#3 – Pvt. Hannibal Howell
Long before beginning work on Hattie’s War, I spent considerable time digging for information about Hannibal Howell, my gr gr gr grandfather. There are tidbits of information about him, but not much. If Hannibal hadn’t …
#2 – So Many Questions
Hannibal Howell and his two younger brothers, Byron and Tappan, responded to President Lincoln’s plea in 1861 for volunteers to bolster the Union Army in the early days of the Civil War. The Howell brothers …
Boy In The Red Hat
I received a lovely birthday card from my mother for my 67th birthday back in March. It was more of a letter really than a card. In the letter, she talked about my early years …
#1 – A Daughter He Never Knew
Hattie Howell is spitting mad; the boys in her class are making fun of her chalk drawings again. When Arthur Phelps reaches for her chalkboard, she yanks it back with all her might, accidentally hitting …
According To Maude #3- Recipe Lost
Did you ever lose something, thought you’d found it only to discover what you found was not really what you were looking for? That’s happened to me a number of times, once with a dog. …
According To Maude #2- Earth Doctor
Edna Groat was desperate, “I had so many things wrong I wasn’t worth saving” she declared. Her husband, Peace-Justice (yep, that’s his name!) said she had been bedridden in severe pain for months. Frank Pinto’s …
According To Maude #1- The Letter That Started It All
Maude Murphy was born October 15, 1887, to Wesley and Phoebe Murphy of Hector, New York, a small rural farming community at the southern end of Seneca Lake near the better-known town of Watkins Glen …
Who do you look up to?
I was asked many years ago to name a person that I looked up to or admired, someone influential in my life. Put on the spot, thinking fast; I could only think of one name, …
Bob Serko’s 90th
My dad Bob Serko turns 90 today, January 25th. 90 years old, now that is a milestone! Sure he’s slowed down a bit but, not much. He’s been retired longer than he worked, a statistic …
The luckiest kid in the world
I can’t think of a holiday more exciting for a child than Christmas. So, imagine, if you will, what it must be like having two Christmases. In my family we had two Christmases, yes, two, …