The First Day

I didn't write about the first day we spent in Spokane.

We arrived at 8:22am.  It was an hour long flight.

We went to breakfast near the airport and then drove off to the Hillyard part of Spokane to meet up with a Holz cousin at Holz Fuel, which we understood was still family owned.  We were correct.

With the Holz descendants at Holz Fuel in Hillyard.

Holz Fuel was started by my grandmother's oldest brother.  These are his grand, great grand and great-great grandchildren in the photo.

We met up with the Stegner's at my cousin Carol's R.V.  I knew each of their faces from photos I'd seen as a child.  Sometime I'm going to post the current face with the photo face.  It was pretty great to meet them and listen to their voices.

After visiting for a little while, we checked into our hotel.  Before this, we felt like we were running in circles, so we needed to get organized.  We then went to dinner with the Stegner cousins.

Stegner's at dinner on Monday night.

Highlights of the Day

Went to Greenwood Cemetery today.  We found the family graves right away, which is pretty amazing considering this is a huge cemetery.  It helped that we had my cousin, Jeff, around who lives in Spokane and had just been to this cemetery for Memorial Day.

My grandmother is buried near a tree.  Her grave was looking pretty nasty.  I took my bottle of water and tried to get it clean, but just water wasn't going to cut it.  Here's what it looked like when we first got there:

HaHa!  You can tell by the lighting on this photo how much time I took scrubbing it.  The sun had come up a bit higher in the sky.  At first, I used my hands and fingernails.  I know...nasty, but I had nothing else, and I wasn't going to leave it looking like that.  My cousin, Mary, found a paperclip in her purse, so that was very helpful.  Jeff got out some baby wipes, and that did the trick for the flat surfaces.  Mary also went at it with a pine cone.  We joked around that that's what God made them for.  It worked wonders for the scroll work.

I don't know if you can tell from this photo, but it looked markedly better when we left.

One of the funny things, I thought, was that the Holz's and the Stegner's are buried together in this cemetery.  I don't have to wander far to find both sides of my mom's family.   They're all around the periphery of the same tree.

This was my grandfather's house in Spokane.  My mom grew up here.  I was glad I caught it when I did.  They're putting through a new highway, and all the other houses on the street have been taken out.  Theirs is honestly the ONLY one left.  Sad.

About six blocks away was my mom's junior high.  She loved this place and had reunions with friends from this school for years after she left it.  We got to walk in and walk around.  I talked to one of the teacher's aids there.  He said that he went to school there and his grandmother did too--probably about the same time as my mom.  Sounds like she may have been one of my mom's neighbors too.  Wonder if they knew each other.

This house was lived in by my great grandmother and step great grandfather back in 1926.  I need to get home and look through the information my mom kept to find more information, but when I scanned this photo years ago, I also searched googlemaps because the photo had an address on the back (very helpful).  I found that it was still standing and was so excited.  Tonight I got to see it in real life.  One of the guys who lives there let us in his apartment (the downstairs one where the large turret is.  It was so cool!

This was the carriage house out back:

These were the doors to the parlor (which is now shut off), just inside the entrance:

This was the fireplace in the guy's apartment:

This was the radiator in the guy's apartment, which he says still works:

This is my lovely cousin, C.J. on the stairs going up.  The detail work on this house is fantastic!

This has to be the original flooring near the servant's stairs:

We think this is the original gate.  It was hanging on the wall downstairs:

This is the utility room:

The railings on the first floor stairs:

The front door from inside (sorry about the yellow.  My camera was having issues):

The radiator between the two entrance doors (what the Japanese would call the "genkan":

Sideways view from the front porch just leaving the apartments--the large turret area:

Can't wait to get home to find out more about how my family ties into the history of this house.  Such a beautiful piece of work!

Wonderful Day!

Met up with cousins at the Spokane Valley Heritage Museum this morning at 10, but guess what.  I first got to sleep until 8:15am. Yes!  You read that right (do you know how long it's been since I got to sleep that late?), and I got to take as long as I wanted in the bathroom including a bath.  It was pretty darned heavenly!

I started a blog post but didn't finish it, so I will, and I'll post it later.  For tonight, I couldn't go another night without writing, so here I am.

I ate coffee cake with pecans in the hotel lobby, and then we headed for the museum.  While waiting to leave, a man passed me on the street and said, "Well, hello pretty lady."  Ugh!  Pretty funny.  I had books in my hands and a doorknob.  I should have just whacked him with the doorknob.  That would have taught him a thing or two, huh?

At the museum, I loaned a scrapbook of my grandfather's, the doorknob from the old Stegner house from the 1800s, a pair of baby shoes of my mom's from 1927, and a number of other items.  Had lunch with the cousins out back.  Some of the Holz cousins showed up too.

One of the Holz cousins, Jeff, waited around for us and then played tour guide for the day.  It was so fun!  We went to Spokane Falls. Amazing!

He also took us to meet his mom and aunt at their place of business.  Great people.  Funny how connected you feel right off.  I invited them to join us for dinner.  We also went to my great grandfather's place of employment and invited the cousin who runs the business now to join us at dinner.  We found the old family house in the town blocks away from the family business.  I'll post photos later.

We went to the cemetery and took photos of the family graves.  I forgot the flowers, so we might go back again.  We go to another cemetery tomorrow morning.

Tonight, though, was what I came for.  We all met up at the Elk's Lodge and had dinner.  We had to keep pushing tables together.  As I sat down and looked up, there they all were--my mom's people.  One side of the table was the Stegner's, the other was the Holz's.  I was surrounded by family.  I think my mom would have been so happy.

Everyone I invited today came.  The Stegner's were all here and planning on it, but the Holz's showed up.  Wonderful!  I think this is just teaching me that everybody wants to be connected.

I looked and saw the similarities in looks between one family and then the other.  I saw my features in many of their faces and the features of my sister and brothers in those faces.

Yes, my mother would have been pleased.

Not Coincidences...More Like Twilight Zone Moments

Okay cue the music:



Two other things happened as I was scanning photos tonight that I think are amazing....

1.  I found a photo that said, "Henry and Lena," but no last name.  Since I was scanning the Holz photos, I assumed they were Holzes.  I went to the genealogy book that my mom kept and turned to the section that I felt would be the Holz section.  I missed by just a few pages, but the page I turned to was Henry Hanson and Mabel Lena Holz.  Wow!  In a million years, I'd never be able to turn to just the right people again.

2.  In the photo album are a number of other kinds of papers.  On one particular page was a birth announcement.  That baby, I'm meeting on Monday.  Her daughter and I have been close allies in the most recent months.  I'm very much looking forward to meeting them.  I told the daughter that I had found her mom's birth announcement.  She replied, "Very cool!!  Today is her birthday that is too funny!!"  So, I sent her her birth announcement, via facebook, for her birthday. 

I'm not one who believes in coincidences, so this is all very...well....Sorry to be redundant, but....

Let Me Share Her with You

Today is HER day!  She was born May 8th, 1927.  She is my HERO, and I miss her.

First some photos for you:

Pictured in the middle with her parents shortly before her mother's death.

With Uncle Fester...oops, I mean chunky little me.

On her wedding day--they were 19 years old.

In Florida for their 50th anniversary.

The family she raised and was so proud of

A little bit about her early life.  (Please click the links).

Recipes she would share with you if you knew her (Again, click on the colored words; they'll take you there):
Corn Chowder
Ginger Snaps
Sugar Cookies

Little bits and pieces about her:
December 2008
September 2008
September 2008

How she still touches my life.

What I feel now:
November 2008
March 2010

The bottom line.


I always thought it was fitting that my mom's birthday ended up on Mother's Day so often.  It just fits!  She should be celebrated TWICE in the same day!  Wish she was here, I'd introduce you.  You'd love her too.

My Feelings on "Outsiders"

I have two brothers that are adopted.  Anyone who might have been our friends when we were kids probably didn't know this fact.  Actually, I didn't know this until I was about 18.  It was something we didn't talk about.  I actually ended up finding out about it when I was home from college and was helping my mom clean out a drawer.  I ran across a journal and flipped through it.  Something caught my eye about a court case as I flipped through the book, and there was the story.

My brothers knew.  My parents had told them when they were young.  My sister knew because she was there, but the three of us younger kids hadn't a clue.

We were all treated the same.  We were all loved the same.

My dad's feelings were that since both brothers were sealed to our family in the temple, they were ours.  They were no different from the four kids my mother bore.  There was no reason and no benefit to be had by treating anyone differently.  He's a wise man.

As our family expanded and my siblings got married, the same attitude was taken.  My parents called them all their "sons" and "daughters."  There were no outsiders.  They were all treated as the rest of us.  There was never an unkind word spoken about any of us to the others.  When my parents spoke of my brother-in-law or sisters-in-law, it was always with the highest regard, at least as far as I experienced.  My parents were so good at emphasizing how good each in-law was for each sibling and what a miracle it was that each of us had found just the right spouse for ourselves.  There were hugs and kisses for each as we arrived and again as we left the house.

As I look back now, I love that my parents were so accepting and loving.  There is definitely something to be learned here.