Family Tree Gal

Family Tree Gal
Carolyn Calton welcomes YOU!

Motto

In every home, frame a family tree to help strengthen your posterity.

Welcome !

I am committed to acknowledging connections throughout the generations--past, present, and future--and igniting a sense of extraordinary family purpose in individuals in THIS generation. Let me help you discover your "roots" as well as strengthen the "branches" of your family tree. If you have had painful experiences in your family line, then this is the blog for you! In fact, all of us will see that as we strengthen ourselves, we strenthen our entire FAMILY TREE through the power of our positive influence.

Monday, February 21, 2011

Memory Lane Monday: Technology



I hardly remember technological advances in my childhood.  Television added color.  Styles of TVs changed from consoles to portables.  Old console stereos became more compact.  We had recorders using cassette tapes—which became outdated by CDs, and now we have MP3s.  We had Walkmans which were also replaced by IPods.  Telephones all looked the same when I was little.  They were all black-with rotary dials.  That’s it.  Then phone styles changed.  When I was a teen, I wanted (but never got) a pink “princess-style phone”.  Eventually cell phones (very large and bulky) were invented.  They progressed through style after style until now they are like small computers with Internet, texting, and cameras built in, etc.  Now, it’s rare for someone to not have a cell phone. 

I appreciate the convenience of having a cell phone to keep in touch with my family.  I also love using the Internet, which didn’t exist when I was a child.  It affords me the opportunity to work from home and run my own company.  (see www.familytreequest.com

I do NOT like texting, but I imagine, in time, I will be using it regularly.  It seems that, with technology, that’s the way it goes.  The longer it’s around, we think we can’t live without it.


To use this week’s ’52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History’ challenge for your own personal history records, view the entire description by using my Examiner.com, Phoenix Genealogy Examiner link.  Click here.  Click subscribe (at the top) if you’d like to get my articles automatically delivered to your inbox, or click the RSS icon to read my posts via a feed reader.  This week, Irene Winterburn of Jirene's Genealogy Tips made excellent comments.  View the article by clicking here and let me know if you "like" it.

The ’52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History’ series is authored by Amy Coffin of the We Tree blog.  These prompts are hosted on the GeneaBloggers website.


Looking for
UNIQUE, heritage-based GIFT IDEAS?  Click here

Note from Family Tree Gal, Carolyn:  Have you joined the Family Tree Quest at
www.familytreequest.com ?  I also invite you to join me on Facebook and Twitter.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation from Amy Coffin or GeneaBloggers.com for writing this post. I am listed on the GeneaBloggers Blog Roll because I find it to be a valuable, shared community resource. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Monday, February 14, 2011

Memory Lane Monday: Toys


http://dealnay.com/1380520/patti-playpal-doll.html
The doll above is similar to mine.

The toy I remember most from my childhood was the Patti Playpal doll I received one year on Christmas day.  The doll stood about 3 feet tall (almost child sized)  She had long blonde hair, a cute dress and black patent leather shoes.  I really appreciated my mom's desire to give me something she thought I would love more than the Barbie doll that I wanted, dreamed of, and desired with all my heart.  

I must say, I was sooooooooooooo disappointed to not get the Barbie (because my best friend and I had made plans to play with our dolls after Christmas, and Barbie was the new, "cool thing" to have.)  I did learn to be happy with Patti Playpal, and I played with her a lot.  

My best friend liked to play cowboys and Indians (even though she got a Barbie for Christmas), and I liked to play "house" and be "the Mom", so we had a nice blend of both in my life. I'm grateful for the memorable times we shared, and for parents who made holidays delightful. 
I haven’t seen a Patti Playpal in years.




By the way, I also remember a year I got a beautiful “Bride” doll.  It was a doll to look at, more than play with, but she was gorgeous!  And the year I got roller skates, was pretty cool, too.
* * * * * * *
To use this week’s ’52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History’ challenge for your own personal history records, view the entire description by using my Examiner.com, Phoenix Genealogy Examiner link.  Click here.  Click subscribe (at the top) if you’d like to get my articles automatically delivered to your inbox, or click the RSS icon to read my posts via a feed reader.

The ’52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History’ series is authored by Amy Coffin of the We Tree blog.  These prompts are hosted on the GeneaBloggers website.


Looking for
UNIQUE, heritage-based GIFT IDEAS?  Click here

Note from Family Tree Gal, Carolyn:  Have you joined the Family Tree Quest at
www.familytreequest.com ?  I also invite you to join me on Facebook and Twitter.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation from Amy Coffin or GeneaBloggers.com for writing this post. I am listed on the GeneaBloggers Blog Roll because I find it to be a valuable, shared community resource. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Saturday, February 12, 2011

Your Female Ancestors

Discover four archives where you can learn about the ordinary and extraordinary lives of your female ancestors:

1. The Sophia Smith Collection
"The Sophia Smith Collection at Smith College is an internationally recognized repository of manuscripts, archives, photographs, periodicals and other primary sources in women's history. It was founded in 1942 to be the library's distinctive contribution to the college's mission of educating women."

2. Iowa Women's Archive
"The Iowa Women's Archives holds more than 1100 manuscript collections that chronicle the lives and work of Iowa women, their families, and their communities. These personal papers and organizational records date from the nineteenth century to the present. Together with oral histories, they document the activities of Iowa women throughout the state and beyond its borders. The Iowa Women's Archives is open to the public."

3. Hearth: Home Economics Archive
"HEARTH is a core electronic collection of books and journals in Home Economics and related disciplines. Titles published between 1850 and 1950 were selected and ranked by teams of scholars for their great historical importance. The first phase of this project focused on books published between 1850 and 1925 and a small number of journals. Future phases of the project will include books published between 1926 and 1950, as well as additional journals. The full text of these materials, as well as bibliographies and essays on the wide array of subjects relating to Home Economics, are all freely accessible on this site. This is the first time a collection of this scale and scope has been made available."

4. Sallie Bingham Center for Women's History and Culture
"The Sallie Bingham Center for Women's History and Culture in Duke University’s Special Collections Library acquires, preserves and makes available to a large population of researchers published and  unpublished materials that reflect the public and private lives of women, past and present."

Thank you to Beth Snow for sharing this family history tip.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation from any of the collections or archives listed above for writing this post. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Memory Lane Monday: Radio and Television


As I reflect upon radio and TV in my life, I remember times as a small child when the TV was in the living room, and my parents and I were comfortably at rest watching shows in the evening.  Although cartoons were my favorite as a child, I distinctly remember Ozzie and Harriet and the Andy Williams show (around Christmastime) as being part of what we would watch together as a family. 

Friday nights, with hamburgers (homemade), chips and green beans was fun, once we built our den.  I did NOT like it when my dad watched boxing.  Although I was very small, I remember getting our first color TV (although it is a very vague memory).  We had a console model TV for years!  In later years, it seemed like we had lots of TVs -- in almost every room. I distinctly remember missing the faces of the old familiar news anchors from California when we moved to Arizona, yet I didn't miss seeing houses slide into the ocean when heavy rains came to Malibu.

I don't remember much about radio in my life until I was in my teens.  I loved listening to popular songs and found the theme in the ones I loved most was about finding someone to love forever.  Ahhh!
 
I can't wait to see next week's challenge.

To use this week’s ’52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History’ challenge for your own personal history records, view the entire description by using my Examiner.com, Phoenix Genealogy Examiner link.  Click here.  Click subscribe (at the top) if you’d like to get my articles automatically delivered to your inbox, or click the RSS icon to read my posts via a feed reader.  There are some interesting comments on this weeks challenge by Betty Harrell there.

The ’52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History’ series is authored by Amy Coffin of the We Tree blog.  These prompts are hosted on the GeneaBloggers website.


Looking for
UNIQUE, heritage-based GIFT IDEAS?  Click here

Note from Family Tree Gal, Carolyn:  Have you joined the Family Tree Quest at
www.familytreequest.com ?  I also invite you to join me on Facebook  and Twitter.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation from Amy Coffin or GeneaBloggers.com for writing this post. I am listed on the GeneaBloggers Blog Roll because I find it to be a valuable, shared community resource. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”