Sharing Stories, Memories and Great Food

After the memorial service Thursday, we gathered at Joan's house for a barbecue. Great food and vegan options! Plenty of conversation and memories about Mom.

L to R, Chris, Cheryl, Melody (blocked) Chrissy
L to R, Steve, Chris, Joan, Cheryl, Melody, Chrissy

John

John

Steve

Memorial Service for Mom: A Pictorial

Allure of Klamath Falls...peaceful, quiet and beautiful downtown architecture

I returned to Arizona last night, but there is still much to share about my journey to Oregon.

We ran errands Wednesday to make sure everything was set for the memorial service. After a great lunch at Mc's on Main and the All That Glitters Bakery, we strolled through a few of the downtown streets. I just love the detailed architecture. Enjoy!

Beautiful hike in Lithia Park

After our great lunch yesterday, we hiked through parts of Lithia Park. The trees and flowers were beautiful to experience. It also left me wanting to learn more about the park so here is some of its history.

Lithia Park consists of 93 acres in Ashland, Oregon. Forty-two of the acres of listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The park surrounds Ashland Creek and abuts the downtonw business center.

One of the features of the downtown area are the The "bubblers," also known as water fountains in most part of country. Why the unusual shape of a drinking fountain here? A little research tell us that "In 1907 a lithia water spring was discovered at Emigrant creek several miles to the east. Upon analysis, the water was shown to have the second-highest concentration of (presumably beneficial) lithium in any natural spring (the highest being in the famous springs of Saratoga, New York)." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithia_Park.

Good start, but I still had to find out more about these unique fountains and I found this in the Ashland Daily Tidings.

"After two years of restoration, the 1927 Lithia water fountain in Ashland's Plaza is back and turned on — and locals have resumed the time-honored game of watching tourists grimace and spit as they taste the feisty but health-giving liquid.
"We're thrilled. It's been worth the wait," said Ashland historian George Kramer, who directed the $35,000 to $40,000 restoration that included a new, central granite piece from a Georgia quarry, casting of new metal basins (coated to imitate original porcelain) and new chrome bubblers made in Cincinnati. Retrieved from http://archive.dailytidings.com/2008/0714/stories/0712_fountain.php.

This is an example of the madrone tree with its reddish bark. According to gardenguides.com, "The madrone tree (Arbutus menziesii) also goes by other names, including Pacific madrone, madrona, madrono, bearberry and strawberry tree. It is a member of the Heath family (Ericaceae). The madrone is native to the Pacific Coast of North America, growing from northern California to southern British Columbia. Read more at: Facts About the Madrone Tree Garden Guides http://www.gardenguides.com/93563-madrone-tree.html#ixzz0tjDPLGla

Enough details, just enjoy the pics.

Traveling with vegans...can be fun

Both of my daughters are vegan so finding appropriate restaurants can be a bit of a challenge. We had already searched in Klamath Falls to no avail. It is a great town, but very beef driven. However, yesterday my sister Joan used Happy Cow on the Internet to find a vegan restaurant in Ashland, Oregon.

Ashland is an oasis of good restaurants and fun shops set in the locale of the Shakespeare Festival http://www.orshakes.org/. Hotels like the Stratford Inn and House of Shrew are commonplace here along with a city center of picturesque small shops.

Joan chose Greenleaf http://greenleafrestaurant.com/ and it did not disappoint. I had the terrific tofu burger (it was great without the mustard), Becky had the Thai tofu wrap and Ashley had peanut satay stir fry. Each entree was excellent. We sat outside along the river amid bright umbrellas in 80 degree weather. We heard it was 106 in Chandler. A respite from the heat indeed. Mom planned well for us to get out of the heat.

We spent most of the day here and it left us wanting more. See for yourself at http://www.ashlandchamber.com/

Midges welcome us to Oregon...

We arrived in Medford last night only ten minutes behind schedule. Highway 140 east to Klamath Falls was a curvy two-lane path lined with towering Ponderosa pines.

Green had replaced the heat, brown and dust of the desert. Clear blue lakes and rivers replaced dry washes and basins.

As we approached Klamath Lake, a swarm of what looked like dark rain pelted the car. First, once, then again, and again. After a few more swats, we realized the swarms were bugs.

Today my brother-in-law told me the bugs are midgies, or midges as I found on the internet. Midges live for only 24 hours. Unfortunately for them my rental car, a blue Chevy HHR, shortened their life span considerably as the photo shows.

More to come on my visit to Oregon and family soon.

1850 and 1857 Census fill gap on my family tree

Thanks to the efforts of Brent Mai and others*, I now own copies of the translated 1850 and 1857 Censuses of Reinwald in District of Samara, Russia.

These censuses are the links to mother's genealogical past. My mother's maternal family tree shows gaps between my great grandfather, Phillip Reimer, and the original Reimer settlers of Reinwald, Russia. My mother's father, Fred Herzog, reflected the biggest gap from his birth in 1882 back to Leonhard Herzog and his wife Elisabeta Stengel as recorded in the 1798 Reinwald census.

I analyzed the 1857 census first since my great-grandmother, Anna Maria Körber for whom I was named, was born in 1857. Anna Maria was the wife of Philip Reimer. Could the timing of the census and her birth benefit my research or could it be a near miss? The census was dated 1 November 1857. I knew my great-grandmother's birthday was 22 August 1857.

I scanned the pages and found her name on page 10 line 299. Anna Maria is listed in household 22 headed by Johann Peter Körber age 63. He was listed as married to Christina Ruppel age 60. Also in their household was their son Karl age 40 and his wife Elisabeth Roth age 37. Karl and Elisabeth's children, Georg age 20 and Katharina age 18 lived in the same house. Anna Maria was recorded as the 1/4 year old great-granddaughter of Johann Peter Körber and Christina Ruppel. The double asterisks by Anna Maria's name led me to the next page which states, "Illegitimate great-granddaughter by granddaughter Katharina."

Wow. You never know exactly what you will find when you start to research your family history. My heart ached for Katharina and Anna Maria. What did it mean to be an illegitimate child in a small German Russian village in the mid 1800s? How did this impact their lives? Even more, who was Anna Maria's father? In a small, farming village like Reinwald where life was quite structured and everyone knew everyone, what circumstances led to my great-grandmother's birth?

It's interesting to note that on my great grandfather's death certificate, both of his parent’s names are clearly listed. He died 3 October 1948 in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. The informant was his daughter, my great aunt Elizabeth, listed as Mrs. David Wiegand. On Anna Maria's death certificate, where Phillip Reimer was the informant, her parents are listed as Unknown. Was it possible that Anna Maria and Phillip were never told the full details of her birth? Or were they just unaware?

I would be interested in hearing from others who have encountered this situation in their family history to gain an understanding of how this situation affected their lives. There is so much information on these censuses, I look forward to further investigation of the Reimer and Herzog lines and will continue to post my discoveries here.

*Reinwald 1857 Census. Initial acquisition and translation of the 1857 Census of Reinwald was made possible by the generous contributions of the following: Mrs. Jene Herder Goldhammer, Portland, Oregon; Mrs. Shirley Hurrell, Beaverton, Oregon; Mrs. & Mrs. Arthur R. Mai, Sharon Springs, Kansas; Prof. & Mrs. Brent Mai, Beaverton, Oregon; Mr. Gerald Yurk, Fort Meyers, Florida. Census was translated by Brent Mai, Concordia University, Portland, Oregon. For more information on Brent's research visit http://www.volgagermans.net/

Doris Ann Dalhaimer 1927-2010

Much of my inspiration is gone today. My mother passed away today at 11:50 a.m. Arizona time. She was the heart behind my first book Value Meals on the Volga.

It's not that I was surprised as my journey with her included three hospital visits and two stays in a skilled nursing center. I know she is in a better place and, by this point, my Dad has welcomed her and is showing her the sites.

How can I capture all of the memories in this short blog? There is no way to accomplish it. Still I want to start to try. I am sure I will have many more updates over the next few weeks but the moments which register with me today and the things I will miss the most are:

*Going to the library with her every weekend

*Knowing my dishwasher was already emptied for me

*My Mom standing over my shoulder in the kitchen supervising as I made some of our favorite recipes

*When she asked me "aren't you going to put that in a smaller container?"

*Or, when I asked her if she would like popcorn, ice cream or some treat, her response was "What are you having?"

*Trading "Rabbit, Rabbit, Rabbit" comments on the first day of the month

*When she would ask "Is it spicy?"

*Word search puzzles

*and, last but not least, her description of "steak on a hard roll with butter. You know they don't make them like that anymore."

They sure don't. Thanks, Mom for everything and thanks for letting me be with you during the past six months.

Grand Canyon called us for a great family outing..

Check out a few of the pictures from our latest adventure.

All photographs are Copyright 2010 Anna Dalhaimer Bartkowski

Graduations over...my first hour of time

I had an hour to use as my own. After two graduations, family guests, graduation party and dinners, hospitalizations, and skilled nursing center visits over the past four months, I did not HAVE to do anything for an hour this afternoon.

I promptly put on my swimsuit and dove into the swimming pool. I realized how much I had taken this action for granted in previous summers. I missed spending time with the family visitors who enjoyed the "spa" and now that all are gone, I actually have an hour in my schedule.

I wish I could have moved this hour to have spent the time with all of my family.

I used the word "spend" and "spent" quite a bit in the last paragraph. We have control over how our time is "spent," "used," or "deposited." I made a lot of family deposits this spring. I certainly will continue to let family guide my time. However, I so enjoyed my one hour in the pool, I need to find a way to "spend" some of that valuable time every day on myself.

Flags celebrate Memorial Day

Since I do not live near the cemeteries of my family members, the flags which adorn the entryways of my subdivision are my inspiration to celebrate the memory of all who served our country with honor. I hope you enjoy.