Roots & Rabbit Holes

“Full House” is the prompt for Week 42 of 2024’s 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge.  Managing a home with five kids can be chaotic. ...

“Fire! Fire! Get out, quick!” November 29, 1929 was a bitterly cold and icy night in Westbrook, but five-year old Phil, his parents, and...

Week 37 of the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge is “Tombstone.”   Childhood mortality was much higher in the past, but just because it...

Week 34 of the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge is “Member of the Club.”  Two of my great-grandmother’s sisters were members of a club...

Week 32 of the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge is "Free Space." I've been busy transcribing letters and postcards. This is one...

Today, April 8, 2024, we’re expecting a total solar eclipse.  Back in 1932 when Grampy Phil was eight years old, there was also a total...

The “Bridge Street bums” – those who attended Bridge Street School in Westbrook– went on occasional field trips to the movies, the beach,...

Great-great grandma Georgie was a legend in our family.  My grandfather adored his grandmother, so we grew up hearing stories about her...

Week 44 of the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge is “Spirits.” There were no ghosts in my grandparents’ cobbled-together home, but...

It’s Week 29 of the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge and the theme is Birthdays. Although Nana Connie visited her siblings and mother...

Week 9 of the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge is Gone Too Soon. My favorite census is the 1900 United States Census because of two...

Oops is the theme for Week 5 of the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge, and I have a story for you! It’s about two young pranksters who...

Grampy Phil relished sharing the tale of his Uncle Joe Laviolette, who was a bootlegger. Uncle Joe was my great-grandfather William’s...

The theme for Week 45 of the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge is a fun one – Ghost Story! I’ve had a few strange things happen to me –...

Finding a topic for Week 44 of the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge was a struggle. The topic is Shadows, so we were supposed to write...

Organized is the topic for week 43 of the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge. “Organized” can mean someone who is organized, a way of...

My Grampy Phil rarely spoke about his time in WWII, and I was taught from a fairly young age not to ask him about it. It was therefore a...

Week 39 of the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge is Road Trip. Back in 1931 when my Grampy Phil and his cousin, Wilfred Barr, were...

Service is the theme for week 33 of the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge. My kiddos leave for freshman year at their respective...

For week 30 of the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge, we’re covering Teams. I chose to go with the literal interpretation and cover...