As a child, we’re not interested in our history or any of our family’s customs. But as we mature, it becomes fascinating, almost a need we have to find out everything possible. Joining Ancestry.com https://www.ancestry.com/
or Archives.com https://www.archives.com/ is a must, and even swabbing our cheek and mailing it in to discover our DNA is irresistible. When the results arrive, we then learn if our family was accurate in their culture and customs.
I have a Mormon cousin who has done all the hard work tracing our ancestors on my mother’s side. She is the daughter of my mother’s oldest brother. We know that our family came to America on the Mayflower. Our lineage begins as the Mayflower was docking in Hudson Bay; the baby boy was born on the Mayflower. As Mayflower passengers arrived in November of 1620, the extreme weather was like none they had seen before. The baby’s father died shortly after they arrived in America.
Our history can get dramatic and captivating as we discover our ancestors who served in wars or held public office. Many of the early immigrants to the United States were farmers and settled in the Midwest. My mom’s side settled in Kansas.
What is your ancestry? Do you share in the customs and traditions of your family? One of my favorite things about all our different cultures is the food. And sadly, I believe we’ve lost much of the traditional specialties. If we didn’t take the time to learn how to make and cook the dishes from our mothers and grandmothers, I’m afraid they would be lost.
Growing up, I remember one of my Dad’s favorite dishes was called pigs in a blanket. No, the recipe does not include a hotdog in a pastry. I was unable to locate the recipe online – so I’m including a short version. Begin with round steak, pound with a meat tenderizer until it’s pretty thin. Then cut into 3” wide strips. Smooth on mustard and then ketchup followed with dill pickle slices. Now it’s time to roll these up and put bacon around the entire rollup. Toothpicks hold the bacon and steak together. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30-45 minutes, rotating a couple of times. I think my grandmother also put some spaghetti sauce in the bottom of the pan. The recipe was handed down from my Dad’s family, who were German and Czech.
As many of you know, I am writing my memoir, and as part of this process, I’ve been signing up for webinars, writing classes, podcasts, and zoom calls. This week, I participated in a zoom class in which we did some on-the-spot writing and then shared it with our small group. The two others critiqued our writing, and then we were able to ask questions to the writer. My group had two other women. One woman, Lucille, was 103 years old. Her husband had been gone for a couple of years, and now she was going to write her memoir. She wanted to share her life stories with others, especially her four daughters, ten grandchildren, and 28 great-grandchildren. I enjoyed listening to her. She was pretty sharp – except a bit slow with technology. She confirmed that we need to share our stories with our children and grandchildren before we’re gone.
I would love to share your history, traditions, or recipes with my readers. Would you please comment below or send me an email - Julie@goodbye-girl.com, if you would be interested.
This is a picture of my grandfather (left) and his brother in 1903.
All my best,
Julie
How special!