Wow, I had no idea it had been so long since I posted anything!  I miss going through my old photos.  Must get back to them!

The past few weeks have been stressful, to say the least.  My husband and I are in the process of purchasing our very first home, and I had no idea how intense it was going to be.  We absolutely love the house, even with a number of minor issues that need to be addressed.  For the first time in my life, I'm looking forward to learning how to do home improvements myself.

I'm looking forward to being able to leave something for Emerson that will last (hopefully).  If everything goes as planned, this will be the house that we die in.  Literally.  Someone from Meals on Wheels will find me face down in the hallway, having been dead for at least two days.  Ironically enough, I will have choked on the last meal they dropped off.  My ghost will be wandering around, wondering what that smell is.  Can ghosts smell?

I don't know if I should post a photo of the house yet - I don't want to jinx anything.  44 years old and more superstitious than ever.  Example:  I worked at Kmart in Springdale, Arkansas during high school and college, and periodically I would drop a penny on the floor and, of course, it would land tails up.  You don't pick up a penny tails up - only heads up.  An elderly gentleman in my line lectured me for a good five minutes about how irrational I was being.  I'm an irrational person.  What can I say?  I never did pick up that penny.

Dr. & Mrs. C.H. Lockwood of Petoskey, Michigan

This was found in Tulsa. Looks like it was part of the McKeeman family photos that I found, along with another I will post next week. The date on the back of the pic is July 1919. Let's find them a home!

James Brownlow Dame is Going Home

After a highly emotional week of my family having to deal with a manipulative, deceitful and hateful snake in the grass, this makes me feel a little better about the world in general. James Brownlow Dame and sons are going home to a granddaughter, which couldn't make me happier. She was so excited to get the picture, and that makes it worth every dime I paid for it.

Native American Family

I bought this one at a flea market for $20 - I couldn't believe they were selling it for such a high price - I walked away from it three or four times, incredulous someone would try to make this much money off of a family photo. In the end, I couldn't leave it there and bought it instead of putting the money toward my spring clothing wardrobe. The men's faces - I can't even put it in words. They remind me of my husband. His sorrow over not knowing all of his family history because of his people's tradition of orally handing down family information, in their native language, is heartbreaking. Their language and so much more was brutally taken away from them, and now the newer generations are struggling tirelessly to get that back. I want that for my son, my bonus daughters, our grandchildren; and especially for my loving, warm, and hysterically funny husband who has so many traits that I wish I possessed.

Lige Burdick & Family - Oklahoma

This photo also has the name "J.B. Dakis - Cousin" on the back. "Lige" is short for Elijah. Found some of the same names over in the Wister, Oklahoma area. If these are your long-lost relatives, please let me know!

Success!

I got a very nice note from a gentleman today. I had forwarded to him some photos I found at a flea market over in Jenks a couple of weeks ago. I found his family tree on ancestry.com and contacted him. He was very appreciative and, to make things even better, he thinks he may have found the granddaughter of one of the subjects in the photos and will be contacting her to see if she's interested in having the originals. Yay!

Evan T. Strauss - 1918

Found this handsome young man at a store on 11th Street in Tulsa this past Saturday. My husband confirmed for me that this young man was a soldier in World War I, possibly in the Medical Corp. Please contact me if you know who this may be.