So whose birthday is January 6th?

Ninety-one years ago on January 6, 1919, Ethel Geraldine Redmond was born in the small village of Volant, near New Castle, Pennsylvania, the oldest daughter of Albert and Myrtle Redmond. Gone from our lives way too early, we are left with many memories. Whether daughter, sister, wife, mother, grandmother, sister-in-law, aunt, or friend, I would say that Ethel was a very special person. I remember many things about her from her great smile, her amazing laugh, her love for her family, her dedication to her friends, her church, and her community, or positive outlook wherever life or Bob would take her. Not that she didn't have disappointments, troubles, or hardships, because she surely did, but often times she was a model of how to come through the difficulties of life with grace and dignity. What I remember and loved so much about her was how she treated each one of us as uniquely special, worthy, and loveable--what I would say is the true picture of how Christ taught us to love each other. And I think that was the rare gift that she had.

It would be great to hear your memories of Ethel, what she meant to you, and what impact she might have had on your life. Take a look at the attached collage of photos of her life, roughly in chonological order going clockwise, starting in the upper left-hand corner. Also, I have tried my hand at my first "multi-media" video, a slideshow of those pictures which you can find at the following link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qp0XzW1TsKM (or go to youtube.com and search on Ethel Redmond Reese; it is also on my Facebook page and I think it looks better there). The music might not be the best choice, but everytime I hear the song I can still hear her voice singing it. I will probably be refining the slideshow so if anyone has any other suggestions please let me know. I hope you enjoy the photos and the slideshow!

Give someone special a yellow rose in memory of Ethel...

"Dorothy!" called Polly Parrot

Aunt Lois reminded me of this story she had told me some time ago. She does remember visited her mean grandmother Claudia in Erie. Aunt Lois never remembers her grandmother smiling or happy, but she does remember that Claudia had a "Polly Parrot" who would wake them up in the morning calling "Dorothy" from a low to high pitch that sounded like Grandma Claudia's angry voice. She who was Dorothy? Well the parrot was call to Dorothy Ball, daughter of Claudia and Frank, and Grandma Redmond's half-sister. Born 13 January 1924, 5 years after Ethel and almost 2 years after Hazel, her nieces. Dorothy, born when Claudia was 44, would have been called a "change-of-life baby" at that time, but by today's standards it would be down right fashionable! Dorothy married and lived in Erie. She died in November 1982, just a couple months after Ethel died.

Two Family Birthdays on December 29th

"Two?" you say. Why yes, two. Of course 29 December [2009] was Betsy's birthday--certainly a milestone birthday, but I was taught never to divulge a woman's age--at least not for the living... but the other, also a woman, would have been 130 years old on the 29th--and she is certainly not living. But first, a very happy, slightly belated, birthday to you Aunt Betsy; hope you had a great day and have a wonderful new year.

So who was the other woman in our family who was born 130 years ago and shares a birthday with Betsy? Attached is a photo of her as a young girl, probably taken about 1890, and another from later in her life, probably 1940. Any guesses? One clue is that Ethel was even going to name Betsy after her. If she had, Betsy's name would be Claudia. Probably a good thing that Betsy wasn't named after her as Claudia was described as the meanest woman to ever live--or something to that affect. So who was she? Why she was Grandma Redmond's mother, of course--Claudia Ann (Winters) Thomas. So do any of you (Terry, Roger, Bobbie, Sharyn, Dale, Todd, or Betsy) remember your great-grandmother? Some of you should as she died in 1952--which is the same year that Bob's mother died and Terry and Bobbie certainly remember her. I would love to know if any of you remember Claudia! I am fascinated by the fact that she does not seem to be remembered by her family, family that should have at least been aware of her. And it can't be the case that she was alienated from her family. She continued to visit with her sisters Aunt Jessie Crooks and Aunt Clara Bessler in Oil City and Grandpa Redmond was the one who signed Claudia's death certificate.

What I know about Claudia is that she was born 29 December 1879 in Petroleum Center (which would have been a oil boom town in decline and called the wickedest place in the world at the time, but now a ghost town, literally), the daughter of John Winters, an immigrant to the oil regions from England, and his wife Catherine Baney, a local girl from Cherrytree area. Claudia married at the age of 18 or so to Samuel Thomas who was from the Dempseytown/Rocky Grove area. After their marriage Samuel and Claudia lived in and around the Petroleum Center area for a number of years where Samuel worked as a pumper in the oil fields. Around 1909, they moved to Volant near New Castle, PA, lived in a rented house and Sam continued to work as a oil well pumper. Living in Volant is where Grandma Redmond would meet and marry Grandpa Redmond.

So how many children did Claudia and Sam have? Well, some of you may remember Grandma Redmond's brother Clyde who lived in Erie (his children and grandchildren still live there) and you may remember a mention of another brother Carl, but there where others. The oldest child was Charles Hunter Thomas who died at the age of 19 in November of 1918 of the Spanish Influenza which killed millions worldwide. Until recently that was all I knew about, but it appears that there were at least two others who died young, a son Ralph and a daughter Viola, both younger than Grandma Redmond. Chances are they also died of the Spanish Flu, but don't know for sure.

So I bet you are still wondering about the comment that she was called the meanest woman in the world. That comment is attributed to her very own husband Sam Thomas and may explain why Grandma Redmond married when she was 14 or 15 years old (which contrary to myth marrying that young was not the norm). I don't know any specifics of why Sam said that about his dear wife, but I do know that they were divorced in September of 1922 and two days later, Claudia remarried a guy by the name of Frank Ball in Tionesta, PA (Sam also remarried, but that is a story for another time). I don't know much about Frank. I have heard references to him being anything from an "evangelist" to a "drinker" which might explain why Claudia wasn't around very much. But what I do know is that Frank worked in a boiler factory in Erie, PA which is where Claudia and Frank lived and died, Claudia in 1952 at the age of 72.

Whew! I certainly didn't mean to go on so long, but who would have known that Grandma Redmond's family was such a soap opera. But just wait until to you hear about Grandpa Redmond's family--talk about drama and intrigue!

Ghost of Christmas Memories

The Merriest of Christmases to you and yours!

Ghost of Christmas at Rocky Grove

Well, it has been quite a jouney, from Grandma Redmond's house on Grandview Road; Grandma Redmond's silver Christmas Tree on Park Avenue; opening presents at Grandma Reese's house in Seneca; the family gathering in 1979 at Bobbie's in Seneca which began the tradition of the neighborhood open house on Christmas Day. But that is not where is ended. Our family Christmas gatherings continued when Bobbie moved to Rocky Grove and it was there that we ushered in the next generation of our family. And while the 4th picture was not technically taken on Christmas Day--it was Christmas time as evidenced by the tree in the background.

Our family has come along way and while many are no longer with us, those memories remain, and we now have the hope of a new generation. So Merry Christmas Eve to all of you!

Ghost of Christmas at Bobbie's Open House

After the family Christmas gathering at Bobbie's in 1979, a new tradition started with the annual open house at Bobbie's on Christmas Day. In addition to family, the Seneca neighbors and friends were added to the mix--Kennemuths, Conns, Keefers, and the wide variety of friends that came into our lives over the years. The food was amazing; the fellowship unsurpassed; and how can we take about those open houses without giving a nod to the live entertainment from Denny. So what song do you think those guys are singing? Note the picture of Grandma Reese and my Grandma Melat who were serving up a very runny blackberry pie.

Ghost of Christmas at Bobbie's in Seneca

In 1979, the family Christmas celebration transitioned to Bobbie's house. That Christmas, the three Redmond sisters and their husband were together, possibly for the last time. We started the day opening presents at Grandma Reese's house and then later in the day reconvened at Bobbie's for a meal and a great time together. In the first picture, back, left to right, Ethel, Bob, Lois, and Dick; front, Hazel and Paul.

The other three pictures are snap shots of the family throughout the day. Note that Grandpa Green was there.