Tombstone Tuesday - October 9, 2012

It’s been a year since Audrey died.  Where does the time go! We have missed her but are so glad that she is at peace with James.  

Brittany, Greg, Megan, Jan, Pamela

 As summer wounds down,  our life seems to speed up.  We had a wedding in Gerkin family on September 14, 2012.  Megan E. Gerkin married Robert J. Diamond in a wonderful outdoor ceremony on a warm sunny day!  Rest assured that the spirit of James and Audrey Gerkin were with us that day along with all the Gerkin’s who came before and all the descendants who have come after.

Megan and Robert Diamond

 Love,  Jan

 

August 29, 2012 - Happy Birthday, Dad

Would have been my Dad's 84th birthday, today.  And tomorrow, it is 16 years ago that he died...wow can that really be? It is so amazing.  What I wouldn't give to sit down with him have a cup of coffee...Ok so mine would be tea and his would be coffee.  I can't help but wonder what his thoughts would be about our world today.  He was not into computers at all... NOT at all! Its funny that they have been such a huge part of my life.. In the early years when I just started in the computer industry  when I would try to talk to him about it, you could see the change in his eyes...They glassed over and he just didn't want to hear about it.

Makes me laugh when I think  about the fact that I regularly emailing his friends, Clare Tincknell and Jake Jacobsen. (OK Jake, I owe you an email today!)  I wonder what he would think about Facebook and how it has enabled us to get reacquainted with old friends who we love but have been separated from for so many years.  There are no real reason why except an individual life evolves...time gets away from you and life goes on....

I wonder what he would think of cell phone today....smart phones!!!!  Texting, oh my!  As we, my brothers and sisters, gathered together for our annual camping trip this summer, we played this little game....It's called "Where are you now?"  Since we are all coming from different directions, it helps to pass the time..."Have you left yet?  I send to Matt..."Not Yet he responds!"  "Where are you?"   He asks..."New Buffalo" I respond... A little later I hear from Sharon and Michael who are on the road too.."Just got thru Saginaw"  Sharon tells me....She and I begin to compare notes and it looks like we may both get to Sand Lake at about the same time until they find an furniture store in Marion, Michigan and the motorhome they are driving suddenly needs to stop!  The texting does not...just the Motorhome....Before long the Motor home has a couple of new tables and their checkbook has a few less dollars ...but ..." They alway wanted to stop at that store every time they drove by"  so they finally did! I can't help but wonder what Dad would think of all of this.

The Internet...was in it's infancy stage when he died...Internet commerce, Ebay, Auctions, Craigs list,  Amazon and the need for most brick and mortar store to have a eCommerce solution was unheard of.  Forward thinking people dreamed of these realities but they were still dreams!  I would love to talk to him about how "doing business has changed"  the good and the bad...and the ugly!

The Internet ...and the data revolution that it has become...from shortly after Dad died...the Christmas after, as a matter of fact...I have been doing family history research.  Which is the reason for this blog.  I ordered a software package for my future husband, because he was working on his family tree  and entering data manually into a DOS program...and it seemed to me that there had to be a better way...So I bought  Family Tree Maker.  It was a Windows based application and he could import his data!  I was so excited for him.  After Christmas, he asked me if I would install if for him..."since you are the expert..."  So I did...The day I installed this program, my life changed.  I decided to create my tree too.  I would add  just the family members that I knew.....4562 people and 1457 marriages later...I am still adding people that I know!

I would love to introduce them to my Dad!  Their are many farmers, preachers, soldiers, doctors, builders, cabinet makers, inn keepers, railway workers, blacksmith and businessmen, just like him.  Men who dreamed of better days ahead for themselves and there families.  They moved west, north, south and sometimes even back east all in an effort  to find the best place to raise a family..

I just know that once I told him about how our family started the church in Nine Mile Indiana, he would want to go visit and attend services there.  I just know that when I showed him that James Smith's Stone is all fixed and back in place in the Nine Mile cemetery, that he would be just as excited as I am!  I just know that when I told him that the "Smith Farm" is still a working farm in Pendleton, Indiana, he would want to go there for a visit with me...

I just know that I miss you very much Dad, very day but especially today... and I would give anything to be sitting across the table from you having that cup of tea! 

So on your birthday..... I am singing the electronic version of your award winning birthday song which we sing at every birthday "offkey" in your honor. And just so you know your cousins sing it too!

hAPpy BIRthDay 2 U, HaPPy bIRthDay to YoU, HaPPy bIRthday, Dear DAD
HapPy BirthDAY  to you! 


Love,  Jan

Tombstone Tuesday - August 28, 2012

I got quite a surprise this weekend.  I got an email from Mark Davis with a photo.  Mark Davis is a friend of mine.  He repairs and cleans pioneers cemeteries in the Midwest.  He is a very, very busy guy who is dedicated to cleaning and restoring cemeteries one at a time! This man loves cemetery, as much as I do...OK, so maybe more than I do!  Years ago, Greg and I took a cemetery restoration class from him in Crown Point, Indiana.  I really liked the class and enjoyed spending the day in the cemetery cleaning gravestones but for what ever reason I never followed thru with it.  I have used what he taught me for my own enjoyment but did not really take it to the level I had planned.  There is still time...all is not lost...

Check out his website at:

 http://stonesavercemeteryrestoration.net/

Stonesavers has restore over 14000 grave stones in ten years.  

...and his partners Helen Wildermuth

http://stonehugger.com/

has a restored count of 16341 stones in 10 years.  I know that Helen and Mark work together sometimes but they each have their own separate businesses..  They have done amazing work.  Spend some time on their website and you will be amazed. 

SO back to my blog here...I got on my soap box and got carried away.....I had Mark do some work for me on a tombstone.  The tombstone was for our Smith Family and it is located in the Nine Mile Cemetery.

This is before

I have blogged about this family before but the stone was at that time in many pieces.  Mark has put it all together for me and placed it properly back in the base and I am over joyed!  So today, I am sharing with you the photos that he sent me. 

After - Friday,  August 24, 2012

....and this is now!  In a few weeks, he will return and take off the braces after the cement in the base is fully cured!  Over the course of the weekend he has shared some photos of the process with me!!  I am so happy that it is all put back together in one piece. I hope that the elements will allow it to stay that way. 

  It is one stone which has most of the members of this Smith family which are buried in the Nine Mile Cemetery.  They are;  James Smith, Susannah (Overly) Smith, Charles Smith, Kisiah Smith and Barbary Smith.  There is one other stone in the area which is also for a Smith daughter who had married, Mary Ann (Smith) Kimble and her daughter Susan Kimble.  There is an ongoing debate as to whether Susannah is actually buried in this plot.  The church records do not reflect that she is but her name is on the stone.  So I keep looking for her.

This photo is of Mark and his crew.  They have removed the old base and will properly reinstall it so it is level on a solid rock base.  Then they placed the stone back in the base and cemented it in place.  If you look closely at the right side of this photo, you will see Mary Ann Kimble's stone right next to the tree.  It looks as if it is growing out of the tree trunk.

So really soon, I will be firing up the GPS and heading to Nine Mile, Indiana  to check out  the stone that Mark fixed for us! 

On behalf of all of our Smith Family a huge " Thank you!"  to Mark  Davis and his crew for doing this job for me!

Love,

Jan