Approximate Years 1956-1959
Ages 20-23
It’s amusing to me to read my grandfather’s autobiography and his time in the Army. It was peacetime, that period after Korea before Vietnam that he was in the service. He spent his days in Germany, and battled seasickness to get there and back again. This tall behemoth of a fisherman, laid low by time on a boat. 🙂
Approximate Years 1952-1959
Ages 16-23
If someone wanted to know my grandfather’s hobby, every member of my family could answer “fishing” without skipping a beat. One year my grandfather had caught over 1,000 fish. He’s not a man to hyperbole, so he had given me the precise figures, cataloged by species in a letter written in his delicate cursive. He explained what he had done with what fish–and which ones he preferred baked to fried. It was a letter, but he smacked his lips, I could hear it.
I’m posting in five-page segments. It’s relatively short five pages since it was hand-written–but it gives me time to do a little research. And, to fit more pictures in. 🙂
This section jumps pretty quickly from 16 years old to Germany in the army, so it clips along.
The VanNostrand Homestead – Dalton, New YorkApproximate Years 1946-1952
Ages 10-16
This is a continuation of the previous post of my grandfather VanNostrand’s autobiography.
Dalton Main StreetApproximate Years 1942-1946
Ages 6-10
This is a continuation of the previous post of my grandfather’s autobiography.
Approximate Years 1940-1942
Ages 4-6
There is never enough to satisfy genealogy, which seeks to fill in every hole in time even when there is no putty to fill the gaps. An autobiography to a family genealogist is a great slather of plaster, a wall of history (from one perspective) smoothed.
My grandfather died in April, and we haven’t reached the first anniversary of the event. Like I usually do, I wrote a blog post to work through it on my writing blog. Around Thanksgiving my husband and I and our son flew out to visit my grandmother…and she bestowed upon me the items of greatest value (to me), photos, diaries, marriage certificates to Great Great grandparents, and… my grandfather’s autobiography.
My grandfather always had a sharp memory, recalling the exact reel make and model he used to catch what size and species of fish in what river in what year, and the first and last name of the dummy friend who told him to use some cockamamie bait vs the bait he had chosen (as you might guess, he was more successful–but he was a master fisherman). So it comes to no surprise to me that he recalls the street, people, and school names when recalling what would be nearly six to seven decade old memories. I was blessed with a similar memory, but not nearly his proficiency for name recall.
I’m posting in five-page segments. It’s relatively short five pages since it was hand-written–but it gives me time to do a little research. And, to fit more pictures in. 🙂
Of the North Shore 