Philadelphia Firestorms

Week 33: #52 Ancestors – Troublemaker By Eilene Lyon Henry Z. Jenkins rose before dawn one morning in June 1827 in his single room in north Philadelphia’s Penn Township. His workday normally began at sunrise and ended at sundown – just like that of every other journeyman in the city. The master tradesmen dictated the... Continue Reading →

August 22, 2020 9

Absurdities #9

By Eilene Lyon The other day I dropped by the local college campus to review a book in their research library. As I headed back to my car, I encountered a mule deer buck in velvet, blithely using a rear hoof to scratch his ear, like a dog, as he idly chewed some leaves he'd... Continue Reading →

August 20, 2020 35

Erasing History

By Eilene Lyon “There are those who wrap themselves in flags and blow the tinny trumpet of patriotism as a means of fooling the people.” -- George Galloway I recently saw this meme posted on Facebook and felt it brought up issues regarding history that this blog ought to address. Taken at face value, I... Continue Reading →

June 23, 2020 45

The Drought Diaries: Innovation

By Eilene Lyon The Drought Diaries has been on hiatus, but the issue is at the forefront of my mind once again as we head into another season of extreme drought here in the southwestern U.S. Runoff from the area snowpack is expected to occur quickly and at a lower volume than average. There has... Continue Reading →

May 19, 2020 26

Mothers of Invention

By Eilene Lyon – May 5, 2020 “Necessity is the mother of invention” – a proverb Why “mother” and not father? I suspect women frequently find themselves in need of a solution to a problem. We tend to be multi-taskers by tradition and that means shortcuts and mechanical aids come in real handy. Plus, we’re... Continue Reading →

May 5, 2020 25

Koch’s Disease

By Eilene Lyon -- March 24, 2020 It felled Egyptian Pharaohs and Greek warriors. It’s likely been around for 9,000 years or more. An estimate is that one in seven people who ever lived prior to 1800 succumbed to the disease, caused by a bacterium. Is this one of those plagues that have been eradicated... Continue Reading →

March 24, 2020 35

Back to the FANs

Week 1: #52 Ancestors - Fresh Start By Eilene Lyon To genealogists, the FAN acronym stands for Friends, Associates, Neighbors - people we should be researching alongside our ancestors to provide context and clues to family connections. My knee surgery rehab time on the exercise bike prompted me to start watching some Legacy Family Tree... Continue Reading →

March 14, 2020 20