Apr 15
A song by Gene Autry became famous in 1950 titled “Peter Cottontail” reminded kids of the Easter Bunny and all the candy he could bring to each child. It started with civilizations who may well have celebrated the onset of warmer spring weather by hailing hares, eggs, or other emblems of fertility. First popular in Germany, the German immig...
Apr 14
On April 1, 2022 the 1950 U.S. Census was released and Ancestry has been working around the clock to create over 150 million searchable records, state-by-state using their new AI handwriting recognition technology. Ancestry is excited to announce that just 9 days later, all states have been processed - the next step in enabling users to find r...
Apr 13
Family Easter traditions have varied over the decades. For most people today remember when they were youngsters, there were Easter egg hunts to the Easter baskets to a new outfits to wear to church to the big family dinner as their family traditions. A popular Easter item was the Chocolate Bunnies. The favorite thing for a kid was bite the ears...
Apr 12
A 23andMe study published in April of 2022 provides insight into the cause and overlapping genetics of two mental health disorders - depression and bipolar disorder. The National institutes of Health estimates that more than 16 million Americans are affected by depression each year, while nearly 6 million Americans have bipolar disorder. Ge...
Apr 11
The beginnings of well-known 'Peace Symbol' had its beginnings in 1958 by an anti-nuclear arms activist named Gerald Holtom, who was with the British Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament in the United Kingdom. Holtom overlapped two symbols and surrounded them with a circle. The symbols were for 'N' – an inverted V shape and 'D' – a vertical line. ...
Apr 9
Everyone remembers drive-in theatres, a few are still even operated across America today. The beginning of drive-in theatres was in Las Crusces, New Mexico on April 23, 1915. The location was an outdoor auditorium with seating for 700 but they also allowed cars to park on the grounds and view the movie “Bags of Gold' from the seats of the auto. ...
Apr 8
MyHeritage announced that they have published an image-only collection of the 1950 U.S. Census, 72 years after the enumeration was initiated - and it is now available for you to search for FREE! The census provides fascinating details about the lives of the 150 million Americans living in the U.S. and its territories from 1940 to 1950, I...
Apr 7
Our female ancestors always wore hats, styles that changed over the decades. Since about the 1970s and 1980s it has been much less a fashion statement for women to wear hats. One very traditional hat our female ancestors loved wearing was their finest 'Easter hat or bonnet', usually a nice new one worn to the Easter Sunday church services. W...
Apr 6
California has been working on a way to provide reparations for African Americans. This effort began in 2020, when Governor Gavin Newsom signed legislation giving special consideration to Black Americans. The legislation, which was authored by former Assemblymember Shirley Weber, called for the creation of a task force that would study an...
Apr 5
It was a fact that back in the 1500s and earlier the large majority of people living across Europe could not read or write. So a business or shop had a problem with how to make a sign so the public knew what goods, products and services they offered. So many shopkeepers hung a metal emblem that was a symbol of their business or skill. For examp...
Apr 3
The official date for the Federal census in 1950 was April 1st. But no way could all households be contacted in one single day. Instead, it took a full month. There were about 140,000 census enumerators (census takers) employed during April 1950 to go across the nation during April of 1950. They went to households, knocked on doors and spoke to...
Apr 3
A new survey from Ancestry, the leader in family history, found more than half (53%) of Americans can’t name all four grandparents - demonstrating a knowledge gap in key information about more recent family history. Released every 10 years, census records are one of the most valuable ways people can learn about their family’s past, as they...
Apr 1
This one day of the year has become the day you 'trust NO ONE' They will try to play a trick on you. Going back to Roman times, at the end of March. During a holiday called Hilaria, people participated in all kinds of games, processions, and masquerades. One of the most popular activities was for commoners to dress up as nobility to 'prank' peo...
Mar 31
With the 1950 Federal Census becoming available soon, it would be interesting to see the average cost of household items that your ancestors / relatives paid 72 years ago. The average cost of a gallon of gasoline was 27 cents. An average new car would cost $1,300 and $1,500. One night at a hotel was about $5.90. To purchase a loaf of bread was ...
Mar 29
Many of your ancestors used words or phrases related to their clothing. It is interesting to recall these terms and what they meant. It would be good to include a few in your family history. There is the phrase 'fancy pants'. This started as an advertisement from Maine in the 1840s that referred to “fancy” pants made from cashmere. This fab...