My great grandmother sailed to America on this ship. The North German Lloyd Steamship Line’s Werra I left the Port of Bremen in Germany on October 12, 1882 on her maiden voyage.…
Family
These stories are about my family’s secrets.
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Last October I walked through Woodmere Cemetery near Standish snapping photos of grave markers, looking for my great grandmother’s stone. I tramped along the track that looped through the grounds and found…
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This handsome hunk is my great-grandfather, Fred Hartman, circa 1885. I found his photo in the genealogical archives of the library in Alpena, Michigan. I started my search in Alpena because of…
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I never met my great grandmother, Wilhelmina Bublitz Hartman. She’s somewhere here in this old, unlabeled photo. I understand from family stories that she was a great beauty. You’re probably wondering how…
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Meet my grandfather, Wilhelm F. Hartman, oldest son of Frederick and Wilhelmina Hartman. He left the Port of Bremen in Germany in October of 1882 with his mother and two brothers, and…
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Brooklyn, Michigan US Post Office. It was around 10 a.m., Friday, January 3, 2014 and well after the Christmas rush. Four of us were waiting in line to buy stamps and mail…
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My Uncle Jim passed away in Michigan on the same day as his oldest daughter died in Kentucky. Sandy was killed exactly one year earlier to the day. Uncle Jim was a…
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My father’s mind is okay. It’s his body that’s shot. He has trouble with walking and with balance. Arthritis has bent him forward. My mother’s body is like that ever-ready Bunny; she…
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Pastor Azzam was a good preacher. He delivered teaching sermons each Sunday at the country church on Johnsfield Road. Congregants often left the white clapboard-sided building arguing the meanings of his message.…
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My good friend Cathy Drummands told me this story. Dad’s trained hunting dog was his reward for working six hours each night at a local garage after eleven hour shifts at Ford.…