It’s a difficult day for me – 9/11. My niece, whose birthday was Sept. 11, died suddenly in 2020 just months before her 60th birthday. Also heartbreaking, remembering the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001 on the America I love. So, my thoughts are on our nation today. My grandfather, Peter R. Slingsby, immigrated to the United States from England when he was 9 years old. The photo is Peter and his parents John and Frances Slingsby taken in 1864. Peter and his family settled in North Dakota, where establishing a life was challenging. They grew flax and tried to start a homestead. He died in 1914... Continue Reading
Posts Tagged With ‘ History ’
Whether you’re celebrating at a picnic, barbecue, rally, football game, or work, happy Labor Day. Sunday I went to our local Olympia Harbor Days celebration that’s always scheduled for Labor Day weekend. It was cloudy, so my photos aren’t as good as the years where there’s nice blue sky. Thankfully, we had only a sprinkle of rain. I wore my raincoat, but didn’t have my rain hood or umbrella. On Labor Day, I’m thankful for unions and their history of helping working people. I benefited from union membership when I worked for state government. I’m glad these days more young people... Continue Reading
For the last few weeks, I’ve been working on organizing my historical family photos. About 10 years ago, I had around 200 photos scanned. I named and dated about a third of them. The rest are numbered. I paused the project until I could buy a good scanner so I could scan the rest of the photos myself. Now that I have one, I need to name and date the photos I had scanned earlier and scan probably several hundred more. The next step is making a family record. Should we use Ancestry.com? MyHeritage? Archives? Or, should we use FamilySearch, a free site owned and funded by The Church of Jesus Christ... Continue Reading
Labor Day these days is all about beaches, barbecues, games such as baseball, football, and volleyball, and shopping. It’s also a great weekend for travel. This year, 57 percent of Americans plan to travel for Labor Day weekend, more than 150 million will enjoy a barbecue or picnic, and thousands will attend a college football game. While Labor Day is seen as a fun holiday, it’s also important to remember and celebrate the origins of the special day. The holiday’s roots can be traced back to the streets of 1880s New York City, where rival union leaders joined forces to protest the unfair... Continue Reading
Photo: Adam Cuerden When I was growing up, the hour-glass figure in women was idolized. When articles were written about beauty queens, they gave their measurements. The ideal was 36-inch bust, 24-inch waist, and 36-inch waist. As a teen, I had the 24-inch waist, but not the other ones. When Barbie dolls came along in the 1960s, I was appalled. Why teach girls that their bodies should look like Barbie’s? Why have her feet permanently shaped to fit into high heels? Why make her blond and blue-eyed? Almost all women don’t look like that. When my daughters were born in the 1960s, I refused... Continue Reading
The Fourth of July is all about red, white, and blue to celebrate the country’s birthday, the 248th this year. What are some ways Americans celebrate the holiday? Many families host or join a family or neighborhood event. Some examples include: picnicking or barbecuing with family and/or friends or enjoying outdoor activities such as hiking, fishing, swimming, dancing, playing sports games, or camping. Participating in or watching patriotic parades or doing patriotic crafts with kids are also popular. Celebratory events organized by communities occur throughout the nation and include food trucks,... Continue Reading
Many of us thought and may still think of the ’60s as a time of change, but there was a conservative element that was present in the decade. We tend to forget that the sixties had a strong conservative element. The 1960s was a time of significant cultural, social, and political change in the United States and other parts of the world. The conservative movement of the 1960s was a reaction to the perceived excesses of the liberal and progressive movements of the era, and it sought to promote traditional values and a more limited government role in society. One of the major accomplishments... Continue Reading
Although Mother’s Day is highly commercialized, I like remembering my mom on this special day and I enjoy visiting with my daughters over WhatsApp. Maybe next year, I’ll be able to travel to Spain again in May. Since my birthday is May 4 and my daughter’s is May 23, we have so much fun celebrating our birthdays plus American Mother’s Day and Spanish Mother’s Day in May in Spain. The photo is of my mom. It’s her high school graduation photo. She graduated when she was 16. Mother’s Day spending Consumers plan to spend a total of $35.7 billion on Mother’s Day this year, nearly $4... Continue Reading
Today’s my birthday. Yes, I do get a lot of “May the Fourth be with you” comments. I just shrug it off that my birthday, to some, is an unofficial Star Wars holiday. Since I’m an older adult, I’m thinking a lot today about friends and relatives that I’ve celebrated birthdays with in the past who are gone. My favorite birthdays? One definitely was a surprise birthday party I had when I was 14. I thought I might be having a surprise party because neither of my good friends, Verneta Harris or Betty Holmes, gave me a present during the day when we were at school. They usually did. So,... Continue Reading
Spring is my favorite time of year, and on May Day, when I was a kid, we used to make paper baskets, put flowers in them, and hang them on door knobs. Then we’d ring the bell and run away. One time, I took part in a maypole dance. It was magical. Many countries around the world celebrate International Labor Day on May 1. The United States doesn’t officially recognize International Labor Day although it originated here when workers fought for a shorter work day. Other countries celebrate Labor Day on different dates. In the U.S. and Canada, Labor Day is the first Monday in September. U.S.... Continue Reading