Wordless Wednesday Cliff Geyser

One more picture from my great Aunt Latisha Vanderpool's trip through Yellowstone Park July 21-28, 1915

Cliff Geyser on Fire Hole River.

Saturday Night Fun Genealogy Gifts

1) What gift that you received for Christmas is your favorite for genealogy purposes? Book, magazine, hardware, software, website subscription, research time - what was it, and how will it affect your genealogy research?

I had already written the paragraph below when a last minute gift just arrived by E-Mail. A little over a week ago I found out the husband of my cousin Patricia Taylor Milligan, Donald Milligan had passed away in August. My sister and I had helped clean out my uncle Leigh Hansen's house after he died and in the basement was a footlocker with the name Duane Taylor (Patricia's brother) stenciled on the front. On the bottom stenciled was Personal Effects from APO address to Kansas City, MO. Duane had died in an auto wreck in Paris after WWII was over in 1945. Since Duane had no family we asked who to send the footlocker to, and while at the UPS store we needed an phone number to send the footlocker to Australia, so called Don Milligan, phone disconnected, so called his daughter Janet. She said JoAnn was in the USA now as they are arguing over the proceeds of the estate, so sent the footlocker to Janet and she is to forward it to JoAnn. Thanks Randy

I don't think I received any genealogical gifts, I did receive a few pictures and updates on the family. I did give my sister a new computer, her old one was having out of memory problems, and the battery that keeps the time when the computer is off died a couple of years ago. I did not get a new screamer for her but a nice desktop computer to replace the old one. I also copied picasa and all the pictures from her digital camera on it. I had been copying here on this computer, so now there is a backup about 3 miles apart for all her pictures.

Advent Calendar Christmas Eve

How did you, your family or your ancestors spend Christmas Eve?

My moms family always opened their presents on Christmas Eve, so since we lived close we went there to open the presents we received and gave to our grandmother and grandfather Kelly. Later on we were also able to bring one present from home also. Pops family always opened presents on Christmas morning, and since we did not live close to pops family we usually exchanged gifts early in December and then on Christmas morning we opened all the rest of the presents.

Wordless Wednesday Twin Cubs

Two more pictures from my great Aunt Latisha Vanderpool's trip through Yellowstone Park July 21-28, 1915

Advent Calendar Christmas & Deceased Relatives

Did your family visit the cemetery at Christmas? How did your family honor deceased family members at Christmas?

My mom Margaret (Kelly) Hansen died rather suddenly November 30, 1994. Her diabetes had started to take is toll, and they were talking about amputating her feet because of poor circulation due to the diabetes. She was in the hospital and heading for an X-Ray when she died. That Christmas was a fog for me, and since then weather permitting we usually visit her grave between Thanksgiving and Christmas to put flowers in the little vase on the front of their niche.
Saturday the 19th we went to Priest River to deliver a Christmas present, and were going to stop by the grave of my uncle Leigh Hansen. He died December 2007 and is buried in the cemetery at Priest River, but they have several inches of snow there and his stone is a flat one so we did not stop, will go back on Memorial Day.

Advent Calendar Christmas Music

What songs did your family listen to during Christmas?
Well I like most all the Christmas songs, we have albums ranging from Alvin and The

Chipmunks Christmas Songs, to Perry Como Christmas, Andy Williams, Mitch Miller, Lawrence Welk, and the Mormon Tabernacle Chior.

Did you ever go caroling?

No, never, tooo cold around here at Christmas time, we did sing carols at church and at school, and I even got to lead the band in high school on the last day before Christmas vacation in a carol.

Did you have a favorite song?
No, like most all the Christmas songs.

Perhaps there is a particular Christmas song that drives you wild?
Yes, on the December 1 post on our Christmas Tree I told about the silver tree with a revolving stand. Well the stand had a music box that plays "Silent Night" over and over as the tree revolves, so after a few hours of Silent Night we would shut off the music box.

Advent Calendar Religious Services

Did your family attend religious services during the Christmas season?

While my grandmother Kelly was alive we went to Sunday School at the Hillyard Christian Church on Queen and Altamont. I remember being in a few of the Christmas pageants, and the minister or his son would dress up as Santa and pass out candy and cookies to all the children that the church ladies had made. If my sister or I was in the pageant my parents would come, but otherwise my parents seldom went to church. I learned after the Hillyard Christian Church closed that my grandfather Kelly had been one of the founders of that church. I was real young when he died so I don't ever remember grandpa Kelly going to church.