Sepia Saturday: Xenagogues We Have Known and Loved

Sepia Saturday challenges bloggers to share family history through old photographs.

This week’s Sepia Saturday prompt signals we have arrived at the letter X. Oh, how I wish I had a photo of an X-ray but I don’t. Instead I have plenty of photos of my grandaunt Velma Davis Woodring’s trips to Korea, Japan, and India that will dispel any notion that she was xenophobic.

India 1959
Velma in the middle

I often think I’m like Velma. My desire to see the world must be genetic.

I used to hate group tours, but Quietvox technology makes walking with a xenagogue a satisfying way to see a historic district, appreciate architecture, and understand the significance of a particular artifact. 

We have toured twice with Amawaterways, and I must say that the local xenagogues they hire are not merely extremely knowledgeable but also personable and patient. Here are some we have had the pleasure of learning from:

Bratislava, Slovakia – This guide is quite young and fairly new, but she did a wonderful job helping us see the country as a former communist country and how different today. One surprising tidbit she revealed was that her grandparents still prefer communism over the current government. It had never occurred to me that people actually liked that system.

 

Vienna, Austria – This guide was sooo funny but EXHAUSTING. So much to say but it was Vienna after all!

 

Melk Abbey, Austria – Here’s a 2-for-1. The young gal in red was our guide through Melk Abbey. The other woman was our guide on a number of visits to small villages along the Danube. Oh my! If you were looking for an actress to portray a strong Bavarian-esque woman who could milk cows, butcher them, herd sheep, and keep the menfolk in line, she’d be the first choice.

 

Our guide is at the far right

Linz, Austria – This tour guide likes to ask people what they know of Linz. No one said “Hitler’s hometown.” No, the one answer was “Linzer torte.” Surprisingly, she doesn’t even like Linzer torte, but she loves her city. Patient woman! We asked to stop in a bank to change a $50-bill because we had nothing smaller in Euros for a tip. We took way too long and finally gave up. I hate giving a tip in US dollars but we had no choice that day.

Cesky Krumlov, Czech Republic – The bus ride to Cesky Krumlov from where our ship was docked in Austria was rather long. Our guide used the time to give us both a history lesson and cultural enrichment. She played a recording of Bedrich Smetana’s “The Moldau” which I recalled learning about in a required music appreciation course in college. One thing I will never forget is our guide giving everyone a small coin for the public bathroom. The bathroom – YUCK. In no time, there was no toilet paper, no paper towels, no soap, and electric air dryers did not exist. Women dug through their purses for tissue and scrap paper. “Can you spare a square?” And we had to pay for THIS? Bathroom aside, Cesky Krumlov is a fantastic place to visit.

There is another group behind ours. 
Our guide is the lady in the bottom right corner
in the rust-colored coat. 

Passau, Germany – This little lady was the sergeant in charge. However, one funny thing was her love for her Catholic Church. If she said it once, she said it a thousand times, “Our new priest is SOOOO handsome. We are so lucky to have such a handsome priest.”

 

Amsterdam, the Netherlands – The Dutch are BIG people. Tall. All of them tall. Some are thin and lanky. Others are just large, not fat, just large. Our guide was a charming TALL Dutch woman who owns at least 3 bicycles because each has a different purpose. One is good for grocery shopping. Another is good for trails. Another is good for a commute.

 

Cologne, Germany – One of the most serious of xenagogues is this one who took us around Cologne delighting us with stories about the great sense of humor displayed in the city – ironic, don’t you think?

 

Heidelberg, Germany – He looks Italian to me, but this xenagogue is German.

 

It took some coaxing to get my husband on an airplane that would go over water, not because of xenophobia, just aviophobia, I guess. After two river cruises, we can’t wait to go again.

Please visit Sepia Saturday for more X-traordinary photos and stories. 

Wendy

© 2021, Wendy Mathias. All rights reserved.

Photo Friday: Bob and Cutey

 

It is time for another photo of “Bob” and Cutey. I rant frequently about my inability to identify this little girl and her brother John Jr.

PLEASE help me identify these children:

One More Time

Poodle Woman

Those Darn Children

Margaret, Is That You?

Brick Wall: Those Darn Mystery Children

Wendy

© 2021, Wendy Mathias. All rights reserved.

52 Ancestors - IN THE KITCHEN: Grandma's Kitchen

No kitchen holds as many memories as my Grandma Lucille Rucker Davis’s kitchen. It was a small box, 12’x12’ if that. Along one outside wall was the only set of upper and lower white metal cabinets which shared space with a stove and enamel sink under a window. 

 

Me in Grandma's kitchen 1965
(on the back I wrote that I didn't want my picture taken
but Daddy chased me)

The opposite wall held a small refrigerator which fit into an alcove under the stairs that led to an upstairs apartment. In the middle of the room were a grey-white enamel kitchen table and 4 chairs with black vinyl seats. A metal appliance cart in the corner held an electric frying pan and a few choice baking dishes. A stepstool next to the doorway to the dining room provided a resting spot close to the stove. That was all. Today’s homeowner wants COUNTERSPACE. There was none to speak of in Grandma’s kitchen. She did her prep work on that table. 

Picking crabs summer 1972
Grandma, me, future hubby, and Momma cut off
ooh - check Barry's groovy watch

I can still see the steam glistening on the glossy white walls. At times they seemed to actually sweat with the frenzy of meal preparation.

I can hear the cacophony of pots and pans as Grandma dug through the cramped lower cabinets, pots stacked precariously toppling over, lids crashing onto the floor, baking sheets and muffin tins being reassigned a new spot with every bang of a pan. Today when my sister or I get a little noisy in the kitchen, we say, “Look out, Lucille!”

I can smell the aroma of tomatoes and green peppers in the Swiss steak bubbling away in the electric skillet.

Grandma's tell-tale backhand slant shows she wrote
her recipe for me. This is also her Jell-o book.

Crammed somewhere in the little refrigerator would be a dish of Jello salad. Grandma thought no meal was complete without Jello.

She did the cooking EVERY Sunday. EVERY Thanksgiving. EVERY Christmas. And whenever she felt like it. I inherited some of my grandmother’s dishes but not her ability to bang out a meal on demand. Whenever I reach for my grandmother’s Jewel Tea Autumn Leaf bowl, I am instantly taken back to her kitchen.

The large Jewel Tea bowl was perfect for Grandma’s potato salad then. It’s perfect for her potato salad now. Because of Grandma’s recipe, we’re potato salad snobs. You won’t see us picking up potato salad at Sam’s Club to take to a covered-dish event.

Grandma’s kitchen was a small room, but in it she created some big and memorable dishes.

Amy Johnson Crow continues to challenge genealogy bloggers and non-bloggers alike to think about our ancestors and share a story or photo about them. The challenge is “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks.”

Wendy

© 2021, Wendy Mathias. All rights reserved.

Sentimental Sunday: Daddy and Granddaddy

Fred Robert Slade Jr.

(7 Aug 1928 - 31 Jan 2009)

Fred Robert Slade Sr.

(8 Nov 1901 - 4 Feb 1983)

Wendy

© 2021, Wendy Mathias. All rights reserved.

Sepia Saturday: Vacations and Waterfalls

Sepia Saturday challenges bloggers to share family history through old photographs.

This week’s Sepia Saturday prompt features a waterfall. Who doesn’t love a waterfall? One can’t help being happy in the presence of one. The sound. The motion. A waterfall is truly one of nature’s most wondrous gifts.

Niagara Falls 1993
Bridal Veil Falls on the left and Horsehoe Falls on the right

Niagara Falls that straddles the US and Canadian border has drawn honeymooners and tourists since 1800, at least. A family vacation in 1993 to Canada demanded a stop to see the place that has tempted so many people to risk going over in a barrel or across on a tightrope.

Maid of the Mist from the viewing deck

One of the tourist attractions my family enjoyed in 1993 was a ride INTO the falls on the Maid of the Mist. 

Everybody was issued blue raingear. 

Barry, Jordan and Zoe
in line to board

Another tour boat

from the Maid of the Mist

A peek at the website shows Maid of the Mist is still in business and giving out their hallmark blue raingear. One big difference is that now the boats are electric catamaran-style, more eco-friendly than the single-hull boats that we remember.

 

Having experienced the magnificence of Niagara Falls, Barry and I eagerly signed on to visit the Rhine Falls as part of our extension to Zurich following our Rhine River cruise in 2019. The drive from the city to this tourist attraction was lovely.

 

We thrilled at the view from the road leading into the park.

 

I’m sorry, but after Niagara Falls, the Rhine Falls seem rather wimpy. Niagara Falls aren’t the tallest or even widest waterfalls in the world, but they made the list of 20 most spectacular. Rheinfall did not make the list. 

They are not tall at all, nor particularly wide. Oh, they are still pretty. Still fast. Still VERY loud. Mother Nature does her best.

 

The boat ride to get closer to the falls is a thrill ride. I do not do thrill rides. 

Boat captain revs the engine and heads for the falls.

Some people had more fun than I did.

Standing on the viewing deck and clinging to the rail while the boat bounces over waves churned up by other boats are two different experiences. Where were the life jackets? Needless to say, I was grateful to get back on land to enjoy the waterfall from a distance.

Barry and moi 2019

Please visit Sepia Saturday for more photos and stories of waterfalls and other things starting with “W.”

Wendy

© 2021, Wendy Mathias. All rights reserved. 

Photo Friday - Pretty Lady

I love the expression on this beautiful woman's face. The photo is in a scrapbook that came to me from my grandaunt Helen Killeen Parker. Therefore, I wonder if this is my great-grandmother Mary Theresa Sheehan Killeen Walsh in her younger days.

Mary Theresa Sheehan Killeen Walsh
6 Jan 1869 - 18 Jul 1939

This portrait is definitely Mary Theresa. Same woman?

If not, maybe it is one of her sisters.

Wendy

© 2021, Wendy Mathias. All rights reserved.

52 Ancestors - FAVORITE PHOTO: James Franklin Jollett

Today this is my “favorite photo.” Tomorrow it might change.

Why I love this photo:

Look at that sweet face. That is the face that fits the personality of my 2X great-grandfather James Franklin Jollett according to the stories I heard from his grandchildren.

From his granddaughter Violetta Davis Ryan:

He was a warm and loving grandfather who enjoyed his grandchildren. He cried when they came to visit. He cried when they left.

From his granddaughter Vessie Jollett Steppe:

During the Civil War, James Franklin Jollett was a guard accompanying some prisoners of war on a train on the way to a prison camp, I suppose. One of the prisoners said that he would just love to see his family one last time. James Franklin thought a minute, then said he was stepping outside to smoke. That is when the prisoner escaped. Hmm

Amy Johnson Crow continues to challenge genealogy bloggers and non-bloggers alike to think about our ancestors and share a story or photo about them. The challenge is “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks.” 

Wendy

© 2021, Wendy Mathias. All rights reserved.