Archives: December 2014

Book about 10th Mountain Div in WWII May Become a Movie

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While poking around on the Internet with Google, I learned about a project that Robert Redford apparently is working on: creating a movie based on the book Climb to Conquer, The Untold Story of WWII’s 10th Mountain Division, written by Peter Shelton and published by Simon and Schuster in 2003 (http://books.simonandschuster.com/Climb-to-Conquer/Peter-Shelton/9781451655100) . In late June and early

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In Memoriam — Russ Cooper, One of my Early Mentors in Genealogy

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The other day, I received an email advising that Russ Cooper had passed away. I remember meeting Russ at an Ohio Genealogical Society (www.ogs.org)  conference held in Independence, Ohio, during my early days of getting involved in genealogy. He was at the conference representing the North East Ohio Computer-Aided Genealogy Society (aka NEOCAG — see http://neocag.net/), of

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Burned Records — The “B-file”

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As genealogy researchers, we have often heard the statement, “The records were burned.” The statement usually involves the records that should be on file in a courthouse. But there is another type of record search that often gets that response: Army records from WWI and WWII. That’s because in July 1973, a disastrous fire broke out

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Family Tree of Languages Has Roots in Anatolia, Biologists Say

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Recently, I stumbled upon that headline and was immediately intrigued. I learned that it appeared over an article from the 12 Aug 2012 issue of The New York Times. You can check it out at http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/24/science/indo-european-languages-originated-in-anatolia-analysis-suggests.html. The following statement is especially interesting to me as a Finnish-American: Historical linguists see other evidence in that the first Indo-European

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Woman Finds Photo from Vietnam, Search for Owner Ensues

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Here’s another example of how modern communication channels work. It involves a Vietnam era photograph found in a parking lot. Here is some of the story: A woman in Southwest Ohio is asking for individuals to take a few moments and give a close look at a seemingly decades-old photograph. According to WDTN, Samantha Bryson

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Sisu and the 1939 Winter War between Finland and the Soviet Union

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I have just finished viewing Fire and Ice : The Winter War of Finland and Russia, a documentary video on YouTube. I was interested in viewing this because of my Finnish ancestry–my paternal grandparents emigrating from Finland in 1902 and 1903. My grandfather had many siblings and half-siblings who remained in Finland, so I probably

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Learning About Another Country, South Africa, and its Dutch Origins

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I enjoy reading detective novels. And I especially enjoy them when they introduce me to another region, country, or culture. I have just finished reading Cobra, A Novel, written by Deon Meyer. This fast-paced detective novel provides an introduction to modern-day South Africa. The author wrote it  originally in Afrikaans, a language that has evolved from

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Big Naturalization Ceremony at WRHS on Dec 18, 2014

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There’s been quite a bit of discussion about immigration in the news lately, what with President Obama extending the opportunity to stay in America at least for awhile to some 5 million immigrants who are here without proper documentation. In this context, it’s comforting to know that immigrants with proper documentation are becoming citizens on

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Genealogy Roadshow Season Two Coming in January on PBS

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Tuesdays this winter will bring Season Two of Genealogy Roadshow <https://www.facebook.com/GenealogyRoadshowPBS> with a diverse new cast of participants who take emotional journeys to explore genealogical mysteries. Episodes for the upcoming season were recorded in St. Louis in August, New Orleans in September, and Philadelphia in October. Each video recording session involved pre-selected locals who have

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