petinor to take Mistick Road to convey the sd Davis to
where he thought he could be tacken Care of and in so Doing 1 came
acros by Winter hill to go to head Quater at Cambridge and in Coming
by the Gard of Connal Starks which was set on sd hill they took away
my Gun which I and others that Knew sd Gun Judged to be worth teen
Dolers. I Endevuered to Recover my Gun again but was Denied the
Same which may be made Evident to this Coart by Reading the Paper
acompining this Petition. 1 also Sertify this Coart that I have Never
Reseved my Gun since Nor any Consideration for the same. I therefore
your Poor Petitioner Humbly Pray that this Coart would be Pleased to
take my Case into your Consideration and alow me Pay for my Gun
and your Petitioner as in Duty bound Shall Ever Pray. Bolton Jan. the —
1776 Elisha Houghton

This may Certify that Elisha Houghton of Col Whitcomb's Regiment
in Capt. Hasting's Company was in the Action on Bunker's hill and
helping bringing the wounded men off to Cambridge went mistick Road over
Winter hill and the Guard that was set on winter hill took away the Guns,
and this sd Houghton's Gun was among the Rest, the next Day with [a]
number of others sd Houghton went in order to Get his Gun with an officer
with him, but could not find it and have Never heard of it since—as I know of.

Josiah Whitney, Lt. Col. of sd Rgmt.
Dorchester Camp Febury 29th. 1776"

I don't know if Elisha ever got recompensed for his lost gun, but I suspect he
was one of the earliest victims of "requisitioning" in the American military tradition.

Saturday, May 28, 2022

THE MILITARY HONOR ROLL PROJECT 2022: ABINGTON, MA

 

 ((I first posted this back in 2013.))

Heather Wilkinson Rojo of Nutfield Genealogy is once again asking
bloggers to transcribe their local veteran monuments and list the names
on their blog. It's called the Military Honor Roll Project and I wanted to
take part this year.  I headed over to the memorial here in Abington
which is located right next to the building shared by the American Legion
and VFW Posts. It's a beautiful spot and there's quite a few names on it for
such a small town. They start with World War 1 and run up to the present
day.
 
It was a bright sunny day and I thought perfect for taking the pictures I needed
to work with for the transcription, but it turned out to be it was less than ideal.
The nearby trees were casting shadows over most of the monument and the wind
moving the leaves would cause the shadows to shift around.

 






                     DEDICATED
          IN LASTING MEMORY OF
ABINGTON'S MEN AND WOMEN WHO
       SERVED AND SACRIFICED IN
         THEIR COUNTRY'S WARS

             KILLED IN ACTION




World War I
Edgar D. Bascomb
Chester W. Belcher
Walter W. Coleman
Charles Cook
Lloyd Crossman
Lewis V. Dorsey
Robert B. English
George H. Gillespie
Henry C. Hurst
John J. Mahoney
Joseph D. Martin
Charles E. Murphy
Charles S. Myers
Myron Stewart
Harold L. Taylor
Shirley S. Thayer
George L.  Whore




World War II
Charles H. Bellows Jr.
Wendell E Chamberlin
Lloyd R. Clapp
John Colburn
George W. Coleman
Edmund G. Crossley
Elton E. Eckstrom
George S. Forsyth
Roy E. Hjelm
Wellington Jamieson
John R. Keeley
Clifford Kimber
Richard L. McCue
Harold R. McGeoch
John F. Monahan
John Rice
Frank D. Warner Jr.


Korea

Viet-Nam
Dennis K. Holly
Peter D. Christianson DFC
Richard F. Gliniewicz
Glenn R. Gordon
Ralph G. Hamlin
Ernest H Laidler
Richard A. Fitts


Afghanistan
Daniel Vasellian




Never forget.

Sunday, May 08, 2022

MOTHERS DAY Pt. 2

 

 In honor of Mother's Day, here are pictures of our Dad's female ancestors.

First, on his mother's side:

Amos H Barker & Betsey J (Moore) Barker


Our 2x great grandmother Betsey Jane Moore was born on 16 Aug 1842 at Waterford,
Oxford, Me. She married Amos Hastings Barker in 1856 and they raised a family of
12 children, 11 of whom survived to adulthood. Betsey died 12Mar 1924 at age 82.

My great grandmother Charlotte Lovenia Barker is the lady on the right.

 Our great grandmother Charlotte Lovenia Barker was youngest of  Amos & Betsey's
12 children. She was born on 3 Aug 1879 in Albany, Oxford, Maine and was known as
":Lottie". She married her first cousin Frank W. Barker on 16Oct 1898 and they had
4 children before Frank died in 1905 from pneumonia caused by "La Grippe" (the flu).
She was married three more times before her death on 3Jan 1944 at Bangor, Maine.   

Cora Berthella (Barker) West & her great granddaughter Mindy Sue West

Our grandmother Cora Berthella (Barker) West was born 27Oct 1899 and was the eldest
child of Frank and Charlotte. She preferred the name Bertha, although it was given as
Cora on her marriage certificate. Bertha married Floyd E.West Sr on 24Mar 1919 and
had 5 children, one of whom was our Dad.

 On his Dad's side of the family:

Arvilla (Ames)West

Our 3x great grandmother Arvilla Ames was born in Livermore, Androscoggin, Maine
on 25Jan 1810, one of 10 children. She married John Cutter West on 23Sep 1827
at Sumner, Maine, and five years later they moved to Letter B Plantation (later renamed
Upton), Oxford, Maine. She had 10 children, 3 of whom died in a diphtheria outbreak
in 1862. She died at age 97 at Hermon, Maine.

Louisa A.(Richardson) West
Louisa Richardson, our 2x great grandmother was born in Wilton, Maine on
23Jun 1837 at Wilton, Maine.  She was the second wife of Jonathan Phelps West,
whose first wife had died in the 1862 diphtheria outbreak. Louisa and Jonathan
married on 31Jan 1865 and had 4 sons. She died 4Oct 1925 at age 88.

Florilla (Dunham) Ellingwood & Asa F Ellingwood


Our other paternal 2x great grandmother was Florilla Dunham who was born 29Aug
1832 at North Paris, Oxford, Maine. She married Asa F. Ellingwood on 10Aug 1850
at Woodstock, Oxford, Maine and 11 children.(She was one of 11 children herself.)
She died in Paris, Oxford, Maine on 21Feb 1917.

Clara (Ellingwood) West

Finally, our great grandmother  Clara Ellingwood was the 8th child and youngest
daughter of Florilla and Asa Ellingwood. She was born 6Mar 1865 in Dummer, Coos,
NH. Her first marriage with Charles Tidswell ended in divorce and she married our
great grandfather Philip J West on 25May 1894 at Shelburne, Coos, NH. She had
three children by her first marriage and two by her second, including our grandfather
Floyd E West, Sr. Sadly, Clara died young after an illness in Augusta, Maine on 10Apr
1901. She was only 36 years old.

And those are the pictures we have of the mothers in our family.

Happy Mothers Day! 

Saturday, May 07, 2022

MOTHERS DAY

 

 Once again for Mothers Day I'm posting photos of our family's mothers, starting with the maternal line of my family..

For our Mom's side we don't have very many since her grandparents immigrated
here from Ireland and Germany in the 19th century.

 
John McFarland & Annie (Kelley) McFarland
First there's Anna Kelley, born 1Oct 1858 in Kiltrustan, Roscommon, Ireland. She married
my great grandfather in Edinburgh Scotland on 16May1879 and shortly after they came
to America and settled in Boston. She had 17 children, 10 of whom survived to adulthood.
Anna died 15Feb 1945 at Boston, Ma. at age 86.



Pauline (Offinger) White
Our other maternal great grandmother was Pauline Offinger, born 17Dec 1873
in Cambridge, Massachusetts to German immigrant parents. She married Edward J.
White on 27Nov 1895 in Boston, Ma. and had 9 children.          



Agnes (McFarland) White
Our grandmother Agnes (McFarland) White was born 7Oct 1898 in Boston, Ma, the
14th of John & Annie's 17 children. She was known as "Aggie" in the family.
She married Edward F.White, Sr. and had two children, our Uncle Ed and our Mom
Anne Marie. She died 12Feb 1957 in Malden Ma.


Anne M. (White) West


Finally, our Mom, Anne M. (White) West. She was born 7Jul 1927 at Boston, Ma and
married our Dad on 29Jun 1947, also at Boston. To her McFarland cousins she was
known as "Red White". She died on 28Jul 1999 at Weymouth, Ma and she is missed by
my brother, my sister, myself and the rest of the family.

Friday, March 18, 2022

THE BAPTISM OF AGNES MCFARLAND

 The Americanancestors.org website has been adding the Massachusetts: Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston Records, 1789-1920 for awhile now and I had had no luck finding any of my family in them. But I wouald check back periodically, and finally, a few weeks ago, my luck changed. I found the image of Page 100 from Blessed Sacrament (Jamaica Plain) Baptisms, 1892-1903,and at the very bottom of the page was the entry for my maternal grandmother, Agnes McFarland.

 




Massachusetta:Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston Records, 1789-1920 Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2019 (From records supplied by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston).
Page     100



My grandmother was baptized on 10/16/1898. The names of her parents and witnesses are given in a mix of English and Latin:



Father Joannes, John McFarland
!
Mother Ann Kelly

Witness1 Hugh Clark

Witness2 Maria, Mary Flynn


I also found the record for her younger sister Margaret. It was a big family so there are more that I can look for!

Monday, February 28, 2022

ON THIS DAY: FEBRUARY 28th

 Big list today




On this Day

BIRTHS:

28 Feb 1668 7x great grandmother Hazadiah Fairbanks was born at Lancaster, Ma.

28 Feb 1663 7x great grandfather Benjamin Barker was born at Andover, Ma.

28 Feb 1639 9x great grandfather John Moore was born at Lancaster, Ma.

28 Feb 1744 5x great grandmother Betty Whitcomb was born at Bolton, Ma.

28 Feb 1655 8x great grandmother Patience Sabin was born at Rehoboth, Ma


MARRIAGES:

28 Feb 1683 9x great grandparents George Adams & Martha Fiske were married at Lexington, Ma.

28 Feb 1827 3x great grandparents Wesley Coburn & Lucy Stowe were married at Newry, Me.


DEATHS:

28 Feb 1687 9x great grandfather John Hoyt died at Amesbury, Ma.

28 Feb 1708 9x great grandfather Richard Reith died at Marblehead, Ma.

Sunday, January 23, 2022

15TH BLOGIVERSARY!

 Well, it's 15 years now, and I'm still here. I'm not back to the level of productivity I had in the past,but I'm still chugging along and hope to do better this year

Here's  where I'm at according to the stats.

283 followers

2771 posts

3317 comments


And here's my all time most viewed posts;


Thanks to all the viewers and commenters over the years!

Friday, January 14, 2022

ON THIS DATE: JANUARY 14th

 

Two ancestors named Sarah: one born and one died in the same year on this date:
 
On This Date:
 
BIRTHS:
14 Jan 1755 4x great grandmother Elizabeth Wiley was born in Andover, Ma.
14 Jan 1661 8x great grandmother Sarah Farnum was born at Andover, Ma.
 
MARRIAGE:
14 Jan 1702 7x great grandparents Samuel Upton & Abigail Frost were married in Salem, Ma.
 
DEATHS:
14 Jan 1719 8x great grandmother Deborah (Barnes) Davis died at Haverhill, Ma.
14 Jan 1733 7x great grandmother Hannah (Marston) Barker died at Andover, Ma.
14 Jan 1661 10x great grandmother Sarah (Parker) Converse died at Woburn, Ma.

Wednesday, January 12, 2022

ON THIS DATE: JANUARY 12th

 

On This Date:
MARRIAGES:
12 Jan 1688 7x great grandparents William Hoyt & Dorothy Colby were married at Amesbury, Ma.
12 Jan 1702 7x great grandparents James Thorn & Hannah Brown were married at Salisbury, Ma
12 Jan 1845 3x great grandparents Christian Luick & Christiane Ruppmich were married at Wurttemberg, Germany
 
DEATHS:
12 Jan 1776 6x great grandmother Edna (Bailey) Hastings died at Bradford, Ma.
12 Jan 1777 6x great grandfather Joseph Herrick died at Gloucester, Ma.
12 Jan 1717 7x great grandfather Jonathan Hallett died at Yarmouth, Ma.

Wednesday, January 05, 2022

ON THIS DAY: JANUARY 5th

 

On This Date:
MARRIAGE:
5 Jan 1696 7x great grandparents Abiel Kelley & Rebecca Davis were married at Newbury, Ma.
DEATH:
5 Jan 1666 10x great grandfather Roger Mowrey died at Salem, Ma.

MY GENEAPLANS FOR 2022

 So my geneaplans fpr 2022 are the same as they were for 2021 and 2020. Luckily they are all things I can do online since I am no longer driving. And getting anything done depends on my health, so we'll see how this goes this year.

The geneaplans:
1.Continue adding more of my ancestors siblings and their lines to my database.

2. Again.this year I'm  going to set a goal for my blogging: to try to reach 200 posts in this blog and to post anything, anything at all, in my Graveyard Rabbits  blog. But anything over 50 posts will be an improvement over this year.
(I ended up with 70 posts here for 2021 but failed to post anything on the Gravetard Rabbits blog. I have a plan to remedy that this year.)

3. Post more photos for Find A Grave from the many I still have sitting in folders on my computer..

4. Continue to stay organized:  Keep putting images  I download into  the folder they belong in immediately,

5. Transcribe more of the wills and probate files I've downloaded already.

6. Find and download the wills and probate files of female ancestors.

7.  Keep working  on  the timeline for my ancestors who were involved in the Colonial New England Indian wars, including those who were captured.

8. Go back and finish the series about the "Hot Mess" probate file of ancestor Nathaniel Stowe which I forgot to finish in May 2015. (Probably because it's such a "hot mess").

9. Write more  about my ancestor Gov. John Endecott. I keep pushing it aside, I think, because he did somethings that were nasty.

10. Make more use of the MyTreeTags feature to make lists of things my anestors were involved in .

11. Keep having fun with genealogy
Hopefully I will do better this year!

Monday, January 03, 2022

ON THIS DAY: JANUARY THE 3rd

 

On This Date:
BIRTH:
3 Jan 1682 8x great grandfather John Laughton was born in Lynn, Ma.
 
MARRIAGE:
3 Jan 1692 7x great grandparents James Thomas & Mary Tilden were married at Duxbury, Ma.
 
DEATHS:
3 Jan 1698 8x great grandfather Peter Ayer died at Haverhill, Ma
3 Jan 1737 8x great grandfather Ralph Farnham III died at Andover, Ma.

Sunday, January 02, 2022

ON THIS DAY: JANUARY 2ND

 

On This Date:
BAPTISM:
2 Jan 1574 10x great grandfather Edmund Greenleaf was baptized at St. Mary's-la-Tour at Ipswich, England.
 
BIRTH:
2 Jan 1651 7x great grandmother Mary Sawyer was born at Lancaster, Ma.
2 Jan 1627 7x great grandfather Henry Ingalls was born at Skirbeck, England.
 
MARRIAGES:
2 Jan 1688 7x great grandparents Benjamin Barker & Hannah Marston were married at Andover, Ma.
2 Jan 1738 6x great grandparents Nathaniel Dana & Abigail Dean were married at Boston, Ma.
 
DEATHS:
2 Jan 1743 7x great grandfather Samuel Ayer died at Haverhill, Ma
2 Jan 1754 7x great grandmother Martha (Conant) Perkins died at Plympton, Ma.
2 Jan 1692 8x great grandfather Francis West died at Duxbury, Ma.
2 Jan 1682 8x great grandmother Sarah (Pitney)Thomas died at Marshfield, Ma.

Saturday, January 01, 2022

ON THIS DAY: JANUARY 1st

 

Today's List has three New Year's babies and a birth and marriage on the same day.

On This Date:
BIRTHS:
1 Jan 1643 9x great grandfather Jeremiah Swain was born in Charlestown, Ma.
1 Jan 1707 7x great grandmother Hepzibah Stimson was born at Reading, Ma.
1 Jan 1702 6x great grandfather Moses Coburn was born at Dracut, Ma.

MARRIAGES:
1 Jan 1651 9x great grandparents John Lovejoy & Mary Osgood were married at Andover, Ma.
1 Jan 1643 10x great grandparents Henry Rice & Elizabeth Moore were married at Sudbury, Ma.
1 Jan 1698 7x great grandparents John Moore & Hazadiah Fairbanks were married at Concord, Ma.

DEATHS:
1 Jan 1669 8X great grandfather William Barstow died at Scituate, Ma.
1 Jan 1777 5x great grandmother Mehitabel (Abbott) Abbott died at Andover, Ma.

Sunday, December 26, 2021

CHRISTMAS MEMORIES: I SAW THREE SHIPS

 It's become a Geneablogger tradition to join our friend footnoteMaven in the annual Blog Caroling Event, when geneabloggers post their favorite Christmas carols. 

This year I'm sharing "I Saw Three Ships" because it was sung by one of Mom's favorite singers, Nat King Cole. Mom loved playing records on the stereo console when we were kids and Christmas time she's load up albums and sing along. (Although I don't remember he singingalong to this one.)

You can hear Nat King Cole sing the song here.




"I Saw Three Ships"

I saw three ships come sailing in
On Christmas Day, on Christmas Day
I saw three ships come sailing in
On Christmas Day in the morning
On Christmas Day in the morning

And what was in those ships all three
On Christmas Day, on Christmas Day?
And what was in those ships all three
On Christmas Day in the morning?
On Christmas Day in the morning

The Virgin Mary and Christ were there
On Christmas Day, on Christmas Day
The Virgin Mary and Christ were there
On Christmas Day in the morning

And all the Angels in Heaven shall sing
On Christmas Day, on Christmas Day
And all the Angels in Heaven shall sing
On Christmas Day in the morning

Then let us all rejoice again
On Christmas Day, on Christmas Day
Then let us all rejoice again
On Christmas Day in the morning
On Christmas Day in the morning


Thursday, December 23, 2021

CHRISTMAS MEMORIES: OH CHRISTMAS TREE, OH CHRISTMAS TREE

 Originally posted in 2007


You know that part of the movie A Christmas Story where
the family goes out to buy the tree and the parents have a little
argument over it? Well, I laugh every time I see it because
like so much in that film it echoes my childhood.

Every Christmas when I was younger either we’d go shopping
for a tree or Dad would buy one on his way home from work.
Now as regular readers of this blog know by now, my Dad was
from Maine. But even more than that, he had experience in trees.
He’d helped his father cutting down trees, and he’d worked for a
landscaper in the Boston area when he’d first come home from
the war. Mom would remind Dad of his experience every year
when the tree was fixed into the tree stand, the rope cut from
the branches and the inevitable big empty space was discovered.
Usually the problem was solved by rotating the tree so the empty
spot was in the back facing the wall. The lights were strung(and
here we differed from the film. We never blew out the fuses.),
then the garlands, the ornaments, and the icicles. Finally the
angel went up on top of the tree and we were all set. With
judicious watering the tree would last us until around “Little
Christmas” at which time it would be undecorated and deposited
curbside to await the dump truck.

Of course our tree paled in comparison to the giant my Mom’s
Uncle Tommy and Aunt Francis had in their home down in
Milton. It was so big they cut the top off and the branches didn’t
taper at the top. They were all the same size: large. I could
never believe they'd gotten that big a tree into the house in the
first place!


Then the first artificial Christmas trees hit the market and Mom
began vowing she was going to get one as she vacuumed up pine
needles from the rug. Eventually we did but that provided us
with new challenges, such as assembling the tree.


As we all grew older the prospect of trying to get the tree
together became less enchanting and so it too was replaced, this
time by a small ceramic musical tree that was lit from within by
a light bulb. I used that tree myself for several years after Mom
died although I felt no great urge to wind it up for the music. It
lasted until a few years back when I dropped it and the base
cracked.

Its replacement is a small artificial tree that I bought at work with
my employee discount along with a garland. Last year some
friends sent me some snowmen ornaments for it. I haven’t put it
up yet but think I will this weekend. It fits on top of the tv.


And at some point over the holidays I’ll see that scene from A
Christmas Story again and grin.

2009 update: I bought a small string of battery powered lights
to add to my tree last week!

2010 update: I lost my Christmas stuff in my move last April so
I'll be picking it up another one at work soon.

2011 update
I bought another teeny Christmas tree with lights and ornaments
at Borders. Since the company closed, it will remind me of my
store when I set it out each year.


2012 update
I haven't put up my teeny Christmas tree yet but plan to do it this weekend.


2013 Update
I'll be putting the tree out tomorrow. I may have to buy a new string of
lights this year since some of the teeny weeny bulbs may have died last year.

2014 Update
I haven't put the teeny Christmas tree up yet again. I think I will do
it tomorrow, though.

2015 Update
The teeny Christmas tree will go up this weekend as soon as I decide 
where it will go this year.   


  






2018 Update:
I still have the teeny Christmas tree which I haven't put up yet.. I may spring for maybe a few of those electric candles for my apartment window, though.


2019 Update: 
I'll probably put the teeny tree up this coming weekend.

2020 Update:My windows are being replaced this week so I'll put the tree out after the mayhem is over. 

2021 Update:

I bought a new foot tall  tree and will add the ornaments to it tomorrow. 

 

 

 

 



Wednesday, December 22, 2021

CHRISTMAS MEMORIES : DEALING WITH CARDS

 
((Originally posted in 2007))

 I don’t get a lot of Christmas cards, mostly because I don’t send
out a lot myself. I get some from the family and a few from friends
but since I’m not much of a social animal there’s no more than perhaps
a half dozen each year sitting atop my tv.

In years past the amount of cardage fluctuated. When I
was a kid there were a lot of cards, usually taped to the
door frames or sitting atop the end tables in the living room.


When we moved to Abington they were displayed across the
mantel piece or taped around the edges of the mirror above it.
The years when my folks were actively involved in the VFW
brought the highest number of season’s greetings. Mom would
spend a few hours herself signing and addressing cards to be
sent out. But as she and her generation of family and friends
grew older the flood of Christmas cards dwindled. Several years
Mom even had some unused cards left over when she finished.


I tend not to like sending “mushy” cards so I usually try to find
something funny. Although this year I may be giving people a
look at a certain dancing elf via e-mail!

2010 Update: I'm going to see what sort of selection we have at
the store tomorrow and hopefully find something funny, although
last year I sent out cards that were more "New England-y"

2011 Update Since Borders has closed I'm going to have to take
a long walk over to Target soon to get some boxed cards!

2012 Update I'm waiting for my box card order from B&N
to arrive.

2013 Update I haven't bought any Christmas cards yet. I'm also
trying to figure out what to do with the leftover cards from the
last few years.

2014 Update:
I'll probably buy my cards this weekend. I don't really start thinking
about Christmas cards until right about now, although I've already
received one this holiday season. 

The past few years I've taken to displaying the incoming cards on my
bookcase, as in this photo from a  few years ago:


2015 Update
I still have several boxes of leftover Christmas cards from previous years, so this year
I'm going to send those instead of buying a new box.


2016 Update: 
I was a bad boy again this year and never sent out any cards.And I feel a bit guilty as
I received a bit more than usual:




 2019 Update: I received a few cards so far this year,, and I actually sent out mine earlier than in past years so hopefully they have arrived at their destinations  before the holidays.


2020 Update: I sent some cards out today (8th Dec), and have already received a few. I might take a photo of them if more come in.

2021 Update: I sent mine out a bit late (last week). Hopefully they make it in time for Chrismas. Here's the cards I've received.



 




Monday, December 20, 2021

CHRISTMAS MEMORIES:OBJECTS IN THE REAR VIEW MIRROR

 ((First published in December, 2007))


I don’t recall many holiday parties from my earlier childhood. In our family folks were too busy working or shopping at Christmas time. And when we lived in Dorchester the apartments weren’t
really big enough to hold large parties in, although there might have been one or two. If so, they would have followed the rules of other adult parties my folks had: after saying hello to the adults,
my sister and I would be sent off to our beds to eventually fall asleep while listening to the adults
in the other room laughing at Rusty Warren records. We wondered what "roll me over in the clover" meant.

As an adult, most of my Christmas party experience has been at work, including one at a now
defunct toy chain warehouse(more on that job later) when I was in my early twenties. It snowed
when I left for home. My car at the time was an Olds 98 and being in a hurry to get home, I didn’t completely clean the rear windshield. I backed up, turning the car around….

…and smashed my rear windshield by backing the car up under a tractor trailer box front end as
if it were a big rig hooking up.

The good news was, my Dad worked in the auto glass repair business.

The bad news was I had to call him and tell him what I’d done.

It was an …umm…interesting conversation.




2013 Update: I think this is my favorite out of all the things I've posted every year about past Christmases. I remember the windshield incident with a smile now but at the time I was a nervous wreck waiting for Dad's reaction, especially since I'd had a few highballs at the Christmas party which probably had a lot to do with my backing into the trailer. I also had to drive the car home 
with no rear windshield in a snowstorm and I was worried I'd get pulled over by the police. When 
I got home we covered the broken window with something, probably a cut open garbage bag and masking tape, and a few days later Dad found a replacement at Goldy's, a local junkyard. 

Most of all, I remember Dad getting out of his car when he drove up to the  Child World warehouse, taking a puff on his cigarette, and  giving me The Look before asking me "How the hell did you manage to do that?"


 

Sunday, December 19, 2021

CHRISTMAS MEMORIES: OH APPLE TREE, OH APPLE TREE!

(originally published in Dec. 2007)


My family was fortunate in that we never lived in the sort of place
where Christmas outdoor decorations becomes a blood sport.
Yes, people strung lights in their shrubbery or along their house
gutters but there was never anyone determined to turn their
front yard into the North Pole’s Southern Branch Office.

Now for light shows back then you went to someplace religious,
like Our Lady of La Sallette Shrine in North Attleboro or the local
cemetery with it’s entrance lit up, or even just cruised a stretch
of highway to look at the neighborhood lights that might be seen
from a distance as you drove by.


We didn’t really have outside lights ourselves until we left Boston
for Abington. Up until then the only lights other than on our
Christmas tree were the electric candles we put on windowsills.
But at the house Dad did the obligatory shrubbery and gutter
displays as well as one other spot: the apple tree in the front yard.


Dad had experience both with wiring and tree climbing so putting
a string of lights up in a small apple tree was a piece of cake. It
was the taking down part that didn’t seem to work at least for
the tree. One year, long after the other outside lights were down
and packed away, the lights still were hanging in the apple tree.
I’m not sure exactly when he took them down but I do know it
was well after Spring had sprung. I think they were even plugged
in one or two nights. I don’t know the reasons why they were
still there: my Dad’s sense of humor, perhaps? Or maybe an
instance where Dad’s Maine stubbornness and the Irish
stubbornness of my Mom brought about some impasse on the issue?


On my way home the other night from work I noticed at least
three of those large hot air snow globe scenes on front lawns.

Those families must have big electricity bills!



2010 Update: As I discovered in 2008, the apple tree  in
the front yard of the house is long gone. But a news report
the other night made me think of Dad. The holiday
lighting ceremony at Braintree has been postponed a week
because squirrels had eaten through the wires.

The lights had been left up all year since last Christmas!


2011 Update: The big snowstorms last winter had one
interesting effect. Some of the homes with heavily
decorated outside yards remained that way until
the snow melted. One home in particular had an inflatable
Santa and other decorations buried under snow drifts
and you could  just see the tops of them as you drove by
the house. I think they were there until mid-March!


2013 Update: It's a bit early yet apparently for the lights
to go up for Christmas around here. I don't work anymore
and haven't driven around much after dark so I haven't
seen any houses lit up yet. I did, however, spot two of
those big inflatable figures on someone's front lawn yesterday
afternoon.


2014 Update
 I'm not sure there be many houses lit up this year, or that they
will be many elaborate displays. The electric companies in the
New England area have raised their rates over 30% and that
may be too much for many people to afford to put up Christmas
lights.


2015 Update
There's only a few homes along the main streets in the area that have put up
their outside lights so far this year. But there are some in specific neighborhoods
and I've noticed word gets out via Facebook on where the best displays are to take
your kids to see them.


2016 Update:
Since my retirement I don't drive much after dark any more, so I haven't seen
any houses decorated so far. But there's a contest for best decorations going on,
and a Christmas Tree lighting going on at Island Grove as well,



2018 Update: 
There's a really good Christmas display over on Lake Street by Island Grove that gets a lot of  visitors every year. It looks like a lot of work to put together. But unfortunately some unusually high winds knocked over the big Christmas tree at Island Grove after it was lit just the week before.