A small ancestor tree of three or four generations involves only 30 people. Easy to keep in a scrapbook. If your goal in WEEK ONE was to collect ancestors back to colonial times, you will need a more organized approach. 300 names soon become a tangled blur. A FAMILY TREE[Read More…]
Columns
KAYE’S CORNER: How you play the game
“It’s not whether you win or lose, it’s how you play the game” is a familiar phrase attributed to Grantland Rice. In the aftermath of the Olympics and on behalf of all athletes, it’s timely to consider how we view winners and losers. We Americans feel strongly about winning and[Read More…]
LOOSE ENDS: Small Talk
The good ‘ole days is a frequent reference for so many these days. Comparing the years that came before with a rosy glow attached, I hear so many friends and family yearn for the past as we face an uncertain future. The old-fashioned words that sprinkled the vocabularies of so[Read More…]
EDITOR’S COLUMN: Find the good
It’s a frigid, snowy February morning. That right there is enough to throw me out of gear. Add accidentally dropping a pair of socks in the toilet, the 14-year-old dog having a messy accident on the carpet (why is it always on the carpet, never on the hard floor?), and[Read More…]
Would you like dates or coconuts on your tree?
It is a matter of personal preference. Do you want to store your family tree high up in the Cloud or do you want more control by only having it on your computer? Do you want to keep your tree available on your computer only or do you want the world[Read More…]
LOOSE ENDS: Calling it good
Did you ever hear of a Bassett hound taking the majority of the votes for a local political office and being elected mayor of his city? A friend of mine told me of her dog, Murdoch, who had risen like a comet from a well-known elected “canine customer of the[Read More…]
KAYE’S CORNER: Loss of privacy
It seems to me that our world has lost a huge degree of decency, respect, and privacy. In my childhood, certain situations were considered adult topics or family only. Thus, sensitive topics like miscarriages were not spread all over town and most people knew when to keep their mouth shut.[Read More…]
EDITOR’S COLUMN: Random acts of kindness
Today (Thursday, Feb. 17) is a holiday, one we need maybe more than ever. What holiday? It’s Random Acts of Kindness Day, part of Random Acts of Kindness Week. We could all do with some random acts of kindness these days. Sometimes people are cruel, thoughtless, rude, entitled, judgmental, hateful[Read More…]
“Did great-grandma really have her pigtails dipped in the inkwell in a one-room schoolhouse?”
By now, I hope you have collected basic information on your parents, grandparents, and hopefully a few great-grandparents. Write down as many family stories as you can. You know, the story of how Grandma had the chore of running water, when running water meant her, as a little girl running[Read More…]
Leaving a lasting legacy
Have you formalized your living will, succession, retirement or estate plan? Or are you like so many families who find it difficult to talk about these issues with your spouse or with your family? Sensitive issues, such as money, death and family relations are difficult issues not only to bring[Read More…]
Loose Ends: Bad behavior
When did it become socially acceptable to blame others for our own bad behavior? I know that it erupts in the privacy of our homes, as starting a family and raising children is stressful. It usually produces parents who lean on what they learned from their closest role models. No[Read More…]
Kaye’s Corner: Meeker food pantry
One of the outstanding ongoing charity operations in Meeker is our local Food Pantry, open to anyone in need. For those short of funds, in-between jobs, or otherwise struggling, it is a place to relieve food insecurity. This is a resource open to anyone living in or driving through our[Read More…]