Memory Monday: School House Rock Songs

Originally posted Monday, September 6, 2010

Happy 45th Anniversary to School House Rock!

Recently, I began humming my favorite school house rock song “Conjunction Junction, What’s Your Function? This was a song from a series of school house rock songs which played in between Saturday morning television cartoons during my childhood in the 1970s. I think that the Conjunction tune was my favorite because of the jazzy styled music and lyrics.

Conjunction, Junction, What's Your Function?


In addition to being entertained by various cartoons during my childhood, the school house rock songs would help children learn new things or reinforce things already learned in school. Many of the catchy songs were about the parts of speech such as “Lolly, Lolly, Lolly, get your adverbs here,” or “Interjections show excitement or emotions! . . . ” There was also a song about how a bill becomes a law which opened up with a personified bill character (piece of paper rolled up) sitting on steps of the nation’s Capitol singing, “I’m just a bill, yes, I’m only a bill, and I’m sitting here on Capitol Hill . . .” The character then proceeds to explain the process of a bill becoming a law.

Thanks to YouTube, I am able to revisit my childhood memories and view and listen to these school house rock tunes from days gone by.

If you also remember these school house rock tunes, which one was your favorite?
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Lolly Lolly Lolly, Get Your Adverbs Here



Interjections!


How a Bill Becomes a Law

Grandma’s Hands and HomeMade Biscuits

My Maternal Grandmother

Emma Johnson Thornton

Most of the lives of my three sisters and I were spent living with our maternal grandparents, Minor Thornton (1913-1979) and Emma Johnson Thornton (1922- ). Our grandfather died when we were teenagers. When I think of my grandmother’s hands, I think of her cooking during my childhood and early adult life and making homemade biscuits.

Growing up with our grandparents, my sisters and I never starved; we did not always have what we wanted to eat, but as long as there was a little flour in the house and some cooking grease, we would have a meal such of biscuits and gravy. Both of my maternal grandparents were from North Carolina and grew up on farms. They were from the depression era generation that knew how to take a little bit and make much.

Homemade Biscuits
Self-rising flour, water, and lard were the only ingredients that Grandma used to make homemade biscuits during my childhood in the 1970s and 1980s. During those days, my family would buy the big red plastic container of lard (probably about 5-10 lbs.) Grandma never used measuring cups to measure stuff, she only used these cups as a scoop. Grandma would mix her ingredients together until they became a big ball of dough. Perhaps it was the way that the dough felt to her hands that signaled to her that it was fully mixed and kneaded and ready for shaping into biscuits.

Then she would pinch off a wad of dough and begin shaping it into a round biscuit with her hands and fingers. Grandma never used a biscuit cutter to my knowledge and her biscuits always came out fluffy, round, and pretty. In my memory, I can still see her hands and fingers moving to shape the biscuits. Oh how I wish I had a video of this memory. Grandma’s mother Bell is remembered for her mouth watering biscuits. I assume that Grandma learned this skill from her mother.

During my youth, I followed Grandma’s biscuit recipe, but my so-called biscuits were more of a weapon or something to break your tooth rather than for eating. I’m still not sure to this day why mine never came out like hers.

We ate homemade biscuits often especially before my grandfather died in August 1979. Sometimes the biscuits themselves could be meal or a snack. Granddaddy liked to dip his in coffee or break them up in a bowl of stewed tomatoes. At times, he would also add other things such as molasses, jelly, butter, or Karo syrup to the biscuits. I believe that Karo syrup came in both a dark color and a clear color. I think that we used whichever of these were in our refrigerator. Karo syrup is also used to cook candied yams, but this makes a great additive to a hot biscuit. I never tried the coffee thing with biscuits, but I did eat them in stewed tomatoes or either with the other butter, jelly, or syrup additives. The best time to eat these biscuit was when they were hot out the oven. There were no microwaves back then, and if small toaster ovens were available at that time, my family did not own one.

I cannot remember the last time that Grandma made biscuits. During my fairly recent adult years, I have asked her to fix some biscuits, but her excuses are that she does not remember how to do this and that her hands are not like they used to be.

So the closest I can get to Grandma’s biscuits is by baking Grand’s Biscuits . Grandma’s homemade biscuits were not as large as Grands, however, they still can never replace the taste of Grandma’s biscuits.

Memory Monday: Passing the Laptop

On Sunday, November 1, 2009, I traveled home from attending the International Black Genealogy Summit in Fort Wayne, IN. This was a bittersweet day which signaled that my good times had come to an end. My travel partner, Selma and I arrived at the airport early to be sure that we didn’t have to rush and arrived at the gate where we would be boarding our airplane with a lot of time to spare and to relax.

“It’s time for the chat…see if you can get online,” Selma told me after we were seated for a few minutes.

This was some time after 11:30 a.m. and Selma was referring to the genealogy chat of Afrigeneas in which we regularly attend on Sunday mornings and other days of the week.

Connection to the airport’s Internet server went smoothly and within a short time I had accessed the chat.

'Selma and I are waiting in the Fort Wayne Airport for to go home,' I typed in the chat window. The group already knee that we were returning from our trip to the International Black Genealogy Summit because this had been a major topic of discussion for several weeks prior to the conference. The few people who were in the chat that morning had not attended this conference. Several of the other regular chatters were also on their way home from the conference and Selma and I were thrilled to have met so many Afrigeneas chatters at the conference.

I typed in a few other things related to the conference and then passed the laptop to Selma. For the remainder of our time waiting to board our flight home, Selma and I took turns participating in the chat and passing the laptop to each other. In the video below, Selma is sitting in the airport on the laptop participating in the Afrigeneas Chat. Notice the big smile on her face. Ahh! the joys of Technology.

The Stringed Quartet

I began playing the Viola in 6th grade and played until my sophomore year in college. My, how I miss those days. I participated in various orchestra activities including several quartets. This is a photo of a quartet comprised of (left to right) Arnaz, who played cello; Mrs. Jeraldine Herbinson, my first string teacher on violin; Me (Drusilla) on Viola; and Cathy, on violin.

Arnaz, Cathy, and I were in high school (between 1978 and 1981) during the time of this quartet. Cathy and I met in 7th grade and after that time attended the same schools; Arnaz attended another school in our city, but we would see him in city wide orchestra activities, or events such as this, when we played as a quartet. Although Mrs. Herbinson was our (Cathy and I) string teacher from elemementary school, we still saw her throughout our school days at orchestra activities and events such as the day we played in this quartet. Mrs. Herbinson was probably Arnaz's string teacher sometime during his school days, but I do not know for sure.

I believe that we played at a local church on the day that this photo was taken.

One Last Morsel of Research

I just couldn't pass up the opportunity to take one more look before leaving town.

Conference attendees of the International Black Genealogy Summit took advantage of the extended Sunday hours (8 a.m - 5 p.m.) of the Allen County Public Library Genealogy Room. I squeezed in a few moments to gather one last morsel of research at the library prior to leaving for the airport. My research focus was on Allen Pair (abt. 1843-aft. 1915), who was a slave in Greensville County, Virginia. By 1880, he moved to Leavenworth, Kansas. (I will discuss my research findings later).

I was not alone in taking advantage of the Sunday hours of the library before leaving the city of Fort Wayne. The ladies in these photos (Cristal, Janis, and Angela) also took advantage of the extended hours and we had lots of fun taking photos with our cell phone cameras and exchanging genealogy busines cards. As you can see from the piles of books on the table and cart, there were quite a few resources at the Allen County Public Library Genealogy Room.

Thanks to the staff of the Allen County Public Library Genealogy Room for all of your hospitality and assistance.

Memory Monday: Queens For A Day

My high school friend Bryn and I are "Queens for a Day" as we celebrated our 42nd birthdays in 2005 with a tea party at her house with a few other high school friends. We are both September 1963 babies.

We spent the afternoon sipping hot tea and ice tea, eating fruits, veggies, mini quiche, pigs in the blanket weiners, and various cookies and desserts.

What a spread we had at our Big Girl Tea Party. Everything was delicious and a good time was had by ALL.

Memory Monday: Table Decor at Carroll Family Reunion

This week's Memory Monday posting is in the form of a video. Last week, I learned how to convert a PowerPoint file into a video which can be played in the RealPlayer media player, posted on a website or blog, or on YouTube.

I have written several postings about the 2009 Carroll Family Reunion. This week's posting focuses on the table decor at this reunion. Below are links to previous postings about this family reunion.

Finger Lickin’ Good Food at Family Reunion

Carroll Family Reunion

The Spiritual Legacy of Bessie Bullock Carroll (1901-1991)

This video was made using Microsoft PowerPoint and Windows Movie Maker. For more information on how to make a video using these software packages, visit this webpage on my PowerPointer's Blog: Converting PowerPoint to Video. For MAC users, the video mentions websites with instructions for PowerPoint and Movie Making on a MAC. In Movie Maker, you can add video, still photos, music, and narration (voice using a computer microphone). In today's video, I converted my PowerPoint slides to still photos (.jpeg format), and added narration.

I still have a lot to learn abou video making and am excited about using this technology to enhance my blog and to be able to upload PowerPoint files onto the Internet. I encourage other bloggers to try this technology.

Memory Monday: A Demonstration of Love

During my high school years, our principal allowed us to have a Bible Study during lunch. It was available for any student who wanted to gather together during their lunch break to study the Bible. This was not formally advertised since technically, this was against the law during the 1980s. Students found out about this Bible study by word of mouth and I found out about it through my orchestra friend John. The teachers for the Bible study both taught English at our school.

I was the only black person who consistently participated in the group and I lived across town from the rest of them. My family did not have a car, but members of the Bible study, who either had their own cars or access to the cars of their parents, would give me a ride to our numerous gatherings outside of school. We had many gatherings at each other’s homes where we would have fun and fellowship. Because of the love shown to me from members of this group, I was able to participate in many of these gatherings. They didn’t have to take the time to drive across town (about a half hour or more), and give me a ride to the gatherings, but they did and I am eternally grateful to them for their demonstration of care and love.

On the occasion of this photo, a few members of the group came to my house for fellowship. (left to right) Chris (on guitar), Debbie (standing), Laura (sitting), and Brenda (holding music stand).

Today, I get together for monthly fun, food, and fellowship with three of the members of this Bible Study. BTW, I have my own car now, so I no longer have to depend on them for transportation. (Smile)

Memory Monday: College Retreats at Eagle Eyrie

During my college years, 1981-1985, I attended religious retreats for college students at the Eagle Eyrie Baptist Conference Center in Lynchburg, VA. The retreats were usually held during the fall in the peaceful, wooded acres near the beautiful Blue Ridge Parkway, and it was a joy to get away from the hustles and bustles of a large city like Richmond, VA, to a more serene surrounding where I could reflect and nurture my spiritual life along with many other college students from the state of Virginia. On several occasions, I ran into former high school friends at this retreat who were attending other colleges. So Eagle Eyrie also became a type of high school reunion for me.



This photo of my high school friend Laura and I was taken on a Sunday at the retreat. I don’t remember a lot of details about the structure of the retreat, but I do remember having some type of worship service on Sunday before we left. That would explain why Laura and I are wearing skirts.

Laura and I met in high school through a bible study we had during our lunch period. She graduated in 1982 and I graduated in 1981. It was a pleasure to fellowship with her at Eagle Eyrie during our college days and to meet some of her college friends. Starting sometime after 2003, when I turned 40, Laura and I, and a few other friends from our high school bible study, began getting together every month for food, fun, and reminiscing about the “good old days.”

When this photo was taken, it was way after Labor Day and so why am I wearing white shoes? I loved these shoes which I purchased for my high school graduation in 1981. Obviously, I did not care about violating the “no white shoes” after Labor Day rule.

For more about the history of the Eagle Eyrie Baptist Conference Center, visit this site.

History of Eagle Eyrie

Memory Monday: Gimme Me a Break!

“Gimme Me a Break!” was one of my favorite television comedies during the 1980s. It ran from 1981 to 1987. It was the story of widower and Chief of Police, Carl Kanisky, his three daughters, Julie, Katie, Samantha, and their African American live in nanny, Nell Harper. Nell had been a friend of Carl’s deceased wife and he asked her to help care for his daughters after the death of their mother.

I would have watched this show during my college years (1981-1985) and a few years thereafter. The main reason I probably liked this show was because of the main character, Nell Harper whose real name was Nell Carter. I loved it especially when she sang on the show. I also enjoyed the original theme song that ran during the first few years of the show. I did not care too much for the new theme show that the show had in its later years.

For more about this sitcom, visit this website: Gimme Me a Break!


“Gimme Me a Break” Original Theme Song



“Gimme Me a Break” Both Original and Revised Theme Songs

Memory Monday: Evening News With Walter Cronkite, 1916-2009

During my childhood, I recall watching the evening news on my family’s black and white television during the 1970s. American news icon, Walter Cronkite, (1916-2009) was a newscaster on the CBS Evening News.

On April 4, 1968, Walter Cronkite reported at the end of the "CBS Evening News" that Civil Rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King had been assassinated. He gave a detailed report about the shooting and the nation's reaction to the tragedy. I was about four and a half when Dr, King was killed. I recalling seeing images of his assassination on our black and white television, but I am not sure if it was during the time that it occurred, or in later years of my childhood.

Walter Cronkite had a memorable deep bass voice and I do not remember any other newscasters with a voice like his. He is remembered as the “most trusted man in America.” Thanks to the power of YouTube videos, we can hear Walter Cronkite’s voce again as he delivers the news to America about the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King.

Memory Monday: Lordy, Lordy, Look Who’s Forty!

On September 27, 2003, I celebrated my 40th birthday with a big birthday bash at a Chinese Restaurant. I had never given myself a birthday party, but I felt that it was what I should do. Turning 40 is a major life milestone and I wanted to celebrate, rather than be sad about getting older. One of my former supervisors had died suddenly in 1998 at age 37 and after this time, I viewed turning 40 as a blessing rather than a curse. Celebrities, whose untimely deaths influenced my attitude toward turning 40 were John F. Kennedy, Jr. ( died 1999) and Princess Diana (died 1997.) Both of them died before the age of 40.

About 38 family members and friends attended my birthday bash which was held at a local Chinese Restaurant. A good time was had by all!

This photo was taken after the party. As you can see from the smile on my face, it was a wonderful day! I was glad to find this chinese styled pants suit for my chinese themed party.

I had four young hostesses which included my two youngest nieces (seen here) and daughters of two of my coworkers. I was fortunate to find beautiful chinese styled tops for each of the girls.

I went low-tech and did this poster board display with photos from various times in my life. I had planned to do a PowerPoint slide show, but the poster board display worked out better.

This lovely birthday cake with a baby photo and an adult photo was delicious!

I received numerous gifts for my 40th birthday which made this birthday celebration extra special.

The Choir March Tradition

During my youth and young adult years (1970s and 1980s), I was a church choir member. During this time, the tradition of my church was for the choir to march into the church down the aisle, and into the choir stand. As the choir marched in singing, while rocking or swaying from side-to-side, the congregation would stand up and look towards the back of the church to watch the choir processional.

When the senior choir in my childhood church sang and marched down the aisle, I would always look at their shoes and would pass judgment in my mind as to if the shoes were pretty or ugly. I think that most of the children in my church did the same thing. I did not realize how much I missed and valued the choir march tradition until last month when I visited a family church.

Since the early 1990s, I have not been a member of a church where the choir marched into the choir stand. Instead, these church choirs simply gather in the choir stand prior to the beginning of service and stand up together before the opening song. I have, however, visited churches since the early 1990s, who still do the choir march.

Last month, when I visited my father’s family church, Antioch Missionary Baptist Church in the Skippers area of Greensville County, VA, I realized how much I missed the choir march tradition. On that 4th Sunday in April, the youth choir marched into the church. As they marched in, a thought hit me as I watched and recalled that some churches, which formerly practiced the choir march tradition, no longer did this. I got excited as I watched these young people march and sing. For more on my 4th Sunday in April visit, click here.

In the second service that afternoon, the mass choir marched into the church. I was thrilled and excited by the upbeat music and their marching! I took several pictures instead of video, but later I wished that I had thought about my digital camera video instead. I promised myself that I would remember to videoe the next time I visited Antioch.

Yesterday, I visited Antioch again and the service was spiritually uplifting. This time I made sure to videotape the choir march. Some choirs sing as they march in; but the choir at Antioch marched in as the musicians played. They began singing when all the choir members got into the choir stand. Like some marching choirs, the Antioch choir was escorted in by an usher. (See portion of video below)

I do not know when or where the church march tradition began in churches, but I love it, not only because it is a reminder of the church traditions of my youth, but also because I believe that it sets the tone of worship as the choir enters the church singing praises to God.

Randy Seaver of Genea-Musings

Randy Seaver of Genea-Musing blog does a fantastic job in engaging other bloggers in interactivity as well as promoting other blogs. One of his weekly postings is The Best of Genea-Blogs where he selects blog postings for the weekly list based on the following criteria.

“My criteria for "Best of ..." are pretty simple - I pick posts that advance
knowledge about genealogy and family history, address current genealogy issues,
provide personal family history, are funny or are poignant. I don't list posts
destined for the genealogy carnivals, or other meme submissions (but I do
include summaries of them), or my own posts.”

I made the list for the second time with my Memory Monday posting entitled My Blog Gets Acknowledgement at Church Service

Thanks again, Randy, for this honor, and thanks for all your hard work in advancing and promoting genealogy blogging.

Professor Dru

Memory Monday - My Blog Gets Acknowledgement at Church Service

On the fourth Sunday in April 2009, I attended church services at Antioch Missionary Baptist Church in the Skippers area of Greensville County, VA which is about an hour and a half away from my home. When I arrived at the church, I sat in a certain section by myself. A minute later a cousin who had invited me to the service came over to tell me that she and other members of our family were sitting on the other side of the church. I moved to where they were and sat beside one of my aunts whose wheelchair was adjacent to a front pew.

The service was spiritually uplifting and there were many visitors there, including myself, who came to honor a former pastor of the church.

Since 1987, I have visited this church on several occasions for homecoming services and funerals of relatives in my father’s family. A few minutes before the benediction of the first service, the church pastor gave remarks. He was a new pastor of this church and not the same one whom I had met on previous visits.

I don’t remember the pastor’s exact words, but below is the gist of what I recall him saying and my reactions to his words.

****************************************************
Pastor: “We have a special visitor here today…”

Me: I’m a visitor, I thought, but it’s probably not me—there’re a lot of visitors here today for this special service---I don’t think my cousin told him that I was coming.

Pastor: “And she has a website called “Find Your Folks.”

Me: Oh my God, Oh my God, I repeated in my mind. That’s me. I’m sure I was smiling from ear to ear by this time as my heart raced.

Pastor: She wrote on her site that she would be visiting here today and she is a member of the Robinson family. He was referring to the Church Homecoming article written on April 19, 2009. “And she goes by the name ‘Professor Dru’ on the Internet, the pastor announced.”

Me: I was still in shocked to learn that the new pastor of my family church was also one of my blog readers. Despite my feelings of shock and elation, I graciously stood up after Pastor Tatum revealed my Internet name, turned toward the congregation, and waved. I felt like a celebrity for the day.

****************************************************

After the service ended, two ladies, who were sitting to my left on the front pew, introduced themselves and revealed that they part of the Robinson family. They said that they were descendants of Margaret. I knew from my research that their ancestor was a daughter of my great-great grandparents Joshua and Ersie Jane Providence Robinson.

Another lady sitting behind me asked which set of Robinsons I was from. I didn’t recognize the name of her father who was a Robinson. Finally, I pointed to my aunt who was sitting beside me, and asked the lady if she was kin to her. “Yes,” she replied. “So, I guess that makes us kin too,” I told her.

I was anxious to talk to the pastor after his grand announcement during his remarks. After meeting my three new cousins, I walked towards the pulpit which was just a few steps away.

Professor Dru of "Find Your Folks" blog and Pastor Tatum of Antioch Missionary Baptist Church

“How, did you find my blog?" I asked Pastor Tatum as I stood below the pulpit.

“I wanted to know about the history of this church after I became Pastor, so I searched the Internet,” he told me. I did recall posting an article which included the history of this church.

“When did you become pastor?” I asked. (The genealogist in me had to have a date or time frame.)

“March 2008,” he responded.

Pastor Tatum also mentioned several other postings on my blog such as a photo taken in the cemetery of the church during the 1950s. I did not remember this photo at first, but eventually recalled the photo of my grandmother Hattie Moore Pair at the graveside of her father Robert Moore. Read here-Robinson Family Cemetery

“You made my Day,” I told Pastor Tatum at the end of this conversation.

When I returned home later that evening, I searched my blog for the article mentioned by Pastor Tatum that included church history of Antioch Missionary Baptist Church. I found that it was posted on Sunday, April 28, 2008, which was the month after he became pastor of this church. Read here-Sacred Sunday I had obtained a written copy of the history of the church after I wrote a letter to the previous pastor sometime in the late 1990s.

It has been over two weeks since I visited Antioch Missionary Baptist Church and I am still SMILING every time I think about the events of that WONDERFUL Sunday.

Memory Monday - The Cost of Carelessness

When you are in the library or any place of research, do you ever leave your personal belongings unattended even for just a second?

Whether it’s just to look in an index for a quick second or to make copies, taking your eyes off your personal belongings for any amount of time can provide an open invitation for a thief during your moments of inattentiveness.

When I first began researching my family history, I learned an expensive lesson while in the library. I had attended my father’s family reunion in Emporia, Virginia the week earlier and had obtained the names of his mother’s ancestors. I was so excited and consumed with my research that I became careless with my personal belongings.

I had withdrawn over $100 from the bank on Saturday and placed it in my wallet. After church on Sunday, I prepared for my library trip and placed my wallet, a walkman to listen to music on cassette tape, and other items in a small briefcase. I had intended to take some of the money out of the wallet prior to my library trip, but forgot to do it because my mind was focused on my finding my ancestors. While using the microfilm reader, I walked away several times leaving my briefcase unattended. Even while I was doing this, I kept feeling that I should be more cautious about my belongings, but I quickly dismissed the thought because of my excitement about achieving my research goals.

As I prepared to leave the library at closing time at 5 p.m., I began to gather my belongings. My heart stopped when I noticed that my briefcase was missing from the microfilm table where I was sitting. I frantically searched the genealogy room and found my briefcase on a table at another microfilm reader just few feet away. At that moment, I remembered seeing a young man sitting at that table earlier and I recalled looking at him and thinking that he did not look like a serious researcher. However, because of my preoccupied mind, I had dismissed that thought. All of my belongings were in the briefcase except for my wallet. Thoughts of replacing my wallet contents flooded my mind as I went to the front desk informing them of the robbery.

The librarian informed me that library robberies were common, and sometimes the robbers left the wallets somewhere in the library after taking what they wanted. He searched the bathrooms and brought back my torn wallet, a handful of receipts, driver’s license, and other important cards, but no cash.

This experience taught me a very valuable lesson early on in my research. Now, I don’t take a lot of things to the library or courthouse when I am researching. Instead, I wear a fanny pack so I don’t have to be concerned about leaving my wallet unattended. The fanny pack is also convenient for carrying the change I need for copies. I know that once I start researching, I will be too excited and consumed with the research to be attentive to my personal belongings.

Since this incident, I have observed many researchers, especially women, who are careless with their purses and briefcases. But my expensive lesson of 1995 constantly reminds me to take precautions even before I go to any place of research.

The Excitement of Meeting Online Friends

In October 2007, I attended a genealogy conference in the Boston, MA area. I knew that my online friend Barbara lived in the area. She and I took a Family Tree Maker class in 2006 and since that time, our class has continued communicating through our website on MyFamily.com. Several members of our group have visited Boston and met with Barbara while in the area. It was quite exciting to see photos of their visits on our website.

The Sunday after the conference, Barbara and I met at the Burlington Mall for about an hour or so. It was great hearing her voice as opposed to just reading her postings. We took several pictures, but I only recently had them developed because I misplaced the disposable camera.

In October 2009, I plan to attend a genealogy conference in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Many of my new online genealogy friends will also be attending and I am looking forward to meeting them face to face and taking many pictures. The best thing of all will is being able to share these photos on my blog and other websites such as MyFamily.com and Facebook.

My First Genealogy Workshop Presentation

I began tracing my family history in 1994 out of a need to understand my roots. After researching for several years, I felt the need to share my findings with others. As early as 1995, I began sharing my findings at family reunions.

However, a few years later, an opportunity arose for me to share genealogy and family history beyond my family. My first major opportunity to conduct a genealogy workshop came from the library of Old Dominion University (ODU) in Norfolk, VA. It was interesting how I got the invitation to speak at ODU. I was working as an applications computer software trainer (Microsoft Office/WordPerfect, etc.) and my company had a contract to train ODU employees in computer skills. I was originally supposed to conduct training at another company, but that class was canceled and I was sent to ODU to teach a computer class instead.

In my introduction to my class, I mentioned that my hobby was tracing my family history. Ironically the Friends of the Library of ODU were planning a genealogy conference and needed someone to speak about genealogy and computers. I don’t remember exactly who was in this class, but I guess someone in the class was on this committee because these were all ODU employees whom I was training.

Months later, I was invited to present a session on using Family Tree Maker and Internet software at the Friends of the Library genealogy conference on a Saturday in July 1998. The presentation was a success and I also learned a lot from the other speakers.

Now, almost eleven years later, I have had numerous opportunities to conduct genealogy workshops at churches, libraries, cultural festivals, and local and national genealogical societies.

This weekend, I was notified of my acceptance as a workshop speaker for the first International Black Genealogy Summit on October 29-31, 2009 at the Allen County Public Library. I look forward to this opportunity and to other opportunities to conduct workshops.

Proud “Auntie” Moments

One of my proudest moments as an Aunt was hearing two of my nephews (Ryan and Eddie) sing solos at my mother’s funeral in August 2007. I knew that several of my nephews were talented in playing musical instruments such as keyboard, bass guitar, and drums, and I expected them to play an instrument rather than sing at the funeral. However, I did not know that they could sing so well. Several people remarked on how good my nephews sang.

Another proud “Auntie” moment came earlier that year at our Moore Family Union in Emporia, VA during the summer of 2007. The same two nephews who sang at my mother’s funeral played musical instruments at the Saturday night banquet of the reunion. As seen in the photo above, Ryan played drums and Eddie played the keyboard along with my first cousin Watkins on bass guitar. They sounded fantastic and played well together as if they did it all the time. I don’t think that they had ever played together, but they blended together as if they were a permanent group.

I was on the family reunion banquet program to talk about the Moore family history. Before I began my talk, I proudly announced to the audience that the two young musicians were my nephews and that I was very proud of their musical talents.

The Sunshine Girls

The Sunshine Girls (left to right) Tunisha, LaVetta, Drusilla (Me), and Maria helped me begin my 40th birthday celebrations.

Prior to my current employment, which began in December 1999, I had never been one to hang out with coworkers outside of work, but several years ago I bonded with these three coworkers in this photo. We called ourselves "The Sunshine Girls," a name that came about after one of the coworkers (Tunisha) and I took a bus trip to New York with a bus company called Sunshine Tours. After this trip in April 2000 or 2001, Tunisha and I began addressing each other as "Sunshine." I don't remember whether we began hanging out with the other two coworkers before, or after our New York trip. However, as our relationship evolved, the name "Sunshine Girls" stuck to this group.

The four of us, all single at the time, would go out for dinner, a concert, or other activity occasionally. When I turned 40 in September 2003, I told Maria, a coworker of Phillipine descent, that I had never been to a Japanese Restaurant. As a result, she invited me to a local Japanese restaurant to celebrate my birthday, along with the two other Sunshine Girls. This celebration, which I call my Pre-40th Birthday event, was held two weeks prior to my actual birthday and big 4-0 party.

The Sunshine Girls posing (left to right) Tunisha, Drusilla (Me), Maria, and LaVetta

Today, there are only two Sunshine Girls still working in my current employment organization and the two of us often remininense about our the Sunshine Girls. Although, I miss the time all of us spent together many years ago, I will forever cherish these wonderful memories. I thank God for these Sunshine sisters and for the the joy that they brought to my life during our times together.

ForEver Sunshine Girls!