Memories of Childhood

 
 I read with sadness today that Frank McCourt, Pulitzer Prize winning author of Angela's Ashes, died. In Angela's Ashes, McCourt told the true story of his childhood, mostly in Ireland. As Mr. McCourt states, "When I look back on my childhood, I wonder how I managed to survive at all. It was, of course, a miserable childhood; the happy childhood is hardly worth your while."

With an alcoholic father who drank up whatever small earnings he did make from odd jobs, Frank's family was often living "on the dole" in very substandard conditions. Lacking food or any kind of health care or even the lowest form of hygiene, it is a wonder that Frank survived to become a rather renowned teacher of English in the high schools of New York City. Angela was his mother, a woman who miraculously survived the early deaths of some of her children, her husband's abuse and neglect, and her poverty.

Our book club read this book a few years ago and we had a rather lively discussion over the characters. After reading it (and getting over my anger at Frank's father), I felt so thankful for the childhood that I had. I have to disagree with McCourt - I think a happy childhood is worth a great deal. I'm not sure we have to suffer as Frank did to appreciate and learn from our childhood days.

Most of us can say we always had a warm bed and shelter and food to eat. I didn't go to lessons of any kind, I didn't travel all that far from home much, and I didn't have a myriad of toys or clothes, that's for sure. I knew I was loved, not only by my parents, but by my wonderful extended family as well. And isn't that the most important thing that children need to know? I think that is what saved Frank - his mother's love.

Frank McCourt survived more than any of us can imagine. He didn't give in to the external forces that could have easily swallowed him or turned him into a bitter man. There's much to be learned from his story. I'm ready to read it again.

A Vacation in Three Movements

Just so you know... I LOVE vacation, especially if it includes some travel. On the other hand, my DH doesn't really get enthused about leaving home. On every vacation in our 36 years of marriage, he has admitted that he's had a good time, but agreeing on a vacation is always a point of contention. So I plan and make reservations and arrangements and he eventually agrees...to a point. For this trip, I packed for ten days; he packed for five. I had gradiose plans of whale watching north of Quebec; he had plans to do no such thing. So, here's our vacation of five days in three segments:

Part I - We went to the Stratford Festival in Stratford, Ontario. It used to be known as a Shakespearian Festival, but has long ago opened its repertoire to other plays. I have been here probably five or six times, usually with students and once with my book club. It is a whole different thing to come here without worrying where and what students are doing and do we have them all? and who isn't in his/ her room? and who ran out of money? and why isn't Horatio at the meeting place on time?

I could tell that the recession has hit this theater town in a very unforgiving way. The streets and the shops, usually bustling with tourists, were virtually empty. I called two days ahead of time for a room and tickets and got a reasonably priced room and great seats. That wouldn't have happened a few years ago.

My goal was to choose something that my DH would really enjoy, so I chose "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum," a classic comedy that didn't disappoint. He and I both were laughing out loud throughout.

Stratford is six hours from our home...not a bad drive. Of course, now a passport or "the card" is required to cross into Canada.

Stratford, Ontario town hall

Part II - My plan was to go to Toronto, a great city with so many things to do. I had seen that the Dead Sea Scrolls were at the Royal Ontario Museum and I thought that would be interesting. My DH loves history, so that fit the bill. Anyway, I had a list of possibilities, but then we heard on the news that they were three weeks into a garbage pickup strike. Photos were shown on Canadian tv of mountains of trash on street corners and protests were taking place over all this. So we adjusted the plans to go to Niagara Falls, Canada first and then assess what the situation was later for Toronto.

I have heard often that the Canadian side of the Falls is so much better than the U.S. side. I'd say the view was better, but to get there, we had to walk through what I called "Las Vegas on Steroids." Again, the crowds were there, but not as much as I expected. It was a little too touristy for my taste, but it was beautiful to see. We had ridden on the Maid of the Mist several times, so skipped the soaking on this trip.

Back at the hotel, we saw that now arsonists were setting fire to trash mountains and dumpsters throughout Toronto. That settled it. Trip north no more.

Canadian Niagara Falls

Part III - We decided to drive to Sandusky and take the Jet Express boat over to Kelleys Island. Since I had researched the Ellings and learned that a couple of the immigrant daughters went there to work and one lived her whole life there, I have been curious to go. Lake Erie cooperated and was relatively calm for the 20 minute ride from Sandusky to Kelley's Island. Once there, we rented a golf cart so we could make the most of our time.

Dianne at cemetery on Kelley's Island, at the Pringnitz stone.

 First stop, the cemetery where I did locate the Mary Elling Pringnitz stone. We tried to locate their home. I had seen a photo of it, but didn't know the address (not prepared for this angle of the trip!) Of course, if someone decided to remodel it, I wouldn't have recognized it anyway. So we just relaxed, toodling along in our golf cart all over the island, enjoying the breeze off the lake and imagining what it would have been like to live in this isolated spot - especially in the winter.

Back home on the fifth day...just as someone had planned.

(This post originally appeared on the Elling Family News blog on July 14, 2009.)

Summer Loves

After reading Emily's blog naming the things she loves about summer, I just had to create my own list!

 

I love the lavendar that is growing just outside the back door, along the deck. It looks great almost all summer and smells fantastic.

I love Sonic Cherry Lime-Aids. I have my sister, Connie, to blame for my addiction to Sonic's sweet drink. One summer we visited her family in Dallas, and she and I and our kids went on a mission to blow up all the toys they could use in the pool that evening. It was a stifling, breezeless, 105 degrees (or so it seemed) that day as we stood outside at the air pump at the gas station, trying to blow up a massive whale or dolphin and other toys and then stuff them in the van. We celebrated when we finished with a gigantic, ice cold, cherry lime-aid at Sonic. Liquid never tasted so good!

I love the casual dress - never having to bother with socks or hose. T-shirts suffice and short hair can be shorter. No jackets needed- just head out.

I love the simple cooking - the grill reigns and sandwiches and salads are the norm. It's too hot for baking and lasagna would just weigh heavily in the summer heat. Quick and easy is the mantra.

I love having fresh produce. The grandchildren are already asking for zucchini bread. We've just finished strawberry season and it won't be long until homegrown tomatoes and sweet corn will make the meal.
Our friend has delivered radishes and lettuce already and, yesterday, we picked our first cucumbers. Let the chopping begin!

I absolutely love vacation...just a change from the norm. Take me anywhere for a day or better yet, a week or two or three. I'm ready. I can be packed pretty quickly. Jim and I were talking about our travels over the years and we really can't remember a bad trip. Oh, there have been "experiences," but nothing that would ruin an entire vacation.

I can't swim a lick, but I love to be by the water in the summer. It just makes me "feel" cooler and calmer and ...lazy.

Lord, thank you for these summer days. Help me to greet each day with a positive outlook and an appreciation for all the wonders of the season.

(This blog post originally appeared on the Elling Family News blog on July 3, 2009.)

Playing Dress Up

The joy of dressing up and pretending to be "grown up" is one form of play that doesn't change, it seems. When I was very young, Mom had some old dresses, shoes and jewelry that she would let us use for dress up. We played house and store, dressed to the "nines" in our finery.

If a hat with a veil was involved, all the better. 

My grandchildren love the dress up box. The dollar stores, Goodwill and my own closet have provided the means for lots of imaginative play.

 Note the bracelets used as anklets in the photo above. And, oh, those shoes in the photo - they hurt my feet so badly! It was a joy to toss them into the box!



 





Have fun, kiddos! 

 (This post originally appeared on the Elling Family News blog on June 18, 2009.)

A Pestilence!

I am preparing for a garage sale that I really don't want to have, but if I don't, the "clutter monster" will take over and slowly annihilate us all. Ok, maybe that was a bit dramatic, but it is just the mark of a tired, hot, frustrated woman who has been carrying boxes all day, waving her magic marker over price labels and wondering where she is going to put everything in this garage so that shoppers can actually walk through here on Saturday.

That doll collection from the 80's - it's going. The counted cross stitch creations from the 90's - tada, going. Dickens Village - no room for it in this house. A myriad of frames, lamps in various sizes and shapes, Janelle's collection of outgrown children's clothes, shoes, purses, Christmas decor, Jennie's dog collection - oh, we've got it all...all in the garage, awaiting "pricing" and customers and (I pray) sales. Come one, come all.

Oh, be sure to look for the glassy-eyed lady in the corner. She once was a sane, fairly intelligent woman.
(Backtowork)

(This post originally appeared on the Elling Family News blog on June 16, 2009.)

I Have a Gratitude Attitude

Jason and Matthew

Emotions have been up, down and all around for the last few days.

First of all, we are thankful for our son-in-law's safe arrival home from his Army Reserve humanitarian mission in Honduras. He was gone a month doing construction work there on a base and helping the Honduran people with some projects.

He arrived home in the very early morning hours of Sunday, the same day as our grandson's baptism. We celebrated Matthew's special day by attending church together with lots of family members and then eating far too well at lunch afterwards. Matt is such a happy, little boy who likes to laugh ...and eat.

Today we had the great news from the doctors at Cleveland Clinic that our son's MRI shows stable - no growth or negative change. We praise God for that news! See Jason's website for his story and to leave a message: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/teamjason We appreciate, more than we can express, all the prayers that have gone out for him and the family.

On Friday, he and his wife celebrated their 5th anniversary and tomorrow (Tues) Jim and I mark our 36th year of marriage. I think back in 1973, I spent $50 for a wedding dress, did my own hair, sewed one of the bridesmaid's dresses and my mom served up a little buffet dinner after the wedding. It was a pretty simple event, but it seems to have taken!

(This post originally appeared on the Elling Family News on June 8, 2009.)

I Jumped the Tracks

(This post originally appeared on Elling Family News on May 9, 2009).



Never assume...

In an earlier post about the Elling immigrants coming to Henry County from Toledo, I stated that no trains were in the area at the time. But in thinking about the death of Henry Elling, Johann's Friedrich's son in a train accident...well, you have to have a train to have a train accident. They immigrated in 1859 and he died in 1862, so some railroad line had to be in the area. I had researched the B & O and some others, but should have read more. I was narrow-minded in my thinking, as I thought of trains moving from the east to the west.

BUT one railroad company of that time moved from west to east - The Wabash. In 1853, a railroad line was running from near Springfield, IL eastward just in Illinois and it was known as the Great Western Railroad. The folks in Indiana and Ohio were excited about the prospect of connecting the Great Lakes with the Mississippi River for economic purposes, and by 1852 the Lake Erie, Wabash and St. Louis Railroad had also been formed and would connect with that Illinois line going through Indiana into Ohio. By the summer of 1856, the Great Western and the Lake Erie, Wabash and St. Louis companies merged into the Toledo, Wabash and Western Railroad.

The Wabash Railroad History online states, "The Toledo, Wabash and Western, with lines running west and southwest from Toledo, enjoyed a better situation in 1859 than any other railroad in the area. The lines crossed Indiana and Illinois and connected the lake port of Toledo with the Mississippi River ports just above St. Louis and St. Charles."
http://home.comcast.net/~wabashrr/wabhist.html

The Henry and Fulton County history has several references to the Wabash line going through Napoleon. So now we have a train and an accident, but no details.

I'm going to have to find some newspaper with a report of Henry's accident and not too many have survived since 1862. I've checked Napoleon's papers with no luck, so next I'll try Defiance. Could Henry have left home at the young age of 16 to work for the railroad? It seems he might have been needed for farm work. Where did the accident occur? What happened?
The search goes on...