What Might Happen at the Historian's Family in 2012

It's early January and I, not unlike most people at this time of the year, am full of ideas and ambition about what can be accomplished in the upcoming year. At the top of the list is devoting more attention to The Historian's Family by blogging more about history and my search for ancestors. Of course, the latter is dependent upon my actually doing some research; but, fear not, I have a plan.

History, the academy and genealogy: At the close of 2011 a member of the APG posed a few interesting questions (I must admit I don't even remember what they were) and the responses and ensuing conversation totally exploded - like an algae bloom or supernova - into several different threads and topics. The deluge of messages streaming into my inbox had three major themes: the future of the APG, professional v. amateur, and genealogy's relationship to the academy. While the first two topics were interesting (and I do have some thoughts on the pro v. amateur debate), I was inspired by the genealogy v. academic thread. I was reminded that of the missions of both my blogs: to bridge the gap between professional and armchair historians. To this end, I had even proposed a lecture to NGS entitled "Looking at the Ivory Tower: Understanding and Using Academic History." Like so many lecture proposals, this one too was "rejected, refused, rebuffed, and repudiated" (to quote my favorite line from Gigi). In the midst of the APG debate, it occurred to me that I can blog about this topic here instead. In 2012 look for posts on how academic history "works", how it has changed in the past 50 years, ways in which academics use genealogy, and more.

Swedish Ancestors: For most of my life I have been very uninterested in my Scandinavian ancestors. For better or worse I have been "angry" with all of Scandinavia because my great-grandparents, Carl Nordstrom and Magdalena Larsen, both died when my grandmother was a teenager. Additionally, while my mom was growing up it was the Scottish side of her ancestry that was stressed. This continued during my childhood, with the exception of my grandmother's Norwegian baking (mmmmm... cardamon). For some reason, my attitude over the past year has changed. Perhaps because Troll beads are so trendy, because I've been stalked by Sweden, or maybe because of the blog. To be sure I get something done, I signed up for a three month subscription to ArkivDigital. The clock is ticking ....

52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & Family History: There were many prompts in this series that I did want to post about. I even have drafts for two of them. But I just never did anything about it. So, maybe I'll do some of them this year.

Birthdays: I also have this idea about posting biographies/snippets about ancestors on their birthdays. On the other hand, reading about other people's ancestor's can (but not necessarily) be quite boring. Then again, I have pictures of many of them, so it could be quite neat. Realistically, however, this might just be too much and send me over the edge of the blogosphere.

Who knows what else will turn up in the ensuing year? Who knows, if I'll even accomplish what I've set out here? Stay tuned for further developments...

Movies - 52 Weeks of Personal History & Genealogy, Week #12

I do love the movies, but not quite enough to leave the house to go see them very often. I'm not certain why this is exactly, perhaps I'm simply lazy and cheap. On the other hand, seeing movies in the middle of the afternoon with about 10 other people just doesn't compare to watching Terminator 2 with a full house at the Cinerama Dome on Sunset in Hollywood or watching When Harry Met Sally in an equally packed theatre in Universal City.

I have a tendency when watching movies to try and figure out where they were shot - what part of California, London or New York are they in? Especially California - lots of films used to be shot in California, even if they weren't set there. I remember during my first quarter away at college I saw a movie (I think with Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor) that had a scene shot in the Mission District of South Pasadena, my hometown. It was such a comfort to see a familiar site at time when everything around me was new and a bit scary. My friends, who were watching with me, however, were unimpressed; or, perhaps, had had too much to drink to realize what was going on.

If I find a movie I like, I will get the DVD and play it many times; kind of like visiting with an old friend. Some of my favorite movie friends at the moment are:

Julie & Julia

Persuasion

Michael Clayton

Pride and Prejudice (1995)

Legally Blonde

Sliding Doors

You've Got Mail

Ferris Bueller's Day Off

Star Trek

Lilo & Stitch

The Fog of War - Eleven Lessons from the life of Robert S. McNamara

Dead Poet's Society

The Hunt for Red October

A Room with a View

The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain

I'm sure this list provides some great insight into my character, but I'm not entirely certain I want to know what it is. There are no films about Sweden either, although I'm certain one will present itself shortly.


image credit: photl.com 

Songs - 52 Weeks of Personal History & Genealogy, Week 26

No one remembers what happened during the year of their birth. In fact, most people are probably totally unaware of anything that happened in the world that year, including the number one hit on Billboard. Unless, of course, they learn it from another source. In my case, I am more aware of events than the music because I was born in year that is integral to the second half of the US History Survey, which I happen to teach.

Don't remember what happened in 1968? Not in any particular order there was: the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.; the assassination of Bobbie Kennedy; the Tet Offensive; race riots; student riots, especially at Columbia; riots at the Democratic National Convention; the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia; antiwar protests; Lyndon Johnson did not seek his party's nomination, Richard Nixon staged one of the greatest political come-backs, ever; and the Apollo 8 mission reached the moon in December. This last leads to one of my favorite stories: President Johnson sent a copy of the famous Earthrise photo, taken by crewmember Bill Anders on Christmas Eve 1968, to every world leader, including Ho Chi Minh.

It must have seemed like the total meltdown of American civilization. But what were the people listening to while they watched the world collapse and waited patiently for my arrival?  According to Billboard the top 20 songs were:

1. Hey Jude, The Beatles
2. Love Is Blue , Paul Mauriat
3. Honey , Bobby Goldsboro
4. (Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay , Otis Redding
5. People Got to Be Free , Rascals
6. Sunshine of Your Love , Cream
7. This Guy's In Love With You, Herb Alpert
8. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly , Hugo Montenegro
9. Mrs. Robinson , Simon and Garfunkel
10. Tighten Up, Archie Bell and The Drells
11. Harper Valley P.T.A. , Jeannie C. Riley
12. Little Green Apples , O.C. Smith
13. Mony, Mony, Tommy James and The Shondells
14. Hello, I Love You , The Doors
15. Young Girl , Gary Puckett and The Union Gap
16. Cry Like a Baby , Box Tops
17. Stoned Soul Picnic , Fifth Dimension
18. Grazing In the Grass , Hugh Masekela
19. Midnight Confessions , The Grass Roots
20. Dance To The Music, Sly and The Family Stone

I only know a few of these songs; I'm not sure whether any of them go well with meltdowns or babies.


Billboard's Top 100 List for 1968 is at MusicOutfitters.com.

Clothes – 52 Weeks of Personal History & Genealogy, Week 24

Stylin' in an outfit made by my mother 

I grew up during the 1970s which pretty much speaks for itself clothing-wise. All I can say is thank goodness my clothes did not look much like those the grown-ups chose to wear. I'm sure I had lots of polyester, double-knit scary stuff, but please do not hold me responsible.

Of course, much of what I wore as a really little girl I know about only because I've seen the pictures. My mother, my grandmother, and my mamaw all sewed for me when I was young. And if you sew, you know that sewing for little girls is much fun than sewing for little boys. On top of this I was my mother's first born child, the first granddaughter on my dad's side and the first grandchild on my mother's. The sewing machines were plenty busy! Consequently, when I was about five, between what was bought, sewn, or handed down to me, I could wear a completely different outfit everyday of the month.

This anecdote probably explains why, while I am no fashionista, I am continually frustrated by my tiny paycheck and my BIG desire for new clothes. I have a passage from the Gospel of Thomas posted in my closet in which Jesus says "Do not worry from morning to evening, and from evening to morning, about what you are to wear." Usually, this saying helps me reconcile my wish for clothes with an insignificant budget and an aspiration to have fewer possessions and I end up feeling quite virtuous about having a small wardrobe. But some mornings when a favorite item is in the laundry or I hate everything I own the burning desire to spruce up and enlarge my wardrobe overwhelms me. Then it quickly becomes apparent that my virtuous resolve is a thin veneer held on by old, yellowed scotch tape. I think to myself, "Seriously, Jesus was a man, what did he know about clothes? In fact, he probably would have LIKED the fashions of 1970s." Luckily, these weak mornings do not happen very often.

Neighbors – 52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History, Week 25

Stratford Avenue, looking south from my front yard

Stratford Avenue, in South Pasadena, California was quiet, traffic free and shaded by rows of Chinese Elm Trees. These several features made it the perfect playground for all the kids who lived there – not only could we play in our yards and swim in our pools, but we could also run around in the street without much fear of speeding cars or becoming red with sunburn. The lack of traffic was due to a cul-de-sac at one end of the street or "the doughnut" as we all called it. The center of the doughnut had bushes and a tree, if I remember correctly, and it was another great place to play. Due to the miracle of Facebook, I have connected with many of the old neighborhood kids, three of whom were in my graduating class at SPHS.

None of these childhood playmates were my immediate neighbors though. On either side of us, were two elderly couples: Jack and Evelyn to the north and Virgil and Dorothy to the south. I remember more about Virgil and Dorothy, probably because our driveways abutted so we saw them more often. Dorothy had a bad habit of burning the bacon (or was it toast) and setting off the smoke detector in the kitchen. Virgil used to walk his two dachshunds, George and Barney, at least once a day. His route took him down the street then around Alhambra Park. The older Virgil and the dogs got, the shorter the walks became.

My bedroom was close to Jack and Evelyn's house and as they got older their TV got louder. I did not always want to listen to what they were watching, which was unfortunate in the heat of summer as the only air conditioning in both our houses was fans and open windows. Jack and Evelyn usually made a daily trip of some sort and every morning Jack asked Evelyn where she wanted to go. I don't remember her answers and I think towards the end of her life she no longer understood the question. But sooner or later, I would hear the car doors slam and the engine start, so decisions must have been made. Funnily enough, after they moved to a retirement center, I really missed hearing their TV and Jack's daily question, "Where do you want to go today, Evelyn?"

I don't live in California any more but I do live on a cul-de-sac. To the east is a newly retired couple with a Great Dane and to the west is a not retired couple who used to have a terrier. Despite these similarities, I am no longer one of the neighborhood kids playing in the street; I am in the long stretch of time between childhood and retirement. It's not a bad place to be, but would be much improved if someone asked me, "Do you want to go to on a European cruise today?"

Books – 52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History, Week 23

Amanda is to books as bacon is to eggs or Linus is to his blanket or Calvin is to Hobbes. Books to me are sustenance, comfort and best friends. I could not live without my books and I know I will not live long enough to read all the ones that interest me. One of my favorite memories of childhood is on a summer's day sitting outside all day reading. I took a blanket and my pile of books into the front yard and when the shade moved to a different part of the yard, I moved too. It was a fabulous – I must have read at least three books that day.

Now that we have established that Amanda. Loves. To. Read. what books will tempt her to crack the cover and which will make her run screaming from the room? Let's start with the latter. I'm not terribly keen on science fiction or fantasy; my sister loved the VC Andrews books, but I had no interest at all. I don't read graphic novels and I was never a comic book person. Neither am I keen on Important Fiction. As a historian I read plenty of books about the unfairness and complicated nature of the human experience, I don't really feel the need to read about it in a fictionalized format. So when I read fiction, I want to have to think too much.

I have always tended to read nonfiction as opposed to fiction as learning is fun for me. When I want to know something, I go to the library and look for a book on the subject whether it is dating, sewing, blogging, religion, history, job hunting, gardening, or cooking. Now of course, my profession demands that I read nonfiction. Right now I am reading a book on central European migration to Cleveland for a program I will be attending this summer. It is work and fun at the same time, and you can't get any better than that.

When I have a yen for fiction, I usually will pick a mystery. The first mysteries I read were the Bobbsey Twins and Nancy Drew. I've read all but one of the Brother Cadfeal mysteries by Ellis Peters and I'm pretty sure I've read everything Agatha Christie and Margery Allingham ever wrote. I tried reading Inspector Morse and Rebus, but did not love them, although I think I'd give Rebus another go. I have also enjoyed the work of Joanne Dobson and Earlene Fowler.

When I was little I had a huge collection of Golden Books. My absolute favorite was The Monster at the End of this Book starring loveably, furry old Grover. Grover spends the whole book telling you not to turn the pages because he is afraid of the monster. Then when you get to the end he realizes that he is the monster and there was no reason to be afraid. Not being afraid is an important life lesson, one that I am still learning.

Another favorite was Mandy by Julie Edwards. My grandma bought it for me just before my sixth birthday and I read it shortly afterwards. I really identified with the main character Mandy, and I don't think it's just because we had the same name. She was an orphan who found a garden house that she decorated for her very own; I think I just didn't want to share a room with my little sister and wanted to create my own. Our bedroom at the time was also yellow and brown – ick! Mandy is one of the few books I schlepped from California to Ohio when I went to college.

Snuggled next to Mandy in my suitcase was a copy of Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein. My papaw got this for me when I was 12. If you've never read it, you really need to. It has the most fun poems for kids. Great rhymes, fun drawings, silly topics, amazing rhythm and cadence. When I had to memorize a poem in the seventh grade, I picked "Sick." This short poem, which begins, "I cannot go to school today, Said little Peggy Ann McKay" details all the illnesses which would unfortunately prevent Peggy from attending school that day. At the end she learns that it is Saturday and is miraculously recovered and goes out to play. Another student did an excerpt from Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Guess who went to Harvard.

[Update 6/23/2011: The Monster at the End of the Book is now an iPhone/iPad App which you can purchase for $3.99. Just search for Grover at the iTunes Store. I haven't bought it yet, but the average customer rating is 4.5 stars.]

Commercials – 52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History, Week 21

Upon hearing these words, "We now pause for this commercial break" or these "After these messages we'll be right back" what did you hope or fear would appear on the TV machine. Recently, I've been a fan of Flo from Progressive (visit their YouTube channel), the first FreeCreditReport.com band (see all 9 of their commercials here) and just about anything from Geico (their YouTube channel is here). However, I am vastly irritated by any commercial by a drug company for their new products (think cholesterol, dry eyes, restless legs, etc.). Why? For the simple reason that just make me worry and I really don't need any help finding new things to worry about. Then again, some commercials are really just "nothing" in that you hardly even remember that you ever saw them. But which commercials do I remember from my childhood, which is getting longer ago with every passing moment?

The first of which I have any concrete memory was from DeVry Technical Institute. What I remember of it is just a guy with thick hair and heavy sideburns (it was the late seventies; he probably thought he was stylin'), sitting at a desk in a darkly lit room. At the corner of this desk was a phone – a big, beige, old-timey, touch-tone telephone. The phone rang and rang and rang, then an announcer asked if you were happy with your work and if not, you should call DeVry. For this spot to have left such a huge impression on the second-grade me, it must have played during episodes of Brady Bunch, Bewitched and the Partridge Family that I watched after school. It would seem to me that if you were an adult watching these programs at 3:30 in the afternoon, you were unhappy about something.

Two commercials I remember for their catchy jingles. Both are for car dealerships, but since I grew up Southern California, I suppose this isn't surprising. I've heard it said about this part of the world that one man, one car is as sacred as one man, one vote. The two dealerships were Pete Ellis Dodge (Long Beach Freeway, Firestone Exit, South Gate) and Cal Worthington and his dog Spot – if you want a car or truck go see Cal, however the dog was NEVER EVER a dog. See these commercials on Youtube: Pete Ellis Dodge is here; Cal Worthington here.

A favorite series of commercials was from Aames Home Loan. They featured actor Patrick Campbell in some awful predicament, usually accompanied by a chicken. As Patrick and the chicken set the scene, the announcer said something along the lines of "If you are in trouble, and you feel you are in getting in deeper all the time…" Then Patrick would look in the yellow pages, because everyone has one of those when they are on a deserted island or trapped inside a whale, and finds Aames Home Loan and then calls them on the phone, which based upon appearance must have been borrowed from the set of the aforementioned DeVry commercial. Then the announcer comes back and says, triumphantly, "it's Aames Home Loan to the Rescue" and Patrick would be rescued. My favorite, which you can see here, has Patrick in the middle of an ocean in a lifeboat surrounded by sharks. He calls Aames Home Loan and the US Navy appears out of nowhere to save him. On occasion, I still tell people to call Aames Home Loan if they are in trouble, but nobody gets it in Ohio.

On Saturday mornings, I was always amused by Mr. Turtle and Mr. Owl assessing the longevity of Tootsie Pops. How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Roll Tootsie Pop? To find the answer watch here.

But, I think my all-time favorite commercials from childhood were from Chevron. They were inventive, they were educational, they had dinosaurs AND they were animated! What more could a kid want?  Someone has finally posted them on YouTube (I've looked once or twice before). Despite the fact that the grown-up me is much more critical of oil companies and our dependence on fossil fuels, I still love these commercials. Watch two spots here and here.

And then the announcer said, "We now return to our regularly scheduled programing."

Bedrooms - 52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History, Week 19

Despite the evidence of these photographs: My. Bedroom. Was. Always. Messy.

These photos are from my bedroom when I was in high school.
I made the patchwork quilt and my dad made the bookcase.

I still have the bulletin board and use it to do exactly the same thing as I did then.

Fame - 52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History, Week 20

El Matador Beach, Malibu, CA

Vincent Price at the Magic Castle

I thought that since it's summer and I have more time on my hands, I could take the time and catch up on the 20 weeks of this series that I've missed.

The prompt for week 20 was to chronicle any brushes with fame that you have had. I grew up in southern California with a dad who worked in the television industry, so I first thought about encounters with famous people. Then I re-read the prompt and a few posts on the topic and realized that Amy meant "have you ever appeared in the newspaper or on TV?" I thought about re-imagining my post to reflect Amy's intent, but I decided against it. Almost everyone appears in the newspapers at some time or another, but how many people can include the following in their living family histories?

My home town, South Pasadena, was often described as Hollywood's favorite suburb. It's a small quiet town with a plethora of great houses built in several architectural styles. We even have a column in our local paper detailing what was recently shot in town. Did you ever see the movie One Good Cop with Michael Keaton? I haven't, but one house in the movie, which is supposed to be in New York, was only two blocks from my house. They brought in truckloads of plants to make the property look more "east coast." The house for the drama Family was on the same street as my grandparents, although it was a pretty long street.

My dad got me and my grandparents tickets to see E/R with Eliot Gould; it was one of my favorite programs. Before the taping started, the 1984 men's gold metal Olympic team came in to say "hello" to the audience. They were appearing in an episode of Different Strokes on the sound stage next door.
  
One sunny August day, I went with my dad to help him carry his equipment down the steps from the parking lot to a shoot on El Matador Beach in Malibu. While the crew was setting up, I got to watch the production assistants sweep the beach with big brooms to clear out all the kelp that had washed up on shore. I decided I didn't ever want to be a production assistant! I was also deputized to play stand-in for Alyssa Milano, the talent. I sat facing the rising sun and told everyone doing the set-up, that it was too bright. The crew said, don't worry about it, you're just not used to it, the sun will rise, yadda yadda yadda. The first thing Ms. Milano said when she arrived on set and sat where I had been sitting is, "it's too bright, I can't see." At which point they did all sorts of adjustments to improve the situation for her. If they had only listened to me, they would have saved themselves a whole lot of time and trouble.

I also went with my dad to a shoot at the Magic Castle in Los Angeles. Here the talent was Vincent Price – very cool.

And in a concession to Amy's original intent for this post, my boss and I were interviewed by a local Columbus television station in 1997. Our firm was completing the historic documentation of the Columbus Penitentiary before it was torn down. The demolition crew showed up on the first day we started our work; that was kind of exciting. I prepared answers for questions on the history of prisons and this one in particular. Unfortunately for me, about the only thing the reporter wanted to know about was O.Henry, the only famous person to ever be imprisoned in "the Pen."

Secrets - 52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History, Week 22

The Queen's View

Week after week I have seen the prompts for the "52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy and History" posted and have thought to myself, "I know what I could write for that prompt. I'll get to it after I {insert teaching related activity here}." Obviously, I never got to it, which is especially distressing because school has been out for two weeks. 

I've realized that if you write on each of the prompts Amy Coffin creates this year you will have created a history of your own life or a living family history, almost without trying. I had never even heard of living family histories until I wrote about them for eHow earlier this year. The article is here (n.b. I don't get anything if you click on the link).

So here goes….

This week's prompt is "Secrets" - something about me that would not be found in a documentary record 100 years from now. It seems to me that if this fact is not documented (e.g. written down) nobody could ever find it out whether they look tomorrow or in 1,000 years.

The first undocumented item that sprang to mind was my favorite colors. When I was little my favorites were blue and green, but since college it has been orange. Not a bright yellow-orange, like the fruit, but a darker, red-orange. On the other hand my favorite color combination can be seen almost any time it rains – green trees against a blue-grey sky. The only way, in my opinion, to improve this combination is when the rain has stopped and the world is touched with the gold of an emerging sun. I have always thought this combination is what I would give to Jane Lockhart of the HGTV series Get Color for my room inspiration. {This is my all-time favorite HGTV program, which also isn't documented}. 

In fact, I love this color combination so much that my niece uses the term "favorite color" as code for my favorite matinee idol. Here is an example of how it works (imagine a sing-song emphasis on the code words): "Aunt Mandy, do you want to watch this movie? It's got your favorite color…" His identity, I think, will remain a secret.

The second item that occurred to me is that anyone looking for me in the future might wonder why that can't find me in the 2000 US Census. They will probably madly look for me in Columbus (where I lived in 1999) going street by street; they will look for my parents and my sister; they will try the entire country with various spellings of "Amanda" and "Epperson;" they will triple check the social security death index to make sure I didn't die in 1999. But the truth is quite simple – I am NOT in the 2000 US Census as I did not live in the United States. I am in the 2001 UK Census as I was a graduate student at the University of Glasgow at the time. If someone knew significant details about my life or had access to other documents, like my diploma, they would be able to figure this out quite easily. But if not, my absence from the 2000 Census would be a great big brick wall. 

If you'd like to know more about secrets, read this story from NPR. It explains (perhaps) why I shared the anecdote about my favorite color.