Loading ...
With the summer months comes a flurry of activity in the genealogical realm, just like most other elements of society. Find-a-Grave requests are coming in by the boatload, and family history buffs everywhere are planning visits to hometowns, historical sites and cemeteries. But what if you just can’t manage an actual trip to see the original family homestead or ancestor’s [...]
Do you blame someone else for your feelings, issues or how your life has turned out? How does it play out in your relationships, marriage or in the work environment? The blame game can have a powerful impact in your life. It can keep you stuck. Blame keeps us focused on the other person so we don’t have to work [...]
Since I’m a travel agent, my family assigns me the responsibility of handling our vacations. So when we recently took a Caribbean cruise, you know who was in charge of all activities. This was all good except for one thing: I ran out of time to research. And so, it was on the fifth day of our cruise that we [...]
To quote Ernest Hemingway, “Every man’s life ends the same way. It is only the details of how he lived and how he died that distinguish one man from another.” Sitting down to write this column, I have learned – hours before – of the death of a dear family friend. This man was a regular visitor to the Scoles [...]
In the process of making summer day-trip plans, we’ve decided to add my father’s ancestral hometown to the list of places we will visit in the coming warm-weather months. The town is in northern Michigan, so it’s doable from here, but it really doesn’t matter from where your ancestors hail – you can always go home again. Planning the details [...]
Do you feel stuck in a rut and doing the same old thing? You may not feel fulfilled with your life. When you start working on yourself, you will see your life and the world with a different set of lenses. It really does shift your life in a way you might not have thought was possible. How do you [...]
Just days remain until Monday – the day the 1940 census becomes publicly available to family history researchers (and just plain curious folks) for the first time. There is much to do in preparation. Covering what Tom Brokaw has named “The Greatest Generation,” this rich genealogical record must be indexed in order to truly be a useful ancestry tool. Being [...]
Looking for a unique vacation destination? One that offers geysers, glaciers and a good soak in a geothermal pool? Perhaps somewhere with culture, gourmet restaurants and nightlife? Try Iceland on for size. Iceland may not be on your vacation radar, but perhaps it should be. This not-as-cold-as-you-think nation is growing in popularity among travelers. And for good reason: Iceland is [...]
I couldn’t have been happier to get on the plane. Visions of sunny blue skies, sand, surf and fruity cocktails took over my mind. It seemed almost too good to be true. And it was. That’s right, in the middle of perhaps the mildest winter I’ve ever experienced, Fort Lauderdale, Fla. was having a cold, rainy spell. The sun lingered [...]
Why do we all judge ourselves and others? I love the saying, “Judgment doesn’t define who they (people) are, it defines who you are.” Many people have a deep fear of being judged because of the pain and rejection that can come with it. For example, you may not speak up because of the fear of what people will think [...]
