I know I left you hanging over the weekend, so I'll end your suspense! The other day my mom and I traveled to the 'Thumb' of Michigan (and those pictures I shared last week were of Lake Huron). My grandfather was born and raised in that part of the state, and I'd always wanted to visit. So we met up with my great-aunt (my grandfather's sister) and my cousin (her daughter) to visit a few special locations. You see, while my grandpa moved away when he married my grandma, my great-aunt raised her family in the same town where she grew up, so I was excited to have her show us around and tell us stories about growing up with my grandpa.
Our first stop on the tour of Deckerville/Sanilac/etc. was the Greenwood Cemetery.
I hadn't been to see these particular graves before, so I was excited to visit some of my ancestors.
There were cousins...
My great-great grandma...
My great-great grandfather...
As well as my great-grandparents.
I never had a chance to meet my great-grandpa Omer, but from the stories I've heard he sounds like a great man.
He's here in the middle, with my grandpa on the right and my Uncle George on the left. We love this photo in our family- don't they all look so similar?
I also saw the marker for my Aunt Shirley.
My great-grandparents had 7 children total, but Shirley passed away far too young.
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| Here's my great-grandparents (on the right) with their children. My grandpa is the one on the left! |
Another grave that we visited my my great-grandma.
I have a very fuzzy memory of my great-grandma (she passed when I was really young), but she was quite a lady. Not only was she an incredible cook, but she was also amazingly sweet!
My mom says you can tell how much she was adored based upon the number of people in our family who are named after her. I think there are 4 people who have the name Mary, while I'm honored to share her middle name of Hannah.
She was obviously well-loved!
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| Here's a picture of my great-grandma and I! |
The next stop on our tour was the house my great-aunt and her family lived in. My mom has the funniest stories about visiting her cousins (my aunt's children) at this house in the country. From licking the cows' salt-licks in the pasture to running into the electric fence forehead first, I was excited to see the land where all those stories took place. Of course things are much different now (hello paved roads), but it was fun having everyone point out the various landmarks that still remain.
And finally, we also saw the Dairy Bar.
During the Depression, my grandmother's parents moved to the Thumb (from the Detroit-area) and ran a Dairy Bar.
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| My grandma |
My grandpa used to visit the Dairy Bar to eat... and flirt with my grandma.
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| My grandpa |
As you can imagine, the building is quite different than it was back then.
But just seeing a building where my grandparents used to spend time before they were married was really special!
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| My grandparents on their wedding day |
We had a wonderful visit with our family members, sharing stories and memories. I'm so thankful that I had the opportunity to learn more about my grandpa's life and family. Thanks for joining me on this visit to the Thumb- I hope you had a great weekend!
