Texas in Town!

It all started about 20 years ago when a woman from Texas came up to me at the Family History Library Reference counter.  Her name was Doris Kosub and she had lots of names that I recognized on her pedigree chart.  Names that were from my area of Schlesien.  It was so cool!  We have stayed in touch over the years and this week a good sized group of Texans are in the Library doing their research.  Today we had lunch together in the Garden Room at the JSMB.

In-laws, Out-laws and Visiting Teachers

Jamie and I are visiting teaching partners.  We have been visiting the same two ladies for quite a while now.  Today the lesson was on Family History, so we started to talk to one of our ladies about that and she said her late husband was Oneida Indian....this perked up Jamie's ears as her cousins are 1/2 Oneida.  Julia mentioned that her husband was from Oneida, WI.  So of course, Jamie and I were very interested because my sister-in-law Kim was from Wisconsin and they were also Oneida Indians.  Well, it turns out that Kim, my sister-in-law went to BYU and did cornhusk dolls with Julia's sister-in-law and they knew each  other here and in Wisconsin.  Then Julia's late husband's aunt is Kim's visiting teaching lady.  What a small world...
A sample of Kim's beaded picture frames is shown below.  For some reason the pictures wouldn't go in the right direction.  Sorry...Kim's Cornhusk dolls are on the bottom. Here is her link: http://arts.state.wi.us/static/folkdir/nishimoto1.htm

These pics would not turn.  Don't know why. 

Memories From Long Ago or It's a Small, Small World

Today was our employee and missionary luncheon at the Church Office Bldg.  We have a devotional speaker who is usually one of the church authorities, as was the case today.  Our International floor was sitting together on one table.  On my table was our missionary Hans Arndt.  I told the others about a little story from long ago that Elder Arndt had told me and my coworkers told me, "You need to put that on your blog for safe keeping".  And so here I am doing that.
Here is the little story.  My dad, Heinz Hoeke grew up in Freiberg, Sachsen and shortly after the war worked at a printshop there.  About that time Hans Arndt's family in Berlin sent him to live with friends in Freiberg.  He stayed right across the street from my dad and in fact at the relatives of my dad's, the Henkels.  Hans told me one day that my father's mother asked him to take a warm lunch to my dad at his place of work.  Now after all these years he came to work as a missionary at the Library and got to know me and reacquainted himself with my dad who also comes to the Library to do private research for clients.  It is a really small world and you never know when you will run into people that you knew from so long ago...I think it is really cool!

Just Like the Ole' Days in Highland

We have often reminisced about how things used to be when the kids were little.  One of the things we all seem to remember was summer nights out with the neighbors.  When things would cool off in the early evening, the kids would all head outdoors and start to play their night games.  You could always tell where they all were by all the noise, laughter and fun.  The parents would go out on the streets and start talking to the neighbors, and sometimes bigger groups would gather.  The evenings were not so much watching TV, hanging out with the computer, video games and such.  It was time for some real fun. 

Well, the ward has started what they call "walk-abouts".  Sounds a little Australian, don't ya think?  I missed it last month, as I was in Poland, but sounds like it was horrible weather with a huge windstorm, anyways!  I didn't think I would go because Spence doesn't like to walk much, but then I saw all the ward members starting to mingle, walk and gather.  It reminded me of the old Highland and I was excited and bugged Spence till he agreed and we went to the Fishes house.  But by the time we got there, the nummy rolls had been devoured.  In fact, the last one available was being consumed just as we arrived.  So we sat down and visited.  Before we realized lots of people came on foot, on bikes, skateboards, cars and whatever.  It was just fun to gather like we used to, even if the food was all gone. 

Brent and Carolyn and the Cooks came while we were there and we began to talk about the "Old days" when we weren't (old that is).  The kids were young back then and we would all head down to Palisades as a neighborhood and camp and swim and the men would golf and a good time was had by all.  We were thinking how would it be to all go there again with all the next generations that have somehow sprung up and all those kids.  We would have to reserve the entire park.  But it sounded fun, but the older of us could go to a bed and breakfast in Manti or thereabouts??  How does it sound??

Anyways, I think I like the walk-about.  Wouldn't mind doing it again next month when the next one is scheduled.  Kinda cool!  Everyone was visiting and the night couldn't have been a better one.

The Day Family

Well, today our neighbors, Dave and Jessica Day were both baptized.  Their daughter had been baptized recently and they have been taking the missionary discussions.  We went to the baptism and it was really a nice experience.  Dave's dad baptized him and he had to try it twice because the first time just ddn't work out quite the way it should.  Then Dave was confirmed and Spencer helped with that.  And then Dave was ordained a priest and then baptized Jessica.  It was cool.  His family was really excited about it.  It was a nice day.

Spence was excited because he and Dave have become good friends as well as next door neighbors.  Dave's dad said a lot of his conversion had to do with Spence and Steve.  So that was really nice.

Poland Pilgrimage Day 2

I had worried last night that I wouldn’t be able to sleep because I was so overtired. I fell asleep at 11:00 and didn’t wake once till about 8:00 am. So that was very good and I was very glad to get the much needed rest. Danuta didn’t wake up till much later, so we weren’t able to go to the computer places to find out how to get me an internet connection till much later in the day and then we kind of got a lot of wrong information and ended up wasting lots of time and energy in Warsaw driving from one place to another. We got the needed part immediately, and the sales girl put it in and configured it, but it didn’t do anything. It is supposed to give me internet for one month. So, I haven’t been able to post or do anything at all. I have been checking my email.
Barbara, a friend of Danuta’s invited us for lunch and it was my favorite pierogi, Sauerkraut and mushroom. They were absolutely delicious and I ate my fill. She was a very nice lady and is trying to get her grandfather’s death certificate in Detroit where he died in 1950. She stands to inherit a large 5 story house with about 22 apartments if she can prove this. So she is working hard at this. I helped her find some things like his emigration papers and other items and my friend Ceil Jensen gave us the information on contacting the cemetery and receiving the record she needs.
Now it is going towards night. It gets dark here earlier than at home. Tomorrow in the morning is church and I hope to meet Roger Magnusky who has been an email friend for a long time and runs the Warsaw Family History Center.

With Danuta's friend, Barbara.  She makes fantastic pierogi!

Dessert was plum cake and we had a borscht drink, not soup.  It was something new for me!