Posts By: whuskonen

As a Kid, I Was Quarantined for Scarlet Fever

“I contracted scarlet fever as a young girl. I remember the red quarantine sign tacked outside our front door stating we were confined to our home and no one was to be admitted. Now I live in California. Before locking down the whole state, Gov. Gavin Newsom asked seniors to “isolate themselves” from others.” So

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Did Grandpa Dingman Die of the Spanish Flu

Today I watched a documentary presentation on the C-Span 3 network entitled “Influenza Pandemic and World War I..” The presenter was Nancy Bristow, professor of history, University of Puget Sound. The presentation was originally broadcast live on Nov. 1, 2019, from the National WWI Museum & Memorial in Kansas City, MO. Prof. Bristow made the

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Outbreaks, Epidemics, Pandemics

It’s official: The world is experiencing a pandemic with Covid-19, referred to colloquially as Coronavirus. The World Health Organization made that pronouncement today, March 11, 2020. I have been checking on the latest developments in my state of Ohio. Our Governor Mike DeWine is holding frequent briefings and they are broadcast in their entirety by

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Great Grandpa’s Headstone “Find” by Familysearch

This morning I received an email from FamilySearch.org informing me about finding my Great Grandpa Andrew Dingman’s headstone. Here is a screen capture of the message: I’m very impressed by this information, not because it is new to me but because FamilySearch has the capability of connecting Grandpa Andrew’s information with the headstone image. I

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It’s Soon Time to be Counted in the 2020 Census

On April 1 this year, it’s more than April Fool’s Day. It is the official start date, or Census Day, for the 2020 Federal Census. You may already have learned some things about this upcoming Census, as the Census Bureau is making an extensive effort to educate the America public about how and why to

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Ancestry.com To Remember WWII in 2020

Amcestry.com has announced that it will be commemorating the end of World War II during 2020. This year marks 75 years since the end of World War II. 75 years since the liberation of Auschwitz. 75 years since the first deployed atomic bomb. 75 years since many in the greatest generation made the ultimate sacrifice

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NBC’s Genealogy Show: A New Leaf

I just became aware of a new half-hour genealogy show on TV: A New Leaf presented on NBC with major sponsorship by Ancestry.com. In the Cleveland area, it is broadcast on Saturday morning at 11:30 on WKYC Channel 3. Logo for NBC’s new genealogy series. According to the website for the program (click here), two

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Countdown until German Seminar at WRHS

We have one month to go until the Western Reserve Historical Society hosts an all-day German Genealogy Seminar at the Cleveland History Center in University Circle. James M. Beidler will present four presentations under the umbrella title of “Jumping into German Genealogy” there on November 16. The History Center is located at 10825 East Boulevard,

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“Finding Your Roots” Season Off to a Satisfying Start

Last evening (08 Oct 2019) I watched to first episode of Season Six of Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. I found the three case studies featured in this episode to be interesting and satisfying. The subjects were Isabella Rossellini, Angelica Huston, and Mia Farrow. Mia Farrow’s ancestry was traced to Australia, Angelica

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A Finn Was Pitcher for Chicago White Sox

From time to time my cousin Matti in Finland sends emails with links to articles and other text material of interest to me and my brother Walfrid. This morning, he sent an item article about a Finnish national who came to America in the early 1900’s to pitch for the Chicago White Sox. It was

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