52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2018: Week 2: Favorite Photo

Week 2: Favorite Photo

This writing prompt is impossible. I can think of dozens of favorite photos. How do I pick one? The photo below jumped out of the files at me. Why?

This photo was taken Christmas Eve, 1962. Santa always came when we were in church on Christmas Eve. It took till about 1960 for me to figure out how this feat was accomplished, even though Nancy and I had often climbed into the attic where the presents were hidden to sneak a peak at the year’s gifts. (The ruse was horribly simple as it turns out. We would all be sitting in the car in the garage, waiting for Mom, who was always so slow. Dad would go in to find her while we waited impatiently in the car and somehow, none of us ever suspected who the Christmas elves were.)

1968 after decorating the tree - Sharon Dale and Yvonne

So first we went to church at St. Paul Ev Lutheran, our family church. I loved these services. We would be dropped off at the school to be walked over to the church as a class. (There was a cool underground tunnel from the school to the church so we didn’t have to go outside.) We would walk down the main aisle to our assigned pews, youngest to oldest classes, where we would fidget excitedly until the service began. Each class had part of the service, a recitation and a song. The congregation sang a carol in between each class recitation. The church was, and still is, beautiful. Soaring German gothic inside, two immense decorated Christmas trees on either side of the chancel, dimmed lighting and a creche at the front of the altar.

This photo is before my time - the church had been repainted and modernized since this photo, but it's still pretty close to our Christmas experience.

The whole service was awe-inspiring about God’s love for us in the form of a small baby. I still get teary-eyed at Christmas Eve services. And I can still sing most of the carols, all verses, by heart.

At the end of the service, we filed to the front of the church to be handed a paper sack full of goodies. Not too much candy, but nuts and tangerines and of course a candy cane. We filed through the chancel doors on either side and followed our teachers back to our classrooms where parents would meet us and pick us up.

By now the anticipation was practically unbearable as we knew that when we got home, we could open our presents. Of course, we tore into the house and directly to the tree, shedding coats as we went. We had to wait for my parents to get organized, for the camera to be brought out – although we never took a family photo, a great loss.

Hanson Christmas Tree 1989

Around the time of this photo, I started to notice that my Dad was not happily engaged with the gift opening. He seemed downright grumpy and morose. He sat in one of our swivel chairs and frowned the whole time. I never knew why. Worried about the cost of the gifts? Upset he didn’t get something he would like? Just worn out and cranky from trying to support us all? I never dared to ask.

At any rate, the photo at the top of this post was taken right after attacking the presents in 1962. I was in 9^th grade (14) and for the first time sat with the adults in the back of the church for the service. The suit I’m wearing was purchased for a 9^th grade dance I went to at Roosevelt Junior High School. (Everyone went without dates, I don’t remember it being much fun)

Nancy would have been in 7^th grade (12), Carl in 3^rd (8), Sharon in Kindergarten (5) and Dale would have been 3. At least I’m pretty close. The 3 littles each have one of their toys in front of them. Dad captured Dale’s crafty look perfectly. He always was and always will be a little imp.

2302 N. McDonald St. Appleton WI

The 1962 photo was taken in our dining room (kitchen behind and notice the wall mounted phone – the latest technology) in our house at 2302 North McDonald Street in Appleton. (By the way, the door heading out to the garage is on the right side of the photo behind me.)

Pat Hanson, 2012, Christmas is still a big deal

Christmas was a big deal at our house as it was for some of our Hanson cousins in town. I wonder how it was for others of my cousins or perhaps for Aunt Toots?

Sister Augustine aka Aunt Toots

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2018: Week 1 Start

Í'm going to start this 2018 Challenge to respond to 52 weekly writing prompts about my ancestors. I don't usually do this because I never complete challenges in any part of my life. (Stubbornness?) But my cousin Carin has nagged and encouraged me to start. So starting I am with the aptly named first challenge.

Week 1: Start

Dave and Lynn Dosch family with Katie, Michael and Christie

Who am I? Where do I come from? The older I get, the more I’m intrigued by these questions. I want answers for myself but I want my kids to have this information about who they are as well. I think I see this as my gift, my legacy to leave them when I am gone.

I am lucky. I grew up in close proximity to my extended family and never thought twice about it. I thought everyone had Sunday dinners with their grandparents, spent Thanksgiving with hoards of uncles, aunts and cousins, visited 5 families on Christmas day to wish them a Merry Christmas (and play with their new toys!) But by my teen years, in spite of having this swirl of relatives around me, I was mostly interested in escaping the “smallness” of my world to explore places far away. Looking back 70 years later, I regret the time I lost with close relatives. Hintz family reunions in Alicia Park were so much fun!

Oshkosh City Museum

Running around the Oshkosh Public Museum with Miller and Beutler cousins, playing cards, and (yuk!) gathering black walnuts from Grandma Sullivan’s tree was all part of the fun of being on High Street.

747 High Street, Oshkosh, Wisconsin, Grandma Sullivan's home; Pat Hanson talking to a renter in 2010. The house is owned by the University and is rented out as rooms.

It’s funny, I discovered an interest in my heritage when I was farthest away from home, living in Germany. My Dad knew he was from somewhere in Germany, but he thought the town no longer existed and didn’t seem interested in his German roots when he came to visit us in Germany. Husband Dave’s family, on the other hand, had a single clue – the name of a Swedish parish – and were very interested to find Lorna’s family. So when they visited, we traveled for a week to Norway and Sweden and, miracle of miracles, came face to face with family records in the church and then in government archives back to the 1600s.

Anderson family departure from Hassjo parish church

Not only that, but we found a living relative in a nearby town. I was blown away by the idea that you could actually trace your ancestors. The seeds of genealogy research were sown at that time, but only much later, when we finally moved back to the Midwest in 1992, did I begin to seriously consider the heritage of my children.

I dabbled at first, joining Ancestry and putting what I knew on that site. Lorna’s information was easiest to access. Her brother had done family group sheets (a list of a married couple and their children with birth, marriage and death dates). And Lorna is a great story-teller with a huge store of family history. Like my family, the Wilsons (Lorna) and Dosch’s had large extended families who gathered for birthdays, anniversaries, and homecomings. These families mostly stayed within close geographical distance of each other, so I came to know many of them over the years.

As I approached retirement, I had more time to explore. And by some lucky star, we decided to retire to Wisconsin and moved back to the state where I grew up and felt most at home. This hobby of genealogy suddenly became a passion.

Lots of things started to fall into place. I found Greg Sutherland online at Ancestry. I was 18 the last time I saw him. The Sulli Cuzzins got back together thanks to Facebook and plans for a Chicago reunion in 2011. Stories and photos continue on that family site to this day. I began to explore the Sullivan ancestry for my Mom who was beginning to show signs of dementia. I knew we were Polish and Irish, but not much more. Neither did my Mom to my great sadness. But bringing together my Mom, Aunt Monica, and Uncle Gerry at the reunion gave them all so much happiness and animation. And I met cousins I had only known by name. I re-met cousins I hadn’t seen since my teen years.

Sulli Cuzzins reunion in Chicago, July 2011. Siblings Gerry, Patricia and Monica seated in front row. Gerry's grandkids in front and assorted Sulli Cuzzins behind.

I found a place where I definitely belong, with people who make me smile and feel comfortable. And I began to accept that I am who I am because of the genetics, the history, and the nurture of these families. And that’s OK!

We made a trip to Williamsburg with my Mom in 2012 and stopped in Jamestown Tennessee on the way back for a fabulous visit with Greg, Susan, and best of all, Mom's sister, Bernice Sutherland.

Sullivan sisters: Bernice Sutherland and Pat Hanson, 2012

My Mom was so excited. And I realized how genealogy had led me back to my family. What a cool thing.

When my Mom died in 2013 (and Bernice just 3 weeks earlier), I coped with my mourning by diving into the Sullivan family history. For 3 months, I spent all day, every day doing Sullivan genealogy. It let me think about my Mom and not about her death. It created a legacy of family that I could hold on to even in her absence.

The web of family I have uncovered, both living and deceased, sustain me, define me and provide solid footing for me as I accept a new role as a family elder. I do not stand alone, but am supported by my cousins and my family whose nurturing is now part of my soul. I hope I live long enough to do justice to their stories.

Wisconsin Genealogy Network

I recently joined a Facebook group called Wisconsin Genealogy Network.  I've been lurking for a few weeks and yesterday took the plunge to ask for help with tracking down my grandpa Harvey Hanson.  His father is Hans Peter Hanson, as near as I can figure out.

I have a couple of pieces of information gleaned from his WWI and WWII draft registration cards and an obituary.  In one draft card, Harvey notes his next of kin as Caroline Sophia Hanson of Neenah, WI and in the other, he lists his father Hans Peter in "Nominee" (Menominee?) Michigan.

I shared this little bit and overnight there was a flood of sources to check - gravestones in a Neenah cemetery, an obit from Caroline's death, a marriage record and census data for this family.  It will take me a week to sort through it all and see if the puzzle pieces all fit together.  But it sure looks promising.  And of course getting to the original records would be most helpful.

I can't wait to find the sources, analyze the information and share back my new discoveries about that branch of the family.  What an amazing resource and what a dedicated group of members!