Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to all my family and friends and fellow genealogists! (Not that genealogists aren't friends!)

I'm thankful for my family, for without them I would not be here or have anything to share on this blog!

I'm thankful for family, friends, and fellow bloggers who listen/read and provide additional information or suggestions to aid in new discoveries.

I'm thankful for the Geneabloggers group for providing inspiration in my research, writing and sharing of genealogical tidbits.

And I must not forgot to be thankful for the folks who take the time to transcribe, digitalize, locate and share genealogical references.  Without those kind folks, I would not be as far along in my research!

Happy Turkey Day!

From the Jukebox to the iPod

An interesting tidbit from Wired.com (via Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter):

World's First Jukebox

File this under "How Our Ancestors Lived." 121 years ago today, the first jukebox is installed at the Palais Royale Saloon in San Francisco. It become an overnight sensation, and its popularity soon spread around the world. Four stethoscope-like tubes were attached to an Edison Class M electric phonograph fitted inside an oak cabinet. The tubes operated individually, each being activated by the insertion of a coin, meaning that four different listeners could be plugged into the same song simultaneously.

You can read more in the Wired.com web site at http://goo.gl/OtfU8

Today's iPods and MP3 players offer the ability to go for a run and still listen to your tunes.  Add in portable speakers and you can share your tunes with all your friends.   Gotta love the advancements in technology!

Share a Story

As you gather around the table this week to share that turkey, I encourage you to also share a story of days gone by. 

Here are a ideas for topics:

• What did you do for the holidays?
• Where were the holidays celebrated?
• Who did you visit?  Who came to visit?
• What traditions does your family have?
• Which foods were made?  Who made the food?  Is there a special recipe?
• What happened while everyone was sitting around the table?
• Was someone known for stealing food off of someone else's plate?
• How did the weather affect your holiday plans?

I also encourage you to write the story down or record it so it can be shared with future generations. 

Olympus Digital Voice Recorder (VN 6200PC)

Amanuensis Monday: The Small Boy

Here's another interesting article out of Grandma Stella Jorenby's files from not so long ago.  It doesn't mention the boy's name, but those that know the family can narrow it down pretty well.

THE SMALL BOY has been defined as an appetite completely surrounded by noise and dirt.  Saturday, in the canyons of the supermarket, Mrs. Lyle Jorenby's small son, silent and scrubbed, fitted only the first part of that definition as he wishfully stopped at the rack of cool-aid drink powder envelopes and then beamed a cinamascope-wide smile as his mother selected several envelopes.

(Not So) Wordless Wednesday: wedding photo?

Today's photo is another unidentified photo from Grandma Leola's collection.  I've read that many photos staged like this are "wedding" photos. 

From Leola's Unknown Photos

Looking at this photo now, I'm seeing the lady may be several years younger than the man.   Could this photo have been taken around 1900 in eastern South Dakota or Minnesota?  Could this be Melbourn Crapser and Teolina?  Melbourn would have been about 40 years old and Teolina would have been about 20.  I don't have any other pictures of Melbourn or Teolina handy, so I don't have anything to compare.

If you have any information or suggestions for this photo, please comment below.

Amanuensis Monday: Carroll Jorenby Military News

First, you're probably wondering what "Amanuensis Monday" is, right?  Well, it's a daily blogging prompt over on Geneabloggers to encourage the transcription of documents, audio files, and other artifacts of family history.  Today's transcription comes from news clippings found in Grandma Stella Jorenby's family scrapbook.

Awarded Certificate For Contribution
Mannheim, Germany - Sgt Carroll O. Jorenby, son of Mrs. Stella Jorenby, Volga, was awarded a certificate of appreciation recently by his organization, the 63rd Tank Battalion, for making a major contribution to the Armed Forces March of Dimes Campaign for 1951.

The certificates were awared ____ll members of the battalion, ___h is performing occupation ___n Germany, who contributed  $10 or more in the fight against infantile paralysis.

Sgt. Jorenby, a tack mechanic in Company B, by his contribution of $10 to the worthy cause aided the tank battalion in reaching a total collection of $4,187.85 for the campaign, an average of $5.70 for every officer and man assigned to the unit.  The total collected was one of the highest for battallion-sized units in the European Command.

The certificate, signed by Lieut. Col. Creighton W. Abrams, Jr., commanding officer of the 63rd Tank Battallion, says that Sgt. Jorenby is commended for his display of generosity and charity in the March of Dimes campaign and closes with the statement: "By your action you have proven that the American Soldier is willing to protect the citizens of his country against all foes, of which infantile paralysis is one of the most deadly."

(Editor's note: How many of us deserve certificates of merit for what we did in the March of Dimes campaign?  If the boys do the fighting, we might at least pay the bills.)

A second article reads:

2 Armored Men Receive Awards
Fort Hood, Tex. - For outstanding performance of duty during recently completed Exercise Three Pairs at Fort Hood, seven officers and seven enlisted men of the 2d Armd Div. were recognized with special awards.

In a ceremony following the exercise critique, Maj. Gen. W. H. S. Wright, 2d AD commander, presented the Croix de Caliche and the Order of the Armadillo to 14 men.

The awards were authorized by the exercise director and were designed to parallel the Silver and Bronze Star Medals taht are given for valor in combat.

The higher of the two awards the Croix de Caliche was given to Maj. Marvin L. Butcher, 37th Armor; Lt. Don E. Hillier Jr., 50th Inf.; MSgt. Manuel Madruga, 51st Inf., and Sgt. Kenneth E. Lee, 15th Cav.

Those receiving the Order of the Armadillo were: Lt. Col. Charl__ C. Clayton, 66th Armor; Capt. ___ T. Undercoffer, 15th Cab.;  Lt. ___ J. Gruber, 58th Inf.; Lt. Theodore S. Wilkins, Hq Combat Command C; Lt. Michael R. Rodman, 16th Arty.; SFC Carroll O. Jorenby, 50th Inf.; SSgt. Robert L. Lockart, 14th Arty.; Sgt. Bernard F. Willis, Hq.. CCB; Sp4 William R. Moore, 78th ___y and PFC David C. Kinney __  __y.

Pieces of these news clippings are torn and/or folded, indicated by ___ in place of text.