Wordless Wednesday – Eva and Bob Urman

Eva Urman (nee Ivana Drvaric) and Bob, May 1933 Milwaukee, Wisconsin

RootsMagic 5 and new relatives thanks to two Wisconsin online sources

 I have spent part of the morning playing on the new RootsMagic version 5.  What I see I like a lot.  It appears that a few items (some citations) did not make the conversion and will need to be updated with the new software.  I really like the new timeline, the new screen for adding media and citations, the whole thing seems easier to read.  I can’t wait to start working on the research log.  It is about time someone incorporated one for use with our software!  I am looking forward to the RootsMagic webinar What’s New In RootsMagic 5 at 5 pm MST to see all the latest bells and whistles.


This weekend has been very enlightening.  I located some additional relatives on Gary’s side of the tree thanks to a few Wisconsin sites.  I found quite a few clues at the Wisconsin Historical Society website at http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/genealogy/.  The information is free but they do charge for a fee of $15 per copy for birth, death and marriage certificates.  I need to check and see just how much the state and counties charge.  The other site that I use quite a bit in Wisconsin for Gary’s Polish and Slavic relatives is the Archdiocese of Milwaukee Catholic Cemeteries website at http://www.cemeteries.org/genealogy.asp.  This site offers age and date of death, last known address, marital status, date of burial, Funeral home, and allows you to search nearby burials.  

Wordless Wednesday – Lloyd Clark and Juliana Urman 1992

Lloyd Clark and Juliana Urman age six months 1992

Christmas Memories and Mom’s Birthday

Well I have over 20 dozen cookies in the freezer, most all my Christmas gifts purchased (some not yet received) and feeling ready for the holidays.

My mother’s birthday just pasted on November 13th and this year I thought I came up with the best gifts.  First a fix for her Santa collection, a Santa and cat from the Jim Shore Collection and then a DVD of  Kukla, Fran and Ollie 1949-1954 that I found at the Chicago Historical Society store.

Mom shared Kukla, Fran and Ollie with us when we were little.  She had records (45’s) of some of the shows and she played them for my brother and I.  She also sang their silly songs often and loudly when our friends were around.  That fact was forgotten until my mother called the other day and started singing the Kukla, Fran and Ollie theme song rather than saying hello when she called.  A downside yes, a happy mom priceless.  The whole singing episode with Mom made me think of the upcoming Christmas holiday.  It was right after Thanksgiving that Mom would start tuning in the Cinnamon Bear radio show.

The Cinnamon Bear radio show told the story of  Judy and Jimmy who while in their attic found a passageway to “Maybeland”.  The children searched for the silver star that belonged on the top of their Christmas tree.  During their search they meet Paddy O’Cinnamon and the Crazy Quilt Dragon that stole the star. Their adventures would begin with an episode at Thanksgiving and ended at Christmas with nightly episodes.  The show had a suspenseful aspect and as a child I was excited to hear what happened each night.  I remember Mom tuning in the large stereo and playing it loud enough to hear in the kitchen, dining or living room.  I think Mom played the series because it was one of the few times my brother and I would be quiet and not fight so that we may hear the show.

Well like I said the gifts are just about finished – that is except for Mom’s.  I am not sure if I can top her birthday present.  Any suggestions for a seventy-ish mother from Chicago now located in North Carolina please send them to me! 

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Family Recipe Friday – Rolo Cookies

This is not an old recipe but one that is requested often and I thought it would make a great addition to a family cook book.  I am trying to collect recipes for my girls, I know one day they will marry,  so that they always have a little family in the form of recipes with them.

Rolo Cookies
2-1/4 cups flour 
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda 
1 cup sugar 
1 cup brown sugar 
1 cup butter, softened 
2 teaspoons vanilla 
2 eggs 
9 oz. package of Rolo candy 

Preheat oven to 350F. Beat sugars and butter until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla, beat well. Add flour, cocoa powder  and baking soda, blend well, chill dough in refrigerator for at least 3 hours. Roll 1 tablespoon of dough in palm of hand to form a ball. Press Rolo into ball, covering it completely. Flatten bottom of cookie into palm of hand. Place cookies on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 9 minutes. 

Mesa Family History Conference

Early Bird registration for the Mesa Family History Expo is available for $49 until December 12th.  This two day event is sponsored by Family History Expos.  Please visit Family History Expos to register at the discounted price.  Prices will change to pre-registration price of $69, then $59 for Friday, $59 for Saturday and at the door price of $99.  The website also suggests hotels to stay at.  Hope to see you there!

Family Recipe Friday – Mexican Wedding Cookies

Another favorite cookie at Christmas time!


Mexican Wedding Cookies

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

1 cup  powdered sugar, divided

1 tsp. vanilla

2 cups  flour

1 cup finely chopped Pecans

PREHEAT oven to 350°F. Beat butter, 1/2 cup of the powdered sugar and the vanilla in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Gradually add flour and pecans, beating on low speed after each addition until well blended.

SHAPE dough into 1-inch balls. Place, 1-1/2 inches apart, on ungreased baking sheets.

BAKE 14 to 15 min. or until bottoms of cookies are lightly browned. Cool 5 min. on baking sheets. Roll warm cookies in remaining 1/2 cup powdered sugar until evenly coated; place on wire racks. Cool completely. Store in tightly covered container at room temperature. 

52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy and History Week 45 High School

Week 45. High School. Describe your middle and/or high school. Was it a large or small student body? Is the school still in existence today? How has it changed since you went there?

I attended Forest View High School in Arlington Heights, Illinois. Our mascot was Fergie the Falcon and our school colors were gold, black and silver.  At one point our mascot was stolen but for the life of me I cannot remember when that happened.  It was never found. The school was built in 1963 and had a few additions made to it including a dance room, gymnastic room, indoor track and field house.  The school was closed in 1986 due to declining enrollment. 

The school is now being used as a district office for the school district, houses two different high schools, and is a college campus.

I must admit that I always felt like a misfit in high school.  The school was large.   We had greasers, jock, brains, and everyone else.  My brother was a jock – I was “everyone else”.  My favorite classes in high school were Shakespeare and Mrs. Bond’s law classes.  I also have fond memories of a lit class in which we read Spoon River Anthology.  The book was a collection of poems, rather epitaphs of the town’s dead citizens.  The poems were “written” by the dead themselves.  The exposure to this book may have been the beginning of my cemetery/tombstone addiction.

I did not have a lot of friends in high school but the ones I had were very special.  We often enjoyed playing games, bowling, or going to the movies with the gang.  I went back to Chicago during this past summer to attend the 30th high school reunion of the class of 1981.  I saw quite a few classmates but not very many of the folk’s I was especially close to.  I never attended a dance at the high school.  During my junior and senior year’s I dated a guy that attended the University of Illinois.   I attended all the Sigma Pi dances at the University, we never attended my high school functions.

I volunteered to keep the stats for the boys basketball team.  I enjoyed it until the one time I caught a ride back on the bus with the boys after the game – man it smelled bad.  I never made that mistake again!

I graduated early my senior year and worked the following semester to build up my bank account for college.  

52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History by Amy Coffin is a series of weekly blogging prompts for genealogists and others to record memories and insights about their own lives for future descendants.

Wordless Wednesday – 1963 Lloyd and Amy Clark – Daddy and Me!