Virginia's Life, Such As It Is!

Wednesday, July 9, 2014

Hess Family Memorial Reunion (Road Trip 2014)

Dear friends,

This past weekend I had the immense privilege of attending the Hess family reunion at Frances Slocum State Park in northeastern Pennsylvania. We've had many reunions here, but this one was special because it was combined with a memorial service for my maternal grandparents, Henry and Dorothy Hess. Grandpa passed away in 2010 and Grandma in January, but it was their wish that the memorial service be delayed until both of them had died and we could schedule it with a summer reunion. This is how thoughtful and practical they were. They also left money for a full catered lunch instead of our usual potluck meal.

I know that most of my blog readers are not related to me, but I think what I'm writing here provides a little perspective on preserving family heritage and connections, as well as ideas for memorable gatherings. There are a lot of links at the bottom, too!

This year we had over 70 people, most of them descendants of my great-grandparents Charles and Mary Hess. We also had three from the Ransom clan on my grandma's side of the family, as well as a few friends who came with Uncle Henry's family.

We started the day with a memorial service at the family grave site in the nearby Fern Knoll cemetery, where Charles, Mary, my infant uncle David, and some of the Hess cousins are buried. Grandma, Grandpa, and my mother were all cremated, so we scattered their ashes among the grave stones. My mother's four siblings each shared a poem, thoughts, or a song. My father and I each shared our memories, and so did two or three of my mother's cousins. I spoke of my admiration for my grandparents and my mother, my deep affection for the extended Hess family, my appreciation for their emotional support and generosity toward my children and me, the legacy of thriftiness and resourcefulness that so many of us share, and my love for this area of Pennsylvania which holds so many dear memories in my heart.

I started attending the Hess (every several years) and Ransom (used to be every year) family reunions when I was a small child. The first one I remember is 1976 when I was 12, and that was extra special since that is where I became a Christian. (See My Story of Liberty in 1976.) Another notable reunion for me was in 2006 because I reconnected with some of my second cousins, who are now dear friends. I love how we can encourage one another, and especially appreciate how one of my second cousins just reminded me to keep training my children in the ways of the Lord.

Second cousins Dorothy, Naomi, and Amelia
are enjoying the reunion tradition of painting birdhouses.

Second cousins Jeremiah, Melody, and Henry IV
enjoyed themselves together
at Hershey Park the following day.

Charlie (left) was Dad's roommate
at King's Point Merchant Marine Academy.
He introduced my parents, which is how
my dad became part of the Hess clan.

My grandpa loved fun stuff like the
snapping alligator candy dispenser.
He also had an incredible stuffed cat
that started purring and then went spastic.

There is a story behind this chiming clock!
Grandma and Grandpa apparently never
bought birthday and Christmas presents for each other.
However, many years ago, Grandpa asked my cousin Judy
to take him to buy this clock for Grandma for Christmas.
Since my grandparents lived with my parents for the
last several years, it has hung on their dining room wall.
Grandpa had requested that Judy receive this clock,
so I brought it up from my Dad's house for her.
I will miss its hourly chimes, but I'm so happy
that she can savor this sweet memory!

I'm also so thankful that our
Ransom cousins, Gail and Lyn,
joined us from my
Grandma's side of the family.

One highlight of the day was browsing
through all of the vintage photos and
news clippings.

One of my aunts also put out photos from
my grandmother's albums so we could
find pictures of our own families
and take what we wanted.
I gathered them for my brother John and sister Barb,
since they were not able to attend this year.
I quickly pocketed the one
of a teenage me in a swimsuit. :-)

This picture, from the 1976 Hess reunion,
is of all seven of the original siblings.
My grandpa is third from the right.
Behind them is a chart with a complete
family tree so we could all figure out
where each other fit in.

My mother's four siblings,
Dick, Barbara, Henry, and Nancy

My great-grandparents, Mary and Charles,
with their two oldest children, Amelia and Ruth.
I have a framed copy of this photo on my bookshelf at home.

Isn't Mary Graves Hess elegant?
She was named for her grandmother,
Mary Graves.
My mother and my oldest daughter
carry on the Mary name tradition,
as do some of the Hess cousins.

(Special thanks to my father and my Uncle Dick for allowing me to use their photos in this post.)

Lots of links!

Hess Reunion 2014:

Tributes to my Grandparents and Mother:

Food from the Hess Clan:

Stories from Other Hess Reunions:

My Story of Liberty in 1976
Hess Reunion 2012

Road Trip 2014:

What do you do for family gatherings? How do you preserve your heritage? Leave a comment!

Love,

Virginia Knowles

www.VirginiaKnowles.blogspot.com

Memoir of Heinrich Hess, My German Immigrant Ancestor

Dear friends,

I've been posting about the Hess family reunion, and wanted to include this memoir from my great-great-grandfather Heinrich (Henry) Hess, who came over from Germany in 1849 and settled in northeastern Pennsylvania and became a coal miner. (See Coal Miner’s Great-Great-Granddaughter.)

I have a copy of his handwritten memoir written in German. This is the English translation. Note that the words in parentheses are explanations, and the dashes represent information that was illegible.

Henry is the one with the beard.

My great-grandfather Charles is seated at right.
(This is the right hand portion of the same picture.)

Memoir of Henry Hess

Scranton, July 3rd 1886

Henry Hess born the 30th of November 1826 in Harnheim on the Pfrem, Rheinbaiern. My father was Henry Hess; my mother Barbara Gottler.

As a young man of almost 23 years of age, I left the ancestral home on the 21st of August 1849 to immigrate to America. Arrived in New York in September on a sailboat in which we had been on the ocean 24 days. Stayed in New York a few days where I and three of my comrades decided to go to the state of Pennsylvania. Since at that time where was no railroad there we had to travel partly by water and partly on foot through virgin land until we reached Hale on the Rainen and then came to Blekle on the Crafede Road. From there we had to continue our trip on Shuster's Rabe (Shoemaker's black horses) to Schlokem Haller (now Scranton). It wouldn't have suited us for we had heard of distant Pitston where the pigeons were already roasted and only has only to eat them. However, we turned back disappointed to the renowned Backdon where we stopped and stayed with Ludwig Engle. We spent a few days here and looked for work. Went to Slaken Haller again where we finally got work as laborers for 75 cents per day. On the 8th of October 1849, I found it (myself) in the Rest House with Carl Art (probably tuberculosis). In the first year, everything became so ill that there was no hope for my getting well. However, the Lord decided otherwise; I became well again. So it went good again. I stayed in the above named Rest House a year; then I went to John Reob where I then met Elisabeth Simon, now my beloved wife. We were married on the 5th of July 1852 in Wilks Bar (Wilkes-Barre) by Bredge Lasher with Henry Rebb and Micheil Helperch as witnesses. My wife, identified above, was born in Ruhrhessen on Basken Singlis on ------. Her father was Henry Simon; her mother ---------. Eight children were given to us; 7 boys, 1 girl, of which one, a boy, went before us.

A review of almost 37 years -- so I must say the Lord has done great things, more than I can comprehend.

"At my confirmation I selected this verse, Psalm 143, verse 10, "Lord, teach me to do thy will for thou art my God. May your good spirit lead me on a smooth road." The Lord has lead me up to this point and I know that He will also lead me further on if I will only believe in Him. My wish and will is to make myself subordinate to Him and to be true to Him until my end."

What a heritage! I need to remember that closing paragraph! I am thankful for this testimony from the path as I continue to keep the heritage of faith.

I painted this about
years ago for
my grandparents.
It is still my prayer.

Sweet Grandma, Dorothy Ransom Hess (includes her own memories from her life)
Tribute to My Grandfather, Henry Edward Hess, Sr.

Tuesday, July 8, 2014

Coal Miner’s Great-Great-Granddaughter (Road Trip 2014)

Coal Miner’s

Great-Great-Granddaughter

As I’ve been planning our road trip, I wanted to give my kids a sense of their heritage. One of my immigrant ancestors, Henry (originally Heinrich) Hess, was a coal miner from Germany. Since we were already driving to Pennsylvania where my mother’s family has lived for generations, I decided on a tour of the Pioneer Tunnel coal mine in Ashland. We went on Saturday, on our way up to our family reunion in Wilkes-Barre, which was the next day.

I was afraid my kids might not be interested, but we all enjoyed the half hour tour. We rode the open mine cars into the mountain, and then got out to walk around while our funny guide explained the history and techniques of coal mining.

We didn’t go downward, since the Pioneer Tunnel is a horizontal drift mine. Its level tunnel runs 1,800 feet straight into the side of the Mahanoy Mountain.

For an additional fee, there is also a train ride and an adjacent museum, but we didn't do either one, though I did take this picture of my dad and four youngest kids in front of the train.

In the gift shop, I bought a book (Growing Up in Coal Country), as well as a lump of coal, some polished stones, and a cross necklace with a small piece of coal embedded in the middle.

We loved our drive through the beautiful Pennsylvania small towns and country side.

Small town life

Pennsylvania countryside

Road cut through the mountain

After arriving in Wilkes-Barre, we checked into our hotel and joined the extended family for dinner at a buffet restaurant. Later, the kids swam in the indoor pool with their second cousins.

Stay tuned for a post on the Hess memorial and reunion.

Blessings,
Virginia Knowles
www.VirginiaKnowles.blogspot.com

Soft Molasses Cookies and Crunchy Jumble Cookies (Road Trip 2014)

Soft Molasses Cookies and Crunchy Jumble Cookies

Dear friends,

I mentioned in a previous post that had jotted down some vintage family recipes from my second cousin Jean’s hand-written cookbook. I wanted to make her grandmother Amelia Davis’s soft molasses cookies and crunchy jumble cookies to bring along to the Hess family reunion in Pennsylvania this past weekend. Jean said her daughter Mary one first prize with these at a baking competition. I’m not surprised!

On Friday afternoon, I made several dozen soft molasses cookies (a triple batch), and then on Saturday I made a few dozen crunchy jumble cookies (one batch). They turned out quite well, I must say, despite several that burned on the bottom.

Since my mother passed away last summer, I had a bittersweet time baking in her kitchen without her. I had organized all of the cupboards and drawers last summer while she was in the hospital, so I knew where most everything should be, but I still couldn’t find the second beater to the hand mixer. Of course, I had to buy a lot of the staple ingredients since my father doesn’t bake and much of what was in the cupboards has expired.

Though emotionally difficult, I’m glad I took the effort to do this. They were a big hit at the reunion, and many of my relatives wanted the recipe. Most of all, it was a way to connect with my family and my heritage, and that is priceless.

Soft Molasses Cookies

Ingredients:

1 stick butter, softened

½ cup Crisco

1 ½ cup sugar

½ cup molasses

2 eggs

4 cups all purpose flour

½ tsp. salt

2 ¼ tsp. baking soda

1 ¼ tsp. ginger

1 ½ tsp. cloves

1 ½ tsp. cinnamon

Instructions:

Cream the butter, Crisco, and sugar together. Add in the molasses and eggs. Combine the dry ingredients thoroughly and add to the wet ingredients. Roll large (2” diameter) balls in sugar and place on cookie sheets. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes.

Crunchy Jumble Cookies

1 cup softened butter

2 cups sugar

2 tsp. vanilla

2 eggs

2 ½ cups flour

½ tsp. salt

1 tsp. soda

4 cups Rice Krispies cereal

1 cup chocolate chips

Instructions:

Cream the butter and sugar together. Mix in vanilla and eggs. Mix the flour, salt, and soda together and add to the wet ingredients. Then stir in the Rice Krispies and the chocolate chips. Form into balls on cookie sheets and bake at 350 until golden brown, about 10-12 minutes.

A word about photo editing!

The lighting in mom's kitchen was a little weird when I snapped the photo on the left with my iPod. After I posted this recipe, my niece told me the cookies in it looked green and unappetizing. So, I just fixed it using the "warmify" option on Picasa to make them look more like they really do. :-) See the difference?

Thursday, July 3, 2014

A Day in D.C. at Air & Space and American Indian Museums (Road Trip 2014)

Road Trip 2014

Day 5: Washington D.C.

National Air & Space Museum

National Museum of the American Indian

My dad and I took my three youngest kids, my niece, and her boyfriend down to D.C. on the Metro for the day. I'll let the pictures tell the story, though it is only a small sampling of everything we saw! Great day!

Click the museum titles to explore more.

Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum

I had sort of a hard time connecting with the exhibits here. I am not a technological person. The ones I liked most were pieces I could relate to more familiar people from American history, like Amelia Earhart and Charles Lindbergh.

Charles Lindbergh's Spirit of St. Louis
- first non-stop flight from New York to Paris

Amelia Earhart's Lockheed Vega -
first solo transatlantic flight by a woman
and first non-stop flight across USA by a woman

German war plane

Apollo 2 command module Columbia -
first manned lunar landing mission

Apollo Lunar Module #2

Skylab
First USA space station
1973-1979

Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian

I definitely fit in better here than at Air & Space. I love people, history, and art. I would have enjoyed more time here all by myself. I also would have loved an extended solo trip to the National Gallery of Art. Maybe next time...