St. Joseph, Michigan

After a night of no sleep--ANTICIPATION....a day of "on the road"...not a day's drive away, but we did have to stop for some cemetery photos (don't ya know!).....we ARRIVED!


This is kinda fun because we haven't officially even begun the beach vacation....we decided it doesn't begin until we actually get into the cottage ;-) and already we have so many memorable experiences. The best one was last night....an evening outside....the pristine silver beaches of Lake Michigan to our right, family to our left and the Southwest Michigan Symphony Orchestra in front of us.


I was free to wander nearby on the beach snapping the descent of the sun while listening to the melody of Peer Gynt Suite #1 or Night on Bald Mountain--watching huge mylar balloons drifting on the air currents, gulls circling the outdoor amphitheater almost in time with the music and the small crashing waves hitting the beach.


It just doesn't get any better than this......and the vacation hasn't even started yet!

Back on the road AGAIN

This has been a summer of "being away." Dayton, Ohio, Treasure Lake, Pennsylvania and now Michigan. Several years back, Ken, Ted and I went to hear our cousin Lee, play a solo piece with the Southwest Michigan Symphony Orchestra. While there, we fell in love with St. Joseph, Michigan. Ken decided last fall that spending a week on the Silver Beach in St. Joes's was a must for summer 2009 and we leave tomorrow. Saturday will be spent driving and in the evening we will, once again, be enchanted with the orchestra--hopefully outside. Sunday the actual beach vacation begins.

Not to worry, Flipside will still be on the outlook for cemeteries and will find more small town buildings to photograph...continuing my blog series of Stories in Stone--storefront names, date and biographies. Hopefully, I will be able to find some decent Internet connection sites and won't have to torture myself eating a terrible meal just to be in a place with WiFi--like in DuBois!

I am up to date with my "required" geneablogger blogs until mid month.

Catch up with you all on the flipside.

Stay tuned!

Carnival of Genealogy, 78th Edition--Ride 'Em Cowboy

Ride 'Em Cowboy- Share Your Pony PicturesThe topic of the 78th edition of the Carnival of Genealogy will be: Pony Pictures! This is your chance to show off those pony pictures in your family album. Did you ride your first pony at the state fair or on a farm? Did you have to sit on the back and hold on to your older brother? Was your pony real or a rocking horse? Got any pictures of other family members on ponies? Show us the cowboys and cowgirls in your family and tell us the stories to go along with them. Giddyup pony! Thank you to Creative Gene for hosting


We rode the waves, rode our bikes, but riding a horse…I guess we were not horse people. I think I rode an actual, live one, maybe once or twice in my life. I had a boyfriend when I was in high school that had horses and probably I rode at summer camp. Soooo, this was a bit of a challenge. Never say no, Flipside has risen to the occasion and unearthed a few pony ride photos. I will probably be in trouble with the “cowboys,” however, as the older sis, I usually am ;-)

Turn back the clock to 1952 and here I am enjoying a pony ride on a carousel at Kiddeland, somewhere in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.



In my never ending attempt to keep Flipside an equal opportunity blog AND having no pony photo for my brother, Ken--Halloween 1953, Ken IS a horse!



Jump ahead in time to Christmas 1956….

My youngest brother, Jeff, riding his brand spankin’ new hobby horse.



Here is my brother Ken, all “cowboyed” up, but seems to have lost his horse.

And the one that tugs at my heartstrings….

Scanned from a photo album, a photo of Jeff on his new horse, with the caption written back in 1956 by our Mother. (I’d recognize that writing anywhere).

Treasure Chest Thursday--Siberian Bag

Treasure Chest Thursday featuring family heirlooms. Hopefully by giving prominence to these items, they will continue to be valued by family members for years to come.

Siberian Bag from World War I
Canadian Expeditionary Force

This relic of World War I has been part of my immediate family since about the late 1950’s. It was given to my Mom by my paternal grandfather, George Henry Hughes, as a bag for my brothers to use when they went to camp. It went from seeing action in World War I in Siberia to being toted to church camps, Y camps and Boy Scout camps through the 1970’s. Every summer the bag was dragged out of the basement or the attic to make a trip somewhere.

Another generation got some use out of it when my son, Aric, began using it for his trips in the late 1990’s.

Although old, dirty and battered, it is a well loved and respected piece of the Hughes Family History.

Sergeant George Henry Hughes
Canadian Expeditionary Force
World War I

Links on Flipside to Additional Blogs

-George Henry Hughes Service in the Canadian Expeditionary Force World War I 

-MyGrandfather, World War I and alot of Bureaucratic Red Tape

-George Henry Hughes World War I Service in Russia

16th Edition of Smile for the Camera--Bling

The word prompt for the 16th Edition of Smile For The Camera is "Bling, ancestor Bling." I am always drawn to the beautiful jewelry worn by our ancestors in old photographs. The locket that was your Great Grandmother's treasure, the pocket watch proudly displayed by a male ancestor, the beautiful crosses of old, and the children with their tiny bracelets. While not many of our ancestors were wealthy enough to own multiple pieces of jewelry, there was the one good piece that held sentimental value. Some of us have been fortunate enough to inherit those treasures. This edition is hosted over at Shades of the Departed.

I do have numerous photographs of ancestors adorned in bling; however, I decided to put a little spin on this edition of Smile. Rather than posting a photo of an ancestor in a fabulous piece of bling, I decided to feature a rather plain piece of bling which features a fabulous photograph of an ancestor! Pictured on the lapel pin is my maternal great grandmother, Lucinda (Lou) Orr Frederick. Looking at other photographs of her, I am ball parking the pin to be turn of the 20th century.

Lou did not seem to wear much jewelry. I have several other photos of her taken through the late 1800's and into the early 1900's. Her primary adornments were beautiful lace and/or tatted collars.

Wordless Wednesday--Elyria Falls, Elyria, Ohio

Tombstone Tuesday--Clarence Harold Hiser

Clarence Harold Hiser, my father in law, was the son of Orison Henry Hiser and Eva Matilda Farschman. He was born in Columbiana Station, Lorain County, Ohio on May 28, 1921 and died in Tiffin, Seneca County, Ohio on February 28, 1991.

On November 9, 1942, he married Helena Mae Smith in Madison, Dane County, Wisconsin where he was stationed for World War II before heading overseas.

Clarence served with the United States Army Air Forces in China, and the Burma, India war theater as a radio operator and repair man in air transport command.

Following his service, he returned to his home in Tiffin, Ohio and he and Helena purchased their first home in Bloomville. They were blessed with two children. Clarence worked several different jobs before joining the National Machinery Company, located in Tiffin, as a foreman.

The family moved to a new home outside Tiffin where they resided until Clarence's death on February 28, 1991. Clarence's remains were cremated. His gravestone is in Greenlawn Cemetery, Tiffin, Seneca County, Ohio.