My basement has a problem: Me. For years I’ve embraced the role of Archiver in Chief for family materials, amassing more books, letters, photos and ephemera than I can ever hope to properly organize and digest. And as I settle into this latest phase of life, I’m realizing it’s time to take care of jettisoning … Read more
Part II of a series on the story of Byrne Bros hardware. You can read Part I here. My Aunt Cathy tells a story of the closing of Byrne Bros hardware in 1967, and that when my grandfather, John Byrne, decided he was ready to retire, my father, Jack, asked if he should consider taking … Read more
Families are chock full of colorful characters, legends and tragedies. In our family, we have a famous science fiction writer, a skyjacker, Mayflower passengers, Revolutionary and Civil War soldiers, the founder of Brooklyn and many others. Genealogy research has its quotient of humble-bragging, and famous relatives and/or salacious tales are simply grist for the mill. As … Read more
For many years, my grandparents dedicated a wall in their Santa Cruz home to old family photos. They were mostly run-of-the-mill portraits and snapshots of aunts and uncles, with the notable exception of a blurry image of a dapper man in a white uniform, standing on the deck of a ship, circa 1920. With a … Read more