Blog Content
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The Tradition of Hanging of Christmas Lights
Dec 7
As with any tradition, it generally followed year after year. Christmas many traditions have been done by towns, states, nations and families. So how did the tradition of hanging Christmas lights start in America? In late 1880, Thomas Edison was getting ready to secure a patent for the new light bulb and he decided to light up his new invention...
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Dance of the Late 1950s-‘The Stroll’
Dec 5
Anyone who grew up in the late 1950s, knows of this dance, 'The Stroll' which was previewed on the popular 'American Bandstand' TV show in 1957. The new dance had the boys line up on one side of the dance floor, the girls line up on the other side, and one from each group meet in the middle to “stroll” down the lane between the two sides. This...
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Fads Popular by Ancestors of Mid-to-Late 1800s
Dec 3
There were in the mid-to-late 1800s many what we today would consider unusual traditions, fads and practices by our ancestors. Here are a few to review. If you located some photos of young children in the family photo album, there was a special reason and an unusual feature. There may have been a large black cloth-covered item behind a seated c...
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Traditional Sunday Activities
Dec 1
There were several activities the family traditional did every Sunday. Here are a few that would be good to learn more about from any relatives and include in the family history. The first would be going to the family's local church for Sunday services. This may have been followed by taking a Sunday drive to another part of town or out of town,...
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Men Not Wearing Hats
Nov 30
You more than likely have photos of most of your male ancestors and they are wearing a hat. The wearing of some style of hat has been a must-wearing apparel for many years. A man didn't think of leaving the house without a hat on. Look at the old movies and TV shows, even those of the 1950s and early 1960s, sure enough, every man had a hat. So why...
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Banned in Boston
Nov 29
This phrase 'Banned in Boston' was used from the late 19th century through the mid-20th century, to describe a book, drawing, artwork, play, song, or movie which had been prohibited from distribution or exhibition in the city of Boston, Massachusetts. Boston officials had wide authority to ban works featuring "objectionable" content, and often ban...
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Toasters Made of Oxynide China
Nov 27
OH, how appliances have changed from the days of our ancestors (even grandparents) today. One type forgotten about but which was popular beginning in the 1920s were toasters made of oxynide China, so they could withstand the heat. Using this type of china, the toaster which was electric could be in many colors and patterns. One company in Ohio,...
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Thanksgiving Day
Nov 25
The first Thanksgiving was actually a feast to celebrate the end of the harvest season. The harvest festival lasted four days. The Plymouth Colony did not repeat its harvest celebration in coming years. The idea of a national Thanksgiving began to gain interest in the 18th & 19th centuries in America. It took a while to get the Plymouth set...
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400th Anniversary of Thanksgiving
Nov 23
It was in the fall season of 1621, the Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Native Americans shared an autumn harvest feast that is acknowledged today as one of the first Thanksgiving celebrations in the colonies. For more than two centuries, days of thanksgiving were celebrated by individual colonies and states. During the voyage to America in 162...
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Ladies Keeping Beautiful in the 1940s
Nov 21
There were strict methods of maintaining a lady's beauty during the 1940s. That would be your mother, aunt or grandmother's era. For example, bathing (mostly a bath vs a shower) was done frequently, but many women only washed their hair once or twice a week. But many also only washed their hair once every two weeks. The all-important bathing ca...
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Children’s Little Golden Books
Nov 19
You may have read these classical children's books, or your parents and even grandparents. They proved to be just the right length of words and content to keep a young child – age 3-7 interested. The Little Golden Books were easy to spot with their shiny spines of gold. These books were first published in 1942 by Western Publishing. There wer...
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Ladies and Men Died Due to Fashion Style
Nov 17
There have been some of the weirdest and most lethal fashion trends over the decades that ultimately led to the death of many ladies and men. One of the worst was the wearing of the corset – an undergarment of the 1800s, that women always wore. Think of the scene in “Gone with the Wind” where Scarlett was getting laced up in her corset to...
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Dominoes
Nov 15
The popular game of Dominoes originated in China in the 1300s. They allow for a variety of games while testing skill and patience. The markings on dominoes are called pips – these originally represented the results of throwing two six-sided dice. However, in the United States today, European dominos are usually played with. These differ from the...
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Children as Warriors
Nov 13
Many youngsters in their childhood have pretended to be warriors, hunters, soldiers, cowboys, etc. Yet, in reality, there were many children who really did serve in the military in some form. Here are some cases, they might be similar to one of your ancestors. In the sailing vessels of long ago, space below deck was limited. So in a battle with...
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1920s – New and Exciting
Nov 11
As you work on your family tree, remember it is NOT just about collecting names, dates and places – it is also your ancestors' stories – their life. True that can be difficult if there is no one who knew your ancestors, or any written records or newspaper articles. However, if you do know the decade they lived as young adults, raising a family...
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