This is the recipe box of my paternal grandmother, Betty Grace Sears Hanley (1924-1981). I have very few memories of her and hers is a life story that I have always wanted to know better. When my grandfather, Michael John Hanley Jr. (1924-2015) died, this was among his possessions. What I love most about this piece is seeing so much of my grandmother’s handwriting. It helps me feel connected to her.
By the looks of the recipes included grandma was no Julia Child. But, she was a very resourceful, efficient, traditional, and caring 1950s and 1960s homemaker who provided meals for her husband and five children.
Included in the box were many recipes torn out from magazines and newspapers like “Fiesta Shrimp Saute” (sponsored by Blue Bonnet) and “Thrifty Peach Bavarian”. Pictured in the photo above is also a handwritten recipe for “Honeyscotch Sundae”.
A quick google search for “Thrifty Peach Bavarian” turned up this 1950 Mary Lee Tarlor cookbook. Here is a page from that pdf that seems to match the photo in my grandma’s recipe box.
Thanks for taking a look at the Family History Artifact of the Day Challenge! Every day in May I will be posting a family artifact or heirloom. I hope you’ll join!
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This will be my final contribution to the May, 2020 Family Artifact Challenge! Thank you to everyone who participated, whether a lot or a little, or just followed along.
In a previous post I wrote about the history of The Leaning Tree Lodge and its importance to my family for several generations. Before it became The Leaning Tree, it was known as “The Esper Club”, named after three Esper brothers, all Catholic priests, two of whom were twins. This is the story of their club.
How old does an item have to be to be considered and artifact or heirloom? I would argue that is painting, done in 2011, already meets the requirement. It is a watercolor of our daughter, painted by her great “granny”, Muriel Joy Gregory Petit (1930-2014).
This is the original newspaper clipping of Charles Henry Schmidt (d. 1899), my 3rd great grandfather’s obituary. It was affixed to sturdy paper and laminated. He lived and died near Houghton Michigan, in the Upper Peninsula. It appears that it was clipped from The Mining Gazette.
This is the gem of my family history archives. It is the photo album of my great grandmother, Ida Rhoads Sears (1900-2002). I wanted you to see the album as it is, every well loved tattered page of it. You can also view the gallery for individual images and notes.
Professor John M. Harrington (1893-1967) was my first cousin twice removed. As the obituary states, he was a well known professor at the Michigan Technological University in Houghton, Michigan and a former head of the Department of Mathematics there. By some he was described as, “one of the greatest teachers to serve on the Michigan Tech faculty.”
My 3rd great grandfather was Rhinard Rhoads (1833-1920) of Dunlo, Cambria County, Pennsylvania. This photo of him was taken in the later years of his life. Rhinard and I share a birthday, 143 years apart. Here are some more photos of him.
I always knew my grandfather, Michael John Hanley Jr. (1924-2015), to be an outstanding person. These letters of recommendation from 1944 are evidence that this was a life long quality of his.
It is impossible to overstate the multigenerational prominence The Leaning Tree Lodge has in the collective memory of my extended family. Affectionately known as “The Cabin”, it sits on the Au Sable River, east of Grayling, Michigan and has been connected to our family since the 1960s.
In May of 2020 I challenged myself and others to write every day for a month about a family heirloom or artifact. Here are 10 lessons I learned from this genealogy writing experience.