Archive Pages

  • Teenage Fads of Years Ago

    Jun 9

    The 20th Century is known for teenager fads – when young people in their teens loved to try new and adventurous things. Here are a few examples over the years that you or an ancestor did as a teen. In the 1910s the newest personal item was the Kodak or Brownie camera. Especially girls loved to have a photo of their friends or places they visi...

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  • Lucite Jewelry Styles

    Jun 7

    A very popular material for fashion jewelry starting in the 1930s was 'Lucite'. So you may have examples of such jewelry handed down or know which ancestors loved wearing this style. Lucite is an acrylic resin created by DuPont in 1937. It is a very lightweight material and inexpensive to make compared to other plastic material such as Bakelite...

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  • Life in U.S. in the 1970s

    Jun 5

    From the early 1970s to now in 2022, it has been half a century. You or many of your relatives and ancestors lived during those years. Some of the common items people used or had included: free-standing pay phones with rotary dials in stores, gasoline stations, and street corners. There was no 911 emergency service either. Instead, you called the ...

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  • Things Your Great Grandparents Had You Don’t

    Jun 3

    Today we think of our ancestors as not having the modern advantages such as hot water, electricity, central heating and instant messaging with a computer. Rather they did have their own advantages not seen today. One common advantage was that many generations lived in the same house or next to each other. This provided additional help, emotiona...

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  • Barbie Fashion

    Jun 1

    One special toy for girls for decades has been the doll 'Barbie'. It was started by Mattel in March 1959 and was designed by Ruth Handler. One item many people may not have known that the full name for Barbie is Barbara Millicent Roberts and she is 11 1/2 inches tall. Barbie was named after Ruth Handler's daughter, Barbara, and later the male doll...

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  • These Jobs No Longer Exist

    May 31

    As you go through US Federal or state census records you will come across jobs held by your ancestors that just do not exist any longer in America. So here is a look at some such jobs gone forever. Gandy Dancer is a slang term used for early railroad workers. Before machines became capable of laying and maintaining railroad tracks, that work...

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  • Memorial Day – May 30, 2022

    May 29

    This is a Federal holiday in the United States. The purpose is to mourn the U. S. military personnel who have died while serving in the military branches. Memorial Day is observed on the last Monday of May. In prior years, from 1868 to 1970 Memorial Day was always on May 30th. After the end of the American Civil War, a special day was observed ...

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  • Oldest Standing House in NYC

    May 27

    It may be hard to believe in New York City, still, today is the Wyckoff House, which is currently the oldest standing building. It dates back to at least 1652 and was occupied by the Wyckoff family for centuries. Imagine, only a few decades after the Pilgrims, English settlers, who came to North America on the Mayflower and established the Plymout...

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  • Nursery Rhymes Meanings

    May 25

    Traditional nursery rhymes have been a part of our growing years and especially for our grandparents and other members of the family tree for decades. Sometimes it is good to re-examine the meaning of these traditional nursery rhymes. Many vintage nursery rhymes go back to England, even during the Middle Ages (500 AD to 1500 AD). The whole purp...

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  • Lucky Penny Day

    May 23

    A children's rhyme about the humble one-cent piece (“Find a penny, pick it up, all day long you’ll have good luck”) yet there are some groups who want to eliminate the penny from general currency. But note – May 23 is 'Lucky Penny Day'. While it’s true that pennies cost more to produce than they’re actually worth and fewer people th...

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