12 Photos: April 2025 Couples

  

April 2025

12 Months of Photos - "Couples"

Since April brings about our Wedding Anniversary (we eloped!), this month's Photo is myself and my husband, Mike, aboard the train headed to New Orleans, one of our favorite places.  

Our biggest joke is how much older Mike is than me.  I was in elementary school when he was entering high school but as adults, the age difference disappeared.

Train bound for NOLA, March 11th, 2025

The music video for this blog entry:  Nothin' but a good time by Poison.  

It's the way we met and the way we've made a life together for over 30 years.

Join the 12 Months of Photos at WikiTree.  Show off your Genealogy.

52 Ancestors Week 14: Language

 

this week’s theme is “Language.”   

Not all language issues are with source documents.  

Sometimes language barriers occur with accents and spelling in your own language. 

The Appalachian Dialect...

Appalachian English is American English native to the Appalachian mountain region of the Eastern United States.

The Unique Language of Appalachia: A Living Time Capsule

The Appalachian region, stretching from southern New York to northern Alabama and Georgia, is home to one of the most distinctive dialects in North America. Rooted in the early English, Scots-Irish, and German settlers who arrived in the 18th century, Appalachian English has retained many archaic words and phrases that have disappeared elsewhere.

A Time Capsule of Old English

I, for one, do not subscribe to the theory that Appalachians speak "Old English". 

It's been said that Appalachian speech is its preservation of Elizabethan English. Words like afeared (afraid), reckon (suppose), and britches (pants) date back centuries (and yes, we do say those words). The grammatical structures also reflect older forms of English, such as double modals ("I might could do that") and the use of a- prefixing ("He was a-hunting")—a feature found in Middle English poetry.

But, extensive research has been conducted since the 1930's to determine the origin of the Appalachian dialect.  Most would agree that it's an amalgam of Old English from original settlers, colonial 18th century English from the descendants of the original settlers, and a lot of Ulster-Scot dialect.

Without a doubt, Appalachians have always been taunted for their speech to the point of the Appalachian Dialect inferring poorness, laziness, and lack of education.  All of which is completely false.

Click on Read More to see samples on how Appalachians speak and what common words we use in sentences....

Video Blog: Apalachin Meeting – The Mafia in Appalachia

 Apalachin Meeting – The Mafia in Appalachia

The Appalachin meeting was a secret gathering of American Mafia leaders in 1957 to discuss illegal operations. The meeting took place at the home of mobster Joseph “Joe the Barber” Barbara in Apalachin, New York.

Join us as we discuss how this meeting changed the Mafia in America forever.

Prefer the Podcast version?  Click here.

Are you related or connect to any of these mobsters? 

Find out by visiting the Appalachin Meeting page on WikiTree.

Ancestry Roads and WikiTree: 

 Where Appalachian Stories and Genealogy meet.

View more Appalachian Stories at Ancestry Roads YouTube .

Ancestry Roads: https://www.ancestryroads.com/

WikiTree: https://www.wikitree.com/ 

52 Ancestors Week 10: Siblings

 

This week’s theme is “Siblings.”   The DNA surprise when your family tree takes a sharp turn. 

Siblings. They're our first friends, our partners in crime, our biggest rivals, and our lifelong companions. The two brothers that I grew up with, Steve and Tim, were the only siblings that I knew.  They were much older than me.  I was the completely annoying bratty little sister that they didn't want and didn't expect.

The Craig Kids

I was also the one that got mad because they wouldn't let me play with their amazing hot wheel tracks up and down the basement stairs and all around the basement.  Boys can be so mean.

But, when in need, they both came running to help me.  Once, in 9th grade, I was severely bullied by a boy that wanted me to go to a school dance with him.  I just didn't want to go to the dance. I had nothing against the boy.   But, he took it badly, and harrassed me, followed me everywhere, in school and out, would call me horrible names, by yelling, in front of everyone at the lockers or lunch room.  The school administrator and security guard did nothing to stop it.   

So, for a month straight, my brothers picked me up from school.  They waited by this boy's school bus and made sure to say hello to him, every day.  That was it.  Just hello.  The fact that they both rode their Harleys and looked like Hells Angels might have also had something to do with it.

Click on Read More to see my Mom's and Dad's siblings....

12 Photos: March 2025 Sports

 

March 2025

12 Months of Photos - Appalachia Style

"Sports"

My husband and son are golfers. The amount of golf talk in my house is truly overwhelming. The way their facial expressions change when discussing what happened on hole twelve depends entirely on the day, the club, and the weather.

But as a mom, I’ve supported my son by taking him to golf lessons five days a week and enduring the sweltering Georgia heat for his tournaments. When I say he has a natural talent, I’m not exaggerating. This isn’t just a proud mom bragging (though I am, and I do)—this kid is an insanely good golfer who rarely practices. He’d much rather just get on the course and hit the ball.

My son doesn’t allow me to share photos of him online—on social media, blogs, or videos. But he did allow me to share this one picture of him on the course.

This picture is especially dear to my heart. I used to pick him up from school with his golf clubs already in the car. We would head straight to the golf course, where he would play nine holes before dinner. Since this course didn’t allow him to drive the cart, I was always with him throughout.

Being a typical mom, I snapped pictures of him all the time. But this day was different. It was autumn in Atlanta—a beautiful day. When he reached this putt, I remember looking at the picture through my cell phone, and it nearly took my breath away. The moment was so peaceful, so silent, and so perfect.

Just a boy enjoying the game he loves.

The golf music video.  Tee it up!

Join the 12 Months of Photos at WikiTree.  Show off your Genealogy.