WANDERINGS FROM YOUR PRESIDENT
by Gayle Stuart
Life is lived forwards, but understood backwards.
How many times in our busy lives have we said that, come the new year, “I’m going to …….”
At this time of year, between Christmas and New Years, when we are busy with family and friends we don’t give much thought to one of our favorite pastimes. As we get older, we wonder why we did not listen to more of the stories that grandparents, aunts and uncles would reminisce about when they would gather to celebrate. Sometimes, when we would think of a question that we dared to ask, we may have been told, “It’s not any of your business.” Now when I find something that is a bit questionable, I sometimes laugh and say you can’t keep secrets forever.
Some of the things I have found: several on my Dad’s side have had some music talent. This is something several of my cousins, brothers, sister and I like doing. Uncles have been carpenters and this generation likes to do this also. Many of my aunts were teachers. I never was, but I do like learning new things and research.
I do a program on tombstones and what the symbols on a stone may tell you. They may be what lodge or group they belonged to or what their occupation was, for example: hammer and saw – carpenter; cattle, wheat, cornstalk – farmer; books – teacher; car – liked to collect cars. Some of the engraving does not mean anything other than that they liked it. Look at the date of when they died – was there a flu epidemic, could it have been complications of childbirth? These are some things to think about.
We all know that medical records could be a help to our health problems. Some things are in our genes.
These are some of the things in our research that if we have not looked at them we need to.
GOOD LUCK in the coming year at solving your “brick walls”. GbS