U.S. Legacies is a division of American Legacies, Org., a 501c3 not-for-profit organization dedicated to preserving historical information about People, Places, and Things.
This is a FREE service where you can post and share the memories, stories and photographs of your parents, grand-parents and other loved ones, in order to preserve their LEGACIES for future generations.
By Connie Sychowski
Editor Genealogy Corner
Halloween was brought to America in the 1840's by immigrants fleeing Ireland’s potato famine. Favorite pranks of today, egging, shaving cream or toilet papering differ from those that happened in New England which included tipping over outhouses and unhinging fence gates.
English style Cranberry Sauce
Makes 8 - 10 servings
12-ounce bag fresh cranberries
½ cup firmly packed light brown sugar, or to taste
1/4 cup port or sherry, more or less to taste
Combine the ingredients in a large saucepan. Cook over low heat, covered, until the cranberries have burst and the mixture thickens, about 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool, then refrigerate until needed. Serve cold or at room temperature.
By Ella Goethe Henry
by Mike Fak
This story is the continuation of a story published in the August 2005 issue of U.S. Legacies magazine and reflects a dream Mike had about his childhood.
Grandma’ Kitchen Comments
Rootbeer
My Grandfather, William Sturgen was born around 1874 and was almost 100 years old when he died. He used to make his own rootbeer. He would dig up sassafras root and cut it into 4 to 6 inch long pieces. Then he would split it lengthwise into ½ inch pieces about the diameter of a pencil to help it dry faster. After it sat on a shelf for a month to 6 weeks it was dry enough to use.
Author Unknown
I was six years old in 1941. My parents had divorced and my mother was trying to provide housing for my two teenaged sisters and me in San Diego. There was nothing to rent as the city was bulging with military.
That Sunday we (the four of us) were busy converting my Grandpa's old chicken house into a house for us. My job was straightening the used nails for reuse via hammer and a big flat stone.
By Ethel Geary
Ma Mayfield
Johnnie Headrick Mayfield age 57 in 1945
By: Joe Mayfield
During the 1940s and 1950s people had to have a way to take care of the everyday things that occurred, from cuts, to burns, or just a splinter. There was no way to go to the doctor every time someone had a scrape, or scratch, it was necessary that they know what to do to take care of themselves.
BEFORE IT WAS WRIGLEYVILLE
by Mike Fak
Authors Note: I was born in 1948 in Chicago Illinois. Until 1960 I lived at 3824 North Sheffield, just a block and a half from Cubs Park. The following is a compilation of memories that for whatever reason I found myself compelled to turn into this story.
A picture of Mike Fak in 1955 outside Horace Greeley School yard.
By Mike Fak
The photo is of one of Alice's childhood homes with brother Curtis standing at the left corner. The old building is being restored by Danny Copelan.
Amish Friendship Bread Starter
1 large covered glass or plastic container
put in
1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1 cup milk
mix all ingredients together in container and do the following steps below.
Do not refrigerate
Keep securely covered at room temperature from Day 1 through Day 10
Day 1- Make starter
Many Sunrises
From the New York Times February 28, 2006
Robert Scott, War-Hero Author, Dies at 97
By Richard Goldstein
Brig. Gen. Robert L. Scott Jr., one of America's most celebrated World War II fighter pilots and author of the best-selling wartime memoir "God Is My Co-Pilot," died yesterday at an assisted living center in WarnerRobins, Ga., home of Robins Air Force Base, near Macon. He was 97.
LETTER FROM A FARM KID, NOW AT SAN DIEGO MARINE CORPS RECRUIT DEPOT.
Dear Ma and Pa,
I am well. Hope you are. Tell Brother Walt and Brother Elmer the
Marine Corps beats working for old man Minch by a mile. Tell them to
join up quick before maybe all of the places are filled.
I was restless at first because you got to stay in bed till nearly 6
By Bill Hawksford
Port Said, known as the “Gateway to the East” was Billy’s first port of call in Egypt after being banished from the British Empire as a result of his misadventures during his army service in Yorkshire. You will sense the aroma of Port Said 3 miles out, he was advised, but the wind must have been blowing extra hard that day, because the sweet pungent objectionable air normally associated with rubbish dumps filled the nostrils and heralded in another world 10 miles away.
Author Unknown
by Dale Castle
I’ve always wanted to talk to a person 100 years old. I finally got the opportunity last Saturday when I met Gladys Watkins. As I walked to her front door, I wondered what kind of shape a woman that age would be in. Surely, someone would answer the door for her and probably push her into the living room in a wheel chair. I’d probably have to almost yell to be heard and she wouldn’t be able to see me very well. I couldn’t have been more wrong.
War Editorial – End of Summer Thoughts
by Dr. Zo Simmons
Life is just a yummy plate of garden vegetables. Yes, it sounds corny, but I’ve always found comfort in the simple truth of this metaphor. Tasty, homegrown vegetables from my garden remind me of the beauty, joy, and serenity, which more than compensates for all the hard work, muscle strain, pest and diseases encountered along the way.
By Michelle Korgis-Fitzpatrick
Lynchburg, TN has a population of 361 and was established in 1866. It is the not only the home of Jack Daniel’s Distillery, but also holds a lot of memories of past times. Lynchburg, on Hwy 55, is most known for the eye-catching greenery in Tennessee. It is also the seat of Moore County.
On the square--built in 1883 by SLP Garrett--stands a stunning Court House with walls twenty inches thick, made of brick and held together with sand and lime.
By Laura Pearce
My mother was, as her mother had been, a farmer's daughter who became a farmer's wife.
She graduated, with honors, from a small Christian College in the Midwest, earning a degree in Home Economics. She taught High School in Letts, Iowa for two years during the war and is said to have liked her work and been well suited for it.
By Dr. Zoe L. Simmons
April 9, 2003 embarked a monumental change for the citizens of Iraq, one that will forever be remembered by mankind. They are liberated and free.
This made me think back to the stories that were told by my grandparents, who fled Cuba on a small man made boat. Two people who fled a communist country with hundreds of others to come to America. America the land of the FREE!
By Linnea Travis Miller
Many families get together each summer for family reunions. Often its just a small family gathering or picnic, just to keep in touch. But other family reunions are events which include awards, dispensing of new genealogical findings, slide shows highlighting a certain family ancestor and the like! Organizing these reunions is a huge undertaking, whether of the picnic-type or the event! We really must be thankful for those in charge and all their loving efforts they put into its planning.
Sarah C. Clark nee Wike of Lancaster, PA
By Bill and Linda Clark
Sarah C. Wike was born in 1898 and passed away in 1980. She is buried at Ebenezer Cemetery in Lebanon, PA. She was married to William Clark for several years, then a few years after he passed away, she married a man by the name of Roland Reinke. This man was rather rough with her. As far as when or where she was married to her first husband, we don’t know.
Country: Britain
Position: Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
1956 photograph of Warren Hostetter, his wife Marion Hostetter and his mother Lizzie Hostetter in South Bend, Indiana.
By Franklin T. Wike, Jr.
1881 photo of the Dan Ballard family
by Joe Mayfield
All rights reserved
September 5, 1774
The first Continental Congress assembled in Philadelphia.
September 21, 1784
America’s first daily paper, "The Pennsylvania Packet and Daily Advertiser", was published in Philadelphia.
September 14, 1814
by Bill Hawksford
The History of Labor Day
The Movement That Created More Than Just a Holiday
Peter McGuire was already working at age eleven, selling newspapers on the streets of New York City, shining shoes, cleaning stores and running errands. It was his job to help support his mother and six brothers and sisters when his father went away to fight in the Civil War in 1863.
Chow Chow
Lilly Mae Rickerson Neese
June 3, 1888 to Sept. 17, 1981
North Fulton County, Ga.
Submitted by: Lisa Redd
5 Pints cabbage, chopped
5 pints green tomatoes, chopped
1 pint onions, chopped
9 green peppers, chopped
½ cup salt
3 pints vinegar
Lilly Mae Rickerson Neese
June 3, 1888 to Sept. 17, 1981
Come on into the kitchen, the place to pay tribute to great cooks. The women (and some men) in the kitchen are no longer with us. Some are elderly, or a family member is telling their memories.