Family History Travels with My Mom Joyce Parker Orshoski

All through my life, my mom, Joyce Parker Orshoski, now in Heaven, told me family history stories. She loved going to her grandparents' farm in Perkins Township. She was heart broken to lose her mother at age 11. She cherished a diary that her Grandma Ada Parker had kept.

As time went by, Mom and I wanted to learn more about our family heritage. We traveled to libraries in Milan, Fremont, and Cleveland. 

We trodded through area cemeteries to find the final resting places of those who went before us.

We visited the Hayes Presidential Library, to search for obituaries of our ancestors. 

We talked to cousins, and even cousins of cousins!

Relatives told us stories, which helped us "flesh out" those bare bone statistics on vital records and census records. 

Missing Mom all the time, along with so many other cherished loved ones!  Thank you for the memories Mom!

Flora Mills Johnson Heywood

 

Flora Mills Johnson was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Leonard B. Johnson, of Sandusky, Ohio, born on March 26, 1859.  Flora's father was a prominent businessman, active in the lime business, and he was also the former owner of Johnson's Island. In 1884 Flora Johnson married John Wicks Heywood in Minneapolis. Soon, they had two children, Johnson Heywood and Flora Jeannette Heywood. On April 7, 1894, Flora Johnson Heywood died at the age of 35. Her youngest daughter was only two months old. Funeral services for Flora Mills Heywood were held at her father's home on Columbus Avenue in Sandusky, Ohio. Two of her favorite hymns were sung at the funeral, "Abide with Me" and "Jesus Tender Shepherd Lead Me. She was laid to rest in the family lot at Oakland Cemetery in Erie County, Ohio. 

George Cratari

 

Very little is known about George Cratari (sometimes listed as George Catari.) His tombstone at the St. Anthony Cemetey in Milan, Ohio, provides his birth year as 1874 and death year as 1917. His monument was erected by someone named John. The surname of the benefactor named John is illegible. Rest in peace, George Cratari.

Classmates Through the Years

Linda G, Dorene, Jack L.

At my daughter Melanie's Celebration of Life in May, two of my lifelong friends were able to be there. I realized that I have known Jack and Linda since Grade 1 at Venice Elementary School, which then was a part of the Margaretta Local Schools District.

Jack and Linda and I all took College Prep Classes at Margaretta High School. We had Miss Stiller for English Literature, and Mr. Van Orsdall for Biology. We three were members of the Mighty Polar Marching Band, under the direction of Mr. Robert Price. The band bus experience was always a lot of fun.

Linda's mom was a teacher at Venice Elementary. In the Baby Boom years, some academic years, Mrs. H. had her class at Trinity Lutheran Church, down the road from Venice School, because Venice School was overcrowded. On more than one occasion, I was blessed to go on vacation with Linda's family, because her older sisters were working, and they wanted Linda to have someone to pal around with .We went to Washington D.C., and I  got to meet Congressman Mosher. Another vacation was to Atwood Lake Lodge. My parents, who were raising six children, rarely went on vacation, so my trips with Linda and her parents were a delightful treat!

Jack's mom Viola, lived  to be over 100 years old! She was a strong woman, and she had helped raise her siblings, after their mother died young. 

Living in a small community, there are ties with family and friends that stay with you all through life's journey. Thank you Linda and Jack, for being there to help us remember my daughter Melanie, who left this earth at age 47. Niece Tina got me a special journal, in which now I am sharing memories of my daughter. I encourage you to jot down memories on paper, or in a blog. Future generations may enjoy the memories you have.

 

When Mr. Ken Bracy Called Square Dances for the Luther League at Grace Lutheran Church

When I was in Junior High School at Margaretta School in Castalia, Ohio, Ken Bracy was our math teacher. It was in Mr. Bracy's class on November 22, 1963, that he and our class learned that President Kennedy had been killed. Everyone was very upset, as you can imagine!

Ken Bracy photo from 1984 SHS Fram

Later, when several of my friends from Grace Lutheran Church were also members of the Luther League, Mr. Bracy attended one of our meetings to call square dances! He was so funny! Now in math class, there is not too much to laugh about, but Mr. Bracy would ad lib the "script" as he called the square dances, and he made everyone laugh! You did not have to actually have a date to participate in square dances, it was just "good clean fun."  Some of the phrases in the square dance calls included: 

Promenade

Do si do

Allemande left 

Right and left grand 

Circle left

To learn about the commands in square dancing, see this website from Hallmark:

https://www.hallmarkchannel.com/home-and-family/how-to/12-basic-calls-for-square-dancing

Throughout my life, I would run into Mr. Bracy every now and then.  My very first day of college at BGSU Firelands, I stopped at an ice cream stand in Castalia after class, and he was working there! He called me "Betty Co Ed." Later in life, when my then husband and I had twins, Mr. Bracy installed a chain link fence, as an employee of Koch Aluminum. The twins would spend countless hours in the little swimming pool, toddler slide, and sand box, and  that fence kept them safe, if I had to go inside for a moment.  At an even later time, when I worked in the Reference Department of Sandusky Library, I helped Mr. Bracy work on  his family tree. One of his ancestor's surnames was Roethlisberger. I  tried to connect him to football player Ben Roethlisberger, but I could not make a solid connection. I do  recall that Mr. Bracy had roots of Swiss/German origin.

Below is a picture of my Confirmation Class at Grace Lutheran Chruch.

Ken Bracy passed away in 2007, but he will never be forgotten! And I will never forget participating in square dances at Luther League, music class, Girl Scouts, and even at wedding receptions. My dancing days are over, but happy memories remain with me!

Image Credit -- Square Dance Tech

A Day Out in Downtown Sandusky with Some Interesting Local History Stops

 

Today my two sisters picked me up and took me to lunch at Dockside Cafe, and  then to the beautiful downtown parks in Sandusky, Ohio, and then to the Sandusky Library!

At the Sandusky Library, where I worked for over thirty years, I learned how to trace a family tree, look up census records, obituaries, and find information in books, microfilmed sources, and online databases.

The Reference Department is at the lower level of the Sandusky Library at 114 West Adams Street in Sandusky, Ohio. The staff there can assist you in local history and family history research.

Today was an exciting day at Sandusky Library, as over 500 people attended the Dino-Mite Summer Reading Kick Off Party. Families got to enjoy treats, games, and many other fun activities on the Erie County Courthouse Lawn. The Courthouse is near the Boy with the Boot Fountain in Washington Park. The weather was perfect today! Of course at the Erie County Courthouse, during weekdays, you can access many birth, death and marriage records, just to name a few of the resources housed  there.

Now I am retired. I actually had not been in the Sandusky Library in quite some time. What a joy to see Director William!

And a few former co-workers, and many more enthusiastic Sandusky Library staff members.

We even found our father's name, Paul Orshoski, on a brick at the  World War Two Memorial in the nearby Veterans Park.

Explore your own local library, and see what resources are available for your family history research! You may even run into a dino! Thank you to my sisters for a fun and eventful outing in Sandusky, Ohio!

Words to Live By

If you know me, you are aware that family history, local history, and cemetery research are major hobbies for me! The blue shirt in the picture was a gift from my sister Kellie. It reads "Family History Detective," and came from the gift shop of the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne. (And wow, do I appreciate that library, through personal visits and remote research. God bless ACPL!!)

My adult daughter, Melanie, recently passed away after a sudden illness, at the age of 47. Her death has caused me to ponder life and death. I have been thinking about the words I choose to live by.

First, I choose to live by this passage of scripture from the King James  Version of the Bible:

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Matthew 22: 37-39

37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

38 This is the first and great commandment.

39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

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Next are two quotes, that help me often.

"Whatever you are, be a good one."

Though often attributed to Abraham Lincoln, a quick search online indicates  that it was most likely said by William Makepeace Thackery. Even if you are just running the sweeper, or folding laundry, do it whole heartedly, and not half-way!

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The final words I try to live by are:

"Figure it out."

Whatever challenges come my way, I try to sit down, pray, and come up with a reasonable plan.

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Thank you for reading my words to live by!