Your American Story

[Snowflake]

My father's side of the family, I do not know much about except someone hailed from the UK, but I am not sure if it is Ireland, Scotland, Wales of Britain. He hailed from Michigan and my paternal grandmother died in 1933 (my dad was then 11). His father remarried and he had 1 full sibling and added 2 step siblings (one of whom I've never met) and I grew up knowing Grandma Lulu. She was fabulous and full of vim and vigor. I loved visiting her and she loved visiting here, game old gal trekked Hearst Castle at 80. His father died in 1945 of lung cancer or emphysema.

My mother's side of the family hail from Russia (and now a part of Poland). My grandfather arrived in the US in 1905, grandmother in 1906. They were farmers and settled in New Britain, CT. 8 siblings in all, only one has passed away. My grandmother lived to be 100 and never spoke a word of English as I recall. Grandfather passed away in 1968 and I do not remember him. I remember my Great Uncle Adam, who was such a lush, he'd fall off the barstool and the patrons would carry him home to sleep it off. He lived to be 95. All the kids were bi-lingual (alas, never taught to me since my parents were the maverricks who moved away to California - Dad was a navy man). As an aside, Mom talked in her sleep sometimes, and it was the funniest thing to hear as a kid, not knowing it was in Russian. It sounded like Martian as I imagined.