Watermelon-eating Contest

Wordless Wednesday: Little Boy enjoying a Big Watermelon

Little boy eating a large watermelon
“Blondie” enjoying a watermelon at the Watermelon Eating Contest at the Hampton County Watermelon Festival, 1974. (Image Source: Family Photo)

Calling all Medine cousins!

 

Medine family photo at the Pleasant Hill farm
The only known photograph of the Gustaf Medine family, taken about 1911 at Gustaf’s Pleasant Hill farm in Mayfield, IL. Photo Source: Drake family photos

I’m looking to reconnect with any relatives of the Medine family from DeKalb County, Illinois!

This semester, I took an online Genealogy course at University of Illinois with genealogist Nicole W. Miller. I feel like I learned so much about developing trends in genealogy, and I developed better practices for researching and sourcing my own family history. One of my accomplishments was writing a formal compiled genealogy for the Medine family. I realized that there are still some close Medine cousins that I know very little about! Continue reading “Calling all Medine cousins!”

On this day: Edwin Drake

On this day, 97 years ago, my grandfather Edwin Drake was born. This precious photo is him as a baby with his mother, Emma (Medine) Drake.

Emma Drake holding her son Edwin
Emma holding Edwin as a baby. Source: Drake family photo.

A Kaiser in the Great War

Today is the 100th anniversary of America’s entry into World War I. My great-grandfather, Glenn Kaiser, joined the army in September of 1917. He served overseas, fighting in Germany in the 127th Infantry, 32nd Division, eventually being discharged in May of 1919. To remember the 100th anniversary of America’s engagement in WWI, I will be sharing some of his intriguing photos from The Great War.

Kaiser_Glenn_WWI
My great-grandfather, Glenn M. Kaiser, in his Army uniform during WWI. He served overseas in Germany, primarily as a cook. (Image source: Kaiser family photo)

Nana was a WWII veteran (part II)

Kaiser_Millie_WAVES_portrait_colored
Millie Kaiser as a WAVE in 1944. (Family photo)

For Women’s History Month, this is Part II of a series dedicated to my grandmother’s WWII military service. Click here to read Part I. 

My Nana, Millie Kaiser, joined the Navy WAVES in 1944 when she was 21 years old, in the middle of WWII. She joined the WAVES because she felt it was the right thing to do for her country. After Basic Training in New York, she had a few days leave at home, and then she was stationed in Pensacola, Florida. Millie had never been that far away from home before. For her, it was an exciting new adventure.  Continue reading “Nana was a WWII veteran (part II)”