Week 51: #52 Ancestors – Future By Eilene Lyon “The future” is a seemingly contrary topic for a historian. But the tagline for my blog includes the word “future,” because I believe history can teach us so many useful things. Preserving knowledge for coming generations is important in my view of the world. So what... Continue Reading →
Ceremonies
Week 50: #52 Ancestors – Tradition By Eilene Lyon I can’t think of too many traditions that have survived down to my generation, but one of them is age-old and nearly universal: marriage. When I look back through my ancestry, I find a surprising number of winter weddings. I think people were always looking for... Continue Reading →
The Slide Years: Cowboy Christmas
By Eilene Lyon The Slide Years is a series in which I select an image my dad took from 1957-1982 with Kodachrome slide film, then I write a stream-of-consciousness essay – a sort of mini-memoir. The year is 1967 and we’re celebrating Christmas at my Smith grandparents’ home in Little Rock, Arkansas, the city I’d... Continue Reading →
Crafty Man
Week 49: #52 Ancestors – Craft By Eilene Lyon My maternal grandfather, Laurence M. Smith, was a crafty man in more than one way. He loved to play practical jokes. He used his wit in a cunning, sneaky way. But he also like to make things, especially in his retirement years. It isn’t surprising that... Continue Reading →
The Slide Years: Resort
By Eilene Lyon The Slide Years is a series in which I select an image my dad took from 1957-1982 with Kodachrome slide film, then I write a stream-of-consciousness essay – a sort of mini-memoir. When we were living in Guatemala in the 1970s, we would sometimes head to the coast for a vacation. The... Continue Reading →
Lewiston Peaches
Week 40: #52 Ancestors – Harvest By Eilene Lyon My great-grandfather, Charles Edward Smith, never had much success as a farmer. He began in Missouri, then moved to eastern Washington. The farm in Washington entailed dryland farming, because water was scarce. Once the family moved to Moscow, Idaho, around 1910, he engaged in other businesses... Continue Reading →
The Slide Years: Storybook Land
By Eilene Lyon The Slide Years is a series in which I select an image my dad took from 1957-1982 with Kodachrome slide film, then I write a stream-of-consciousness essay – a sort of mini-memoir. My first amusement park experience was at Storybook Land, near Woodbridge, Virginia. In some respects it was a glorified playground... Continue Reading →
The Slide Years: Stylin’
By Eilene Lyon The Slide Years is a series in which I select an image my dad took from 1957-1982 with Kodachrome slide film, then I write a stream-of-consciousness essay – a sort of mini-memoir. The French must have had a little influence on Mom's style during the time we lived there in the early... Continue Reading →
Not Kissing
Week 38: #52 Ancestors – Cousins By Eilene Lyon I have a scarcity of first cousins – exactly five. Even though I rarely see them, I would know them instantly if I ran into them anywhere in the world. I’ve met a number of my dad’s cousins since taking up the family historian role. I... Continue Reading →