52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy and History: Advice for Future Generations

The prompt for Week 52 of 52 Weeks of Personal History & Genealogy, by Amy Coffin of We Tree, and hosted by Geneabloggers, is: Advice

Do you have any advice for future generations who may be researching your family? For example, was there a name change or a significant relocation in your past? This is intended to be a very flexible question. Answer it any way you wish.

The advice I would like to give for future generations is to ask your older family members lots of questions! Record them on paper, or video, or on your computer! When I was very young, I had seven of my eight great grandparents all living. Of course, I was too young to know that I wanted to ask them questions!! Luckily, my mom, aunts, uncles, and other relatives and neighbors of my ancestors did answer lots of questions for me when I was "bitten" by the genealogy bug! Having just lost my mom a little more than a year ago, you cannot imagine how many things I have realized that I should have asked her! Like about her experiences in the workplace, and holidays when she was a girl....

Ask lots of questions, and record them in whatever way works for you! Your descendants will be so glad you did! Pictured below are just a few of my mom's grandchildren and great grandchildren, who were lucky enough to hear some stories from their beloved Gram/Nana.

52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy and History: Smells

The prompt for Week 34 of 52 Weeks of Personal History & Genealogy, by Amy Coffin of We Tree, and hosted by Geneabloggers, is: Smells

Describe any smells that take you back to childhood. These could be from meals, fragrant gardens, musty basements, or something entirely different.

(Image Courtesy Wikipedia)

I must say that the distinct smell of Vicks VapoRub takes me back to my childhood. When any of us six children had the sniffles, Mom would put Vicks on our upper lip, so we could inhale the vapors. If we had a bad cough, she would put it on our chest, and cover it with flannel, to help us feel better. When the baby of the house was congested, Mom would put Vicks in the vaporizer, and place it close to the baby's crib all through the night. I still use Vicks sometimes, and it never fails to take me back to the "good old days"!

To read about the history of products made by Vicks, see the interactive timeline online.

52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy and History: Water

The prompt for Week 29 of 52 Weeks of Personal History & Genealogy, by Amy Coffin of We Tree, and hosted by Geneabloggers, is: Water

Do you have any memories of the sea or another body of water? Did you live there or just visit? What did you do there? You can also describe a body of water by which you live or visit in the present day.

Living near a body of water has been an important of my life, since I grew in Bay View, and now reside in Bay Bridge, both located on Sandusky Bay. The bay used to provide fish to eat for my dad's side of the family for many decades. The water also was a source of recreation in both the summer and the winter months! Growing up, we used to ice skate and take sled rides on the frozen bay.






















In the summer, we often visited East Harbor State Park for swimming and picnics.

















Great Grandma Irene and Grandma and Grandpa Parker rode the G.A. Boeckling over Sandusky Bay countless times on their way to and from Cedar Point.















Pictured below is Gram Irene with my uncle Steen Thomas Parker aboard the steamer G.A. Boeckling.






















The Marblehead Lighthouse is my favorite spot on the entire planet! Just last night, we saw the almost full moon shining brightly on Lake Erie. The waves were ferocious, the breeze was refreshing, and the lights of Cedar Point were sparkling.






















When my husband and I resided briefly in Galion, Ohio, long ago, we really missed the cool breezes and lovely sunsets made possible by living near Sandusky Bay. Water is essential to life itself, and it has always been important to me, no matter what the season.

52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy and History: Summer

The prompt for Week 28 of 52 Weeks of Personal History & Genealogy, by Amy Coffin of We Tree, and hosted by Geneabloggers, is: Summer

What was summer like where and when you grew up? Describe not only the climate, but how the season influenced your activities, food choices, etc.

Growing up in the "baby boom" years of the 1950's and 1960's, summer was a magical time! No school for three months, and no more homework, left plenty of time for the children in Bay View, Ohio to enjoy their free time. We were close to the beach and a play park, so we had lots of fun in the warm sunny weather. Fresh sweet corn and tomatoes were often on the menu, and evening trips to the dairy queen were frequent. We had picnics in the back yard...




















and we visited Cedar Point with our extended family.




















It was great fun to visit the farm out in the country on a summer afternoon.















As my brothers got a little older, we spent many a summer evening at the ball park in Bay View.






















When baby sister Kellie came along, I even gave her a bath on the back porch one summer day.






















As time goes by, those childhood memories seem to only get sweeter! My siblings and I were fortunate to have a happy home with parents who were devoted to providing us with lots of wonderful family moments.

52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy and History: Clothes

The prompt for Week 24 of 52 Weeks of Personal History & Genealogy, by Amy Coffin of We Tree, and hosted by Geneabloggers, is: Clothes

What types of clothes did you wear as a child?
What was “in fashion” and did your style compare?























What I remember about the clothes from my childhood days, is that the official dress code for school for girls was, that young ladies were to wear dresses or skirts. On church days, we would wear our dressiest dresses and skirts. Mom loved to dress me and my sister Robin alike, especially for the first day of school, and for Christmas and Easter. By the time youngest siblings Matt and Kellie came along, most children dressed more casually for school. To this day, I still enjoy wearing dresses and skirts!

52 Weeks of Personal History & Genealogy: Books

The prompt for Week 23 of 52 Weeks of Personal History & Genealogy, by Amy Coffin of We Tree, and hosted by Geneabloggers, is: Books

What was your favorite book, or who was your favorite author from your childhood? What do you like to read now? Books or other formats?

My favorite book as a child was ANGUS AND THE CAT, by Marjorie Flack.
















(Image courtesy Ebay)

I received it as a gift from my beloved first grade teacher Mrs. Pack, as a reward for turning in the most book reports in her class at Venice Elementary School. Mrs. Pack is the teacher in the picture below, and I am in the row immediately beneath her picture. (Billy F. is next to Mrs. Pack, and Tim S. is beside me.)























When I was young I read as often as I could. During the summer months I used to sit outside in the front yard, waiting for my summer issues of the Weekly Reader to arrive at our mailbox. Now, my favorite type of book is biography. When I read THE SEVEN WORLDS OF THEODORE ROOSEVELT, by Edward Wagenknecht, I was amazed at TR’s many interest and talents. He was more than willing to go off to war, but when he was home, he read poetry to the children. He was one of America’s greatest conservationists, but he loved to hunt wild game. What a remarkable bundle of energy our 26th President was! I usually read biographies in a traditional book format, but often I find biographical information online at Google Books as well. Seeking information is what I do at our local public library during work hours, and then I continue to seek genealogical and cemetery information in my spare time as well. I find that books can take me to far away places, and they often hold the key to unlocking mysteries.

52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy and History: Secrets

The prompt for Week 22 of 52 Weeks of Personal History & Genealogy, by Amy Coffin of We Tree, and hosted by Geneabloggers, is: Secrets.

Describe something about yourself that won’t be found on any record 100 years from now.

One hundred years from now, you will not find a record of this: I used to be too shy to blog! When I first heard of blogging, I thought that I would never be able to have the skills or confidence to write a blog post. The Archivist/Librarian at our library created a blog about the historical items in our library and archival collections. Before long, I began helping to create posts for the blog at the library, and now it is one of the biggest joys of my time at work at the library.

Terry Thornton saw the blog from our library, and commented on it, and soon we struck up an online friendship. He introduced me to the Geneabloggers group on Facebook. Terry invited me to create a blog for the Graveyard Rabbits. I agreed to this, and then quickly told him “It must have been temporary insanity,” and I decided not to join the blogging world. As time went by, I got braver, and I did create the Graveyard Rabbit of Sandusky Bay blog. I so enjoy walking through area cemeteries, taking digital pictures, and researching facts about the people whose lives are honored by the many tombstones in those cemeteries. My family members and friends tease me about how much I love “dead people,” but it is finding those stories about people that I find most rewarding.

Today I ran into the name of Thomas Reber. Thomas Reber was an Ohio Civil War officer, who later moved to Mississippi. Thomas Reber liked Mississippi so much that he wrote a book about the history of Natchez, Mississippi. His personal and military papers are now part of the Special Collections of the University of Mississippi Libraries. I just know that Terry would have gotten such a kick out of that find....we both appreciated that though the Civil War had "sides," we both knew of folks we loved and appreciated from both the North and the South.

I shared this “find” with Footnote Maven, and said that I wish there could be emails to Heaven, so I could share this information with my former blog mentor, Terry Thornton. So, if this message does find its way to Heaven, Terry, thanks for all your encouragement in my early blogging days, and I hope you run into Thomas Reber, who loved both Ohio and Mississippi, just as you and I do!

52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy and History: Fame

The prompt for Week 20 of 52 Weeks of Personal History & Genealogy, by Amy Coffin of We Tree, and hosted by Geneabloggers, is: Fame.

Tell us about any local brushes with fame. Were you ever in the newspaper? Why? You may also describe any press mentions of your family members.

Instead of focusing on the few times my name appeared in the local newspaper, I thought I would share some of the times that my Great Grandpa Roy Parker's name appeared in local Sandusky newspapers. My great grandparents, Leroy and Ada Parker are pictured below.



















In an earlier blog post, I told about how Grandpa Roy survived an automobile accident in 1914, in which his father and friends died.
















From 1920 to 1924, Leroy Parker served as Erie County Commissioner. This brief articled appeared in the November 2, 1922 issue of the Sandusky Star Journal. It tells about Grandpa Roy going to Columbus to discuss road improvements with state officials.

















The names of both my Great Grandpa and Great Grandma Parker were in the local newspapers several times, often in conjunction with the Perkins Grange, the Perkins Methodist Church, the Farm Bureau, family reunions, and all too often in connection with deaths and obituaries. My great grandparents lived a rich, full life, and they were very involved in their church and community activities. After their family farm was sold to the U.S. Government, they worked for several summers at Cedar Point as concessionaires. Great Grandpa Roy was lost without his beloved Ada after she passed away in the fall of 1956. A family party was held in honor of Great Grandpa Roy's 79th birthday in June of 1959. It was held at my parents' home in Bay View, and even Uncle Tom's family from California was able to be there for the big day. The article about Grandpa Roy's birthday celebration appeared in the June 3, 1959 issue of the Sandusky Register.























Sadly, Grandpa Roy passed away on June 4, 1959. He was greatly missed by all his family and friends, and everyone was so happy that Uncle Tom, Aunt Ev, and their three children were here to see him at his birthday party.

52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy and History: Sports

The prompt for Week 15 of 52 Weeks of Personal History & Genealogy, by Amy Coffin of We Tree, and hosted by Geneabloggers, is: Sports.

Sports. Did you have a favorite sports team as a child? If so, which one and why. Did your parents follow the same teams? Do you still support the same teams?

My father was always a Cleveland Indians fan, but I married a Detroit Tigers fan. Personally, I think everyone should be pursuing their family history, or visiting cemeteries, and I've never been much of a sports fan! However, if I had to pick a team that was the favorite at my house when I was a child, it would have to be the youth leagues of the Margaretta-Bay View-Townsend Baseball Program. My dad, Paul R. Orshoski, Sr., helped promote youth baseball in Bay View. He helped to round up managers, players, umpires, and folks to line the field for the big games. We ate supper early, so that Dad and Mom and all the boys old enough at our house to be on a team could be at the ball park on time. Usually Dad coached, and Mom kept score. Mom always did the write up for the local newspaper as well. The players loved seeing their names in the paper!


















Dad and several other members of the community would find local sponsors, and encourage every youngster they encountered to play Atom League, Little League, or Babe Ruth League baseball. Some of the sponsors in the 1960's were: the Log Cabin Inn, Lagoon Deer Park, Knauer Feed & Grain, Four Winds, and G.B. Plumbing & Heating. Later several businesses went together and sponsored teams that were known as Bay View Merchants. As my brothers got older, they umpired behind the plate. Someone once told me that he thought my dad was the "Pied Piper" of baseball in Bay View. Dad thought if a young man was playing baseball, then maybe he wouldn't get into mischief. Later, he even coached a girls' team, which my little sister Kellie played on.
















Some years Dad's teams were fantastic, and some years they had LOT of losses. He felt that teaching the kids the basics were what it was all about. There were plenty of fund raisers, and always an end of the year picnic for the players and their families. Our family made lifelong friends with several of the fellow coaches and baseball players that we met through the years. Dad also participated in Slo-Pitch Softball Church League teams as well. A sports enthusiast named Tom Stauffer once wrote a tribute to my dad which appeared in the Sandusky Register. (Click on the image below for a larger view.)



















Now both Tom and Dad are gone, but their love for baseball will not soon be forgotten.

52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy and History: Sweets

The prompt for Week 13 of 52 Weeks of Personal History & Genealogy, by Amy Coffin of We Tree, and hosted by Geneabloggers, is: Sweets.

Week 13: Sweets. What was your favorite childhood candy or dessert? Have your tastes changed since then? What satisfies your sweet tooth today?

When I was growing up, cake and ice cream were the favorite sweet treats at our house. Birthdays always called for a cake, usually chocolate. Below is a picture of many of our relatives, neighbors, and friends at a celebration for my sixth birthday. My cousins lived right next door, and since these were the "baby boom" years, almost all our neighbors' and friends' families had a lot of children! We also frequented the local dairy queen for ice cream cones and sundaes during the summer months.

















Little sister Robin also got to have a backyard birthday celebration.


















Now that I am older, I still love ice cream and cake, but I also like pecan pie, muffins,and frozen yogurt. My motto is, "If the food is sweet, then it's good enough to eat." Mom always said that her Grandma Irene made wonderful cakes, and her Grandma Ada made great pies, so I guess my fondness for sweets runs in the family.

Baby Dolls and Books: 52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History

It seems like babies and books have been a part of my life forever. Until I was nine years old, a new baby doll was my most cherished Christmas toy. In the fourth grade, I named my new doll after my teacher Caroline. My sister Robin liked dolls too. My brother Paul was thrilled to get a Huckleberry Hound Dog, and youngest brother Todd (at that point in time) seems to be wondering what all the excitement is about.
















As our family increased in size, I really enjoyed the real life babies too! Pictured below I am helping baby brother Matt learn to walk.






















When I was teenager, on a warm summer day I give baby sister Kellie a bath on the back patio.























My mother wrote in my baby book that I would listen to books being read to me by the hour. When I was old enough to read, I tried to complete as many book reports as I possibly could. For most of the last forty years, I have worked either part time or full time at a library. I started out shelving books, and later became a Children's Librarian, and after taking time off to have my own babies, I worked, and still do work, as a Reference Assistant. I think that my early baby dolls helped me to prepare for having a family in my adult life, and all the reading helped me to appreciate books and libraries...and of course I now embrace the computer and the amazing databases that the computer leads me to as well!





This blog post was written for Week 7 of 52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History, a prompt from Amy at We Tree, and hosted by Geneabloggers.

52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History:Radio and Television

An announcement appeared at Geneabloggers for Week 6 of 52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History, a series of weekly blogging prompts from Amy Coffin at We Tree. Week 6 asks us about Radio and Television:

What was your favorite radio or television show from your childhood? What was the program about and who was in it?


There is no doubt about it, "I Love Lucy" was the favorite television program at my house when I was a child. (In real life, I was close in age to Lucille Ball's own daughter, and my brother was close in age to Desi Arnaz, Jr., so we could relate to the program very well.)I am sure that both my mother and I saw every single episode of "I Love Lucy" that ever aired. When Lucy told Ricky she was expecting, there was not a dry eye at our house! When Lucy and Ethel baked the bread that grew into a huge loaf, we howled with laughter. The commercial for "Vitameatavegamin " was hilarious! There have been books, documentaries, and television shows about Lucille Ball and the "I Love Lucy" show. The show was, and is, popular all across the U.S. and throughout the world, so I am not coming up with anything new here, but "I Love Lucy" brought joy, laughter, and wonderful homespun memories to my entire family in Bay View, Ohio in the 1950's. (And of course the re-runs are still enjoyable today!)
















Learn more about Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz at The Museum of Broadcast Communications and the Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Center.

52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History: Winter

An announcement appeared at Geneabloggers for Week 2 of 52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History, a series of weekly blogging prompts from Amy Coffin at We Tree.















Week 2 asks us to tell about Winter:

What was winter like where and when you grew up? Describe not only the climate, but how the season influenced your activities, food choices, etc.

I grew up in Bay View, a small village located on Sandusky Bay, to the west of Sandusky, Ohio. Winter time meant wearing lots of warm gear before going outside: hats, gloves, coats, boots, and scarves. My brothers and sisters and I enjoyed making snowmen, snow angels, and forts outside. Sometimes Dad would take us down to the frozen bay and pull us on a sled. Pictured below is Paul Orshoski, Sr., with sons Paul, Jr. and Todd in the winter of 1960.






















You can see the railroad tracks in the distance, as well as the silos for the Medusa Portland Cement Company in Bay Bridge, Ohio.

Though the picture below is blurry, you can see that my Dad even had Mom join into the fun. Joyce Orshoski can be seen with the four oldest Orshoski children. In the picture, Paul, Todd, and Robin are sitting on the sled, and Dorene is standing behind her mother Joyce. (Matt and Kellie had not arrived yet.)






















After playing outside, we would run indoors to get warm, and Mom would give us a cup of hot chocolate. When were a little older, we used to go ice skating on the bay with our friends, though I spent more time falling down than skating.

During the blizzard of 1978, several people were stranded in their vehicles on the Edison Bridge across Sandusky Bay. My dad, along with several other Bay View residents, drove snowmobiles across the ice to rescue the stranded motorists. Once they got back to the village, residents opened their homes to give provide shelter and meals for those stuck in the storm. My parents hosted the next door neighbors, as well as two truck drivers. I was married and living out of town at this time, but my parents told me many stories about the fun they had meeting new folks and making meals with whatever they had on hand. The truck drivers sent Christmas cards to my parents for several years, and they were always grateful for the hospitality they received during that wintry storm. You can read more about the blizzard of '78 here.