Exploring the Past to Improve the Future
Week 16: #52 Ancestors – Negatives By Eilene Lyon Negative space is an art term referring to the space around an object, or “air space.” Especially when working in watercolor, the artist focuses on filling in the darker places between lighter-colored features. It is a different way of seeing the world. Sometimes we have to... Continue Reading →
Week 15: #52 Ancestors – How Do You Spell That? By Eilene Lyon “How do you spell that?” “E-I-L-E-N-E” “That’s I-L-uh…?” Names can be such a pain! It’s no wonder that many immigrants choose to “Americanize” theirs. I doubt that my grandma, Reatha Gusso Halse, realized that her Grandpa Charlie Gusso and his siblings changed... Continue Reading →
Week 14: #52 Ancestors – Check It Out By Eilene Lyon My grandmother, Reatha (Gusso) Halse, never finished high school, but she spent two decades working in the Chemistry department at Oregon State University. As the supply room clerk, she spent her days checking out laboratory equipment to undergrads. Reatha became a widow at age... Continue Reading →
Week 10: #52 Ancestors – Worship By Eilene Lyon There’s no question that my ancestry is steeped in Christian culture. Though there is some hint of Ashkenazi Jewish DNA from the wayback, my heritage is very much white Protestant European. For myself, I choose “none of the above” with regard to deities. I confess that... Continue Reading →
Week 9: #52 Ancestors – Females By Eilene Lyon I’ve written briefly about my great-grandmother, Mabel Pearl (Cutting) Halse, in relation to her husband and children. It’s a case of having a lot of photographs, but not really knowing her. Unlike her mother-in-law, Lucy Halse, Mabel didn’t get her name in the papers or history... Continue Reading →
Week 6: #52 Ancestors – Maps By Eilene Lyon Back in the late 1870s and early 1880s, promoters encouraged people to move to Dakota Territory. Naturally, land speculators played up the rich farmland and other selling points, not necessarily squaring with reality. My father was born in South Dakota, though he grew up in Oregon.... Continue Reading →
Week 5: #52 Ancestors – Branching Out By Eilene Lyon The genealogical aspect of family history involves sprouting branches on the family tree by adding another generation of ancestors. My tree has robust limbs, at least back to 4th great-grandparents on nearly every line, and much further than that on most. The Putterer’s tree appears... Continue Reading →
Week 4: #52 Ancestors – Curious By Eilene Lyon The Putterer’s maternal great-grandparents, Arthur Lewis Gee and Mary Frances Stephens, have intrigued me since I came across their (separate) photographs. I knew that Arthur farmed in his early life, but wondered why he roamed around so much between 1900 and 1920. In looking closer, I... Continue Reading →
Week 3: #52 Ancestors – Favorite Photo By Eilene Lyon This hand-tinted family photograph has been hanging on my wall for years, but I had never researched it. The man on the left is my great-great-grandfather, Thomas A. Reams (1833–1922). My grandfather, Laurence M. Smith, said that his Grandpa Reams had the opportunity to fly... Continue Reading →
Human Created Content - Creative Writing - Australia
Life is a series of transitions, and so is the retirement journey.
Creative, non-monetary forms of payment
Random musings on style and substance
Where the locals go, because the locals know!
Internet home for Marie Zhuikov: Blogger, Author, Poet, Photographer
Reflections of an inquiring retiree ...
The opinions expressed are those of the author. You go get your own opinions.
I write about genealogy on this site. Come see what's going on!
Fun With Genealogy
Discover and re-discover Mexico’s cuisine, culture and history through the recipes, backyard stories and other interesting findings of an expatriate in Canada
Navigating the second half of my life
The people, places, and things that make the Willamette Valley shine
Journeys Through the Second Half of Life
Doing the best I can to keep it on the bright side
My 'Well of Found Thoughts'
Author, Speaker, Family Historian
thoughts about life from below the surface
... stories of significant others in the Allery, Cutting, McCulloch and Robertson tribes ...
Celtic, Mythical and More ...
