Stray Branches of Our Family Tree

I hadn't originally planned to have a part three, any editor I have ever worked with has claimed me to be too wordy. However, I just had to add this. While recently going through more of my mom's things, I found a newspaper article of Grandma and Grandpa's marriage, and their 50th Wedding Anniversary. I remember the anniversary party, I was in high school and my youngest brother couldn't attend because he had some childhood illness that had escaped him earlier. The original wedding announcement is quite a treat! WEDDING ANNOUNCEMENT ANNIVERSARY ANNOUNCEMENT I suspect these newspaper articles were originally in Grandma's possession because my mom and one of her sisters were pretty good about labeling their own things. The wedding announcement was from the Bellefontaine, Kenton or Belle Center newspapers, sometime in February of 1923. The anniversary announcement could have come from any number of newspapers far and wide. Grandpa wasn't the least bi...

...Continued....Gramma Claribel and Grandpa Ira's wedding day, written by Grandpa. 50th Anniversary Portrait of Claribel McMillen and Ira Fleece for March 8, 1973. Bought 20 lbs of candy and a box of cigars and went out to Wes and Pearl's for our supper. Pearl said she could not afford us a present but could get us a good supper which was good.  Wes and Pearl lived just a couple miles east of the farm I grew up on and Pearl was instrumental in getting us to attend her church (Silver Creek United Methodist Church). Mom was always very big on "local" before local was a thing, and really wanted to go to the church down the road and around the corner from our farm. Both churches looked the same but that one was a little smaller and has War of 1812 soldiers buried out behind it (just north of Jumbo). Uncle Wes and Aunt Pearl owned and American Four-Square house similar to this which still stands. As with all farmhouses in the area when I was growing up, it wa...

Previously published on my https://mito-trail.blogspot.com blog but moved here to consolidate my writings. This is a three part series. Today, I'm going to share a letter we found while going through her things. My brothers graciously allowed me to take all of the pictures accumulated over the generations, and any memorabilia I might find interesting in compiling our family's story. Today's letter was written by Mom's father as he celebrated his 50th anniversary with Gramma. My goodness, we should all be so lucky! Please, please, if you are married - write your own story. I have no idea why Grandpa wrote it, or to whom, or how Mom ended up with it. Maybe she asked him to do it, I don't know - he was a great story-teller. Grandpa and Gramma's wedding picture. While he wrote about the wedding, I do not know where the dress came from. She only said it was red, she made it, and it no longer exists because she wore it to church until it was worn out. The ...