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Saturday, May 29, 2010

Decoration Day or Memorial Day

Only have one Great Uncle who served in European theater in WWI. That was William Bill Fermazin. Don't know too much about his service.
War poetry
Poppies stand as a prominent feature of In Flanders Fields, one of the most frequently quoted English-language poems composed by front-line personnel during the First World War. It was written by John McCrae, a doctor serving in the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps, and appeared for the first time in Punch magazine on December 8, 1915.

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders Fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders Fields.

- John McCrae

I remember the poppies being given out at church.
Many of the states of the U.S. South refused to celebrate Decoration Day, due to lingering hostility towards the Union Army and also because there were relatively few veterans of the Union Army who were buried in the South. A notable exception was Columbus, Mississippi, which on April 25, 1866, at its Decoration Day commemorated both the Union and Confederate casualties buried in its cemetery.[4]


Flags flying at Fort Logan National Cemetery during Memorial Day, 2006
The alternative name of "Memorial Day" was first used in 1882. It did not become more common until after World War II, and was not declared the official name by Federal law until 1967. On June 28, 1968, the United States Congress passed the Uniform Holidays Bill, which moved three holidays from their traditional dates to a specified Monday in order to create a convenient three-day weekend. The holidays included Washington's Birthday, now celebrated as Presidents' Day; Veterans Day and Memorial Day. The change moved Memorial Day from its traditional May 30 date to the last Monday in May. The law took effect at the federal level in 1971.
After some initial confusion and unwillingness to comply, all 50 states adopted the measure within a few years. In 1978, Veterans Day was changed back to its traditional date on November 11. Most corporate businesses no longer close on Veterans Day, Columbus Day or President's Day, with the day after Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, and/or New Year's Eve often substituted as more convenient "holidays" for their employees. Memorial Day endures as a holiday which most businesses observe because it marks the beginning of the "summer vacation season." This role is filled in neighboring Canada by Victoria Day, which occurs either on May 24 or the last Monday before that date, placing it exactly one week

Here is the story significance of the Poppy below:
During World War I corn poppies bloomed in waste grounds of much of the Western front, where they provided a vivid reminder of the bloody battles that had so recently taken place there. The corn poppy is immortalized in the poem In Flanders Fields by Canadian poet John McCrae. Similarly, it is a symbol of the blood of Polish soldiers killed in the Battle of Monte Cassino in the Polish war song Czerwone maki na Monte Cassino (Red Poppies on Monte Cassino).
The corn poppy has become a cultural icon to military veterans, especially veterans of World War I, and has become associated with wartime remembrance, especially during Remembrance Day or Anzac Day in Commonwealth countries. In Canada, where the corn poppy is largely associated with Remembrance Day, the Canadian Mint in 2004 released into circulation a quarter with a commemorative reversefeaturing a corn poppy colored red.
This poppy is a common weed in Europe and is found in many locations, including Flanders Fields. Canadian surgeon and soldier, John McCrae wrote the poem In Flanders Fields on May 3, 1915, after witnessing the death of his friend, Lt. Alexis Helmer. The opening line of the poem vividly depicts corn poppies blowing in the wind amongst the many crosses that mark the resting places of fallen soldiers.


Saturday, May 8, 2010

What ever happened to theFullerton College RN Nursing Graduation June 1968


Fullerton College
Fullerton, California
RN Nursing Graduation
1968

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Front Row: L-->R: Kerry Painter, Madeline Mazuffou, Jane Bunl Crawford, Marlene Horavac, Sue Bunite, Sherry Erazam, Roger Mc Gue

Row 2: L-->R: Sally Novak, Raylene Brau, Pat Christoffers, Sandy Milne, Mary Wetmorhausen, Babetta Moser, Carol Humbokel, Rita Coulon

Row 3: L-->R: Joanna taylor, Dorothy Chase, Maxine Nunes, Charlotte Meyers, Adriena Azalblar Cohen, Patty Dill, Kris Stoff, Nancy Neff

Row 4: L-->R: Barbara Jolsted, Nancy Fermazin, Carol Seger, Adrienn Brown, Myrna Horton, Edith Lockwood, Barbara Shaw, Sue Wolever

Row 5: L-->R: Karen Phillips, Barbara Carpenter, Pat Allyn, Carol Walker Zemel, Robbie Hazard, Pam Robinson, Amy Woodling

Back Row: L-->R: Doug Rodriguez, Lynne Andrews, Tania Zeber, Diane Harkness, Sue Berry Browne, Rose Maynard, Sue Bodger

Not in picture: Phyllis Taylor, Dorothy Mills

*Nancy Fermazin went on to obtain her Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) and  Masters in Nursing (MSN), Gerontological Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) from California State College, Dominguez Hills.

St. Therese Catholic Grade School 1956

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St. Therese Catholic Grade School 1956
Aurora, Illinois
June 1956
MEMORIES


Back Row: L --> R: Albert Des Jardine, John Gurbal, Tom Weis, Donald Scott, Adolf Schashswary, Cliff Culhane, Joe Torres, Mark Judd, Joe Berinye

Next Row:  L --> R:  Pat Murphy, Joyce De King, Nancy Fermazin, Janet Okapal, Diane Balough, Donna hamman, Sandy Hardy, Mary Lou Herera

Next Row: L-->R: Willaim Schomer, John Miketi, Robert Bearden, Franklin Wackerline, Harry Roberts, Terry Mc Donald Ronald Fichtel, David Walgren

Front Row: L-->R:  Dolores Nila, Carol Ney, Angela Hernandez, Christine Dedner, Sharon Toussaint, Beverly Deutsch, Mary Hernandez, Dolores Gonzalez, Carmen Howard, Father Henkel.

Not in picture: Father Beckendorf, Bridget Gruber.

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Vote for a blog!


Blogs by Family Tree Maker.  I didn't make it but I tried. This will give me something to strive for  in 2010.
Footnote Maven at http://www.footnotemaven.com/2009/10/family-tree-magazine-40-best-genealogy.html listed all the Genealogy Blogs nominated by Family Tree Maker.

I am reposting her link and list here: 

" TWELVE Blogs from the PERSONAL/FAMILY category. These blogs primarily cover the blogger's (or, in a case or two or more, bloggers') own research and ancestors. Family historians write what they know and what’s important to them, so this is our biggest category.

- A Canadian Family
- All My Ancestors
- Ancestral Notes
- Apple's Tree
- BeNotForgot
- Brenda Dougall Merriman
- Circle Mending
- Debby's Indiana Genealogy
- Educated Genealogist
- Elyse's Genealogy Blog
- Ernie's Journeys
- Everything's Relative: Researching Your Family History
- FamHist
- Family Stories
- Fermazin Family
- Find Your Folks
- GenBlog
- Genealogy: Diggin up Dirt
- Ginisology
- Grace and Glory
- Greta's Genealogy Blog
- Gtownma's Genealogy
- Heritage Happens
- Herstoryan
- Hesch History
- Janet The Researcher
- Just Thinking
- kinexxions
- Leonard Family Legends & Legacies
- Lineagekeeper
- Little Bytes of Life
- Looking4Ancestors
- My Jamaican Family
- MyNolaHeritage
- Our Georgia Roots
- Rare Ramblings
- Saturday's Child
- Spence-Lowry Family History
- Spiker Family Gathering Place
- Still More Genealogy
- Taneya's Genealogy Blog
- Tangled Trees
- Tennessee Memories
- The Fonda Blog
- The Ties That Bind
- TheYouGoGenealogyGirls
- Untangled Family Roots
- West in New England
- WeTree
- What's Past is Prologue"
Copied from:  http://www.footnotemaven.com/2009/10/family-tree-magazine-40-best-genealogy.html

Sunday, May 2, 2010

Saturday Night Fun --- Did you Advance today?

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How did I advance my Genalogy research this past week?   

1.  I am not sure if I advanced much this week. I did write a few letters to Schoharie, New York looking for information on a Samuel Ames who was born in 1790. I received an email from a lady who says her GGGrandmother and my GGGrandfather were brother and sister. Her ancestor is a Native American from the Delaware tribe and Lenape. She sent me a picture of her ancestor who definitely is Native American. She says Samuel Ames is our common ancestor and the father of Adolphus, Joseph, and Roxania Ames.  She has traced them back to 1600's but no concrete proof linking them to each other. We only have land records where their acres connect and they bought and sold land from each other in Liberty Township,  McKean, Pennsylvania.
I have checked many microfilms from Schoharie, NY and the Schoharie web site.  Nothing...

She sent me the War of 1812 digitalized pension records for Samuel Ames which I had also read on line on Ancestry.com. Now I am wondering if the original record file would have more information than what Ancestry has on line. If anyone knows, please let me know. Samuel Ames enlisted in 1813 so he would have had one son, Adolphus, by this time.

I put up a query on line and sent  some money for a search at the Old Stone Fort Library in Schoharie New York to see if they have any information on Samuel Ames or the Lenape Indians in that area.
Any suggestions?

 2. I went to the regional FHC in Orange, California on Thursday. I am ordering some film indexes on Niedenburg, Posen, Prussia to look at the indexes for Charles Fermazin. I previously looked at the film and wrote down there was an entry for a Charles Fermazin born in 1861. My Charles was born in 1859. I never followed up on the research because I didn't keep my appointment with a German researcher at the library to assist me with interpreting the record and which film to order next to read the entry. Now that my Writing class is over until Fall, I will get busy on this. If only....


How did I advance my genealogy education today?

I read a few blogs yesterday and today. I looked at the Ancestry beta Wiki where The Source and The Redbook are on line. I like it!  Here is the link:
 http://www.ancestry.com/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page     This is awesome! Thank you Dick Eastman for posting!!