Wordless Wednesday - Grandpa and Grandson

This is one of my favorite photographs. It pictures my father and his grandfather, John Huffman, of Sabina, Ohio.  This was taken when my dad was on leave from the Air Force in 1951.

Sentimental Sunday - Grandma at the Grocery Store

Today I was searching through my family history folders when I spied this photograph of my grandmother, Imogene Huffman Shoemaker.   She is pictured standing in the produce department of the little grocery store in Sabina, Ohio where she worked.   She was only 43 years old when my grandfather passed away suddenly of a heart attack and was overnight a single mother without an income.   I remember being told that her parents wanted her to move in with them so they could take care of her and my aunt, who at that time was just a little girl.  My father was just out of high school and soon would be married and entering the service.  My grandma was determined that she would take care of herself so she declined my great grandparents offer of a home and she got herself a job working in the grocery store.  By the time I was born, she had been employed there for many years and  I can well remember driving to Sabina on a couple of occasions when she would still be at work and we would stop in and surprise her.  At Easter, she would sometimes bring me decorations that had been hanging up in the store and she never failed to bring my brothers and me a chocolate bunny or fruit cream eggs as a special surprise.   So, today, I am feeling a little sentimental about this photograph and the memory makes me so proud of all my grandparents and very grateful for the legacy of integrity and determination they gave me.

Wordless Wednesday - Grandmothers

For today's Wordless Wednesday I have chose this photograph of my paternal grandmother, Imogene Christine Huffman Shoemaker (in pigtails), seated between her paternal grandmother, Nancy Johnson Huffman and her sister, Lavonne Huffman Jackson, circa 1910, Clinton County, Ohio.

Sentimental Sunday - Shared Birthdays

I have heard people lament the fact that they share a birthday with a family member.  They somehow feel "short-changed" by the fact that celebrations were never just for them alone.  I guess that maybe that might be true for multiple birthdays within an immediate family, but I consider myself lucky to have shared my birthday with my two great aunts, Carmen and Olive.   Our birthdays all fell on September 14.  I was a C-section birth so my parents were allowed to choose the birthdate and I was always happy they chose a day that would allow me to celebrate with "Carmie" and "Olive"

Inside the "Baby Book" my mother lovingly kept for me are two precious handwritten letters, sent to my parents by Aunt Carmen and Aunt Olive just after I was born.  I love reading about their excitement at the news of my arrival and I'm thankful that my mother cared enough to save them for me.  

When I was very young, we actually did have the opportunity to celebrate our birthdays together and I'm grateful for the photographs I have of those times. I don't have any memory of those parties, but they sure look like they were fun!

As I grew up, I could be guaranteed that on every birthday, without fail, I would receive a special birthday card from each of them.  Since we weren't living in the same household, I wasn't "sharing" the attention with someone else, but rather I was receiving "special" attention from people I knew loved me. Throughout my childhood and into my married life, we continued to send each other those birthday wishes year after year, until Alzheimer's Disease began to take Aunt Olive away from us and Aunt Carmen passed away. 

Each year, as the calendar turns to September my thoughts go back to those precious days and to those beautiful ladies that I love and miss so much and I sure wouldn't mind sharing my birthday with them again.

Treasure Chest Thursday - Grandpa's Work of Art

My paternal grandfather, Estel Shoemaker, Sr.,  died when my father was only 18 years old so I never had the privilege of knowing him and sharing stories of his childhood.  He was born near Peebles, Adams County, Ohio, but when he became an adult he moved to Sabina in Clinton County and it was there that he found not only a job as a moulder, but he also found his bride, Imogene Huffman. 

When I was growing up, I can remember well the ship pictured above.  It sat in my grandmother's home.  Extremely heavy, it was used, I believe, as a doorstop and it was made by my grandfather's hands. A few months ago, my aunt was moving to her new home and she presented me with this priceless gift.  Thanks, Aunt Joyce!

Sentimental Sunday - Elvis in the Family

When you say the name "Elvis", most people automatically think of Elvis Presley and I am no exception.  I grew up listening to his music and watching his movies, so, when I learned that I had a distant relative named Elvis, I automatically assumed that he must have been born around the time that Elvis was at the height of his popularity and was probably named after him.  I couldn't have been more mistaken.


Elvis Edgar Huffman, my first cousin, twice removed, was born 5 October, 1882 in Highland County, Ohio. He was the son of William Santford (or Sanford) and Nancy Larrick Huffman.  

 In 1908 he married Edith Southard and they began farming in Midland, Jefferson Township, Clinton County, Ohio.

In 1909, Edith gave birth to a son they named Howard Burdette Huffman and on 10 October, 1915 their family was joined by another baby boy, Robert.

Elvis and Edith lived and farmed together in Midland until his death in 1969.  Edith followed him soon after in 1975.  They are buried together in the Martinsville IOOF Cemetery in Clinton County, Ohio.

Their son, Howard, served in the Army Air Corps. during World War II and after earning his Doctorate at  Ohio State University, he spent most of his career as a professor at Bowling Green University in Ohio.  He died in St. Petersburg, Florida at the age of 83.  He married twice, but had no children.

Their younger son, Robert became a farmer and a commercial artist.  He lived in Clinton County, Ohio his entire life.  He never married and had no children.

Sadly, I never had the opportunity to meet any of these members of my family, personally, but I feel fortunate to have been able to get to know them through many historical records and with  photographs that my aunt has shared with me.

So, believe it or not, when I hear the name "Elvis" now, I tend to think "Huffman" instead of "Presley"!

Sentimental Sunday - Huffman Family Reunions

My great grandparents, John and Tillie Adams Huffman, celebrating their 50th anniversary at the Huffman Reunion.

(click on article to enlarge)

Today I am feeling "sentimental" about the Huffman family reunion. The Huffman side of my family was that of my paternal grandmother, Imogene Huffman Shoemaker.  Growing up, this reunion was one annual summer event that I looked forward to with great anticipation.  The descendants of John and Matilda (Tillie) Adams Huffman, my great grandparents, would meet at various venues, usually in the Clinton County area, but a couple of times my mom and dad planned the day at a park in Kettering or at their home at Indian Lake.  There were so many of us, and even though I didn't always know who fit where, I always knew the people there were "family".  I especially looked forward to seeing my "cousin" Wendy since this was the only place and time we would ever meet.  As a child, it seemed like those afternoons would last much longer than the normal day and we ate fantastic home cooking, played games, told stories, and laughed together. 

 As the years went by, as always happens with the growth and aging of families, attendance went down.  It is inevitable that new family traditions and reunions form and while it is sad, it is a fact of life.  After a time, we lost my grandmother and her sisters. Only her brother, my great uncle David, survives, now well past ninety.

We were very blessed that accounts of all of our reunions were written and submitted to the Clinton County area newspapers for publication, and lucky for me my aunt kept them all.  She had not only the stories of our reunions, but she also had in her possession accounts of the previous Huffman reunions; those that were gatherings of the descendants of John and Nancy Johnson Huffman, my great great grandparents.   While most of the reunions that I remember were picnics, baseball playing, playgrounds, and horseshoes, the early Huffman reunions were quite a production.  They held "business meetings" and voted for committees to plan the next event, even voting for a "president".  They put on shows for each other, with singing, dancing, and poetry readings.  I love the tales about the fun they had and it is a testament to how much they enjoyed being together, just like the later Huffman's did.

There are times when I get "homesick" for those reunions.  We have tried putting one together again, but while it was nice, it felt a little hollow.  The loss of so many of our loved ones was keenly felt and even though it wasn't spoken, I think many of us felt it was time to let the reunion go.  But, those precious days will live on in our memories and in the articles and photographs that documented those wonderful times.

My grandmother, Imo (far left) and her sisters and brother at the 1968 Huffman Reunion

Wordless Wednesday - Huffman Sisters - Part Two

Another portrait of my grandmother, Imogene Huffman Shoemaker (L) and my great aunt Lavonne Huffman Jackson (Sabina, Clinton County, Ohio) circa 1910

Sentimental Sunday - The Letter of Recommendation

If there was one thing I could change about my childhood, it would be that I would have had the opportunity to know my Grandpa Shoemaker. My dad's father died one year before my parents were married, so I never got to meet him. Most of his family lived a few hours away from us so we never were able to get to know any of his brothers or sisters very well. We did have a few precious photographs of him. The portrait above of my grandparents, Estel and Imo Huffman Shoemaker, and my father, Estel Shoemaker, Jr. is one of my favorites.

When I began seriously researching my family history, I enlisted the help of my Aunt Joyce to round up and scan whatever she could find for me. The letter above was one of the treasured items she sent to me.

It is a referral letter written by my grandfather's boss, George Horton, who was a foreman at The Wilmington Casting Company in Wilmington, Clinton County, Ohio. The fact that the letter tells the reader what job my grandfather performed and that "his work has been a very high type" is fantastic. But, what makes this letter so meaningful to me is the statement that he was of "exemplery character". It isn't often that we can discover how others viewed our ancestors, so I consider myself very lucky that I have been able to "know" my Grandpa Shoemaker in this way.

Wordless Wednesday Huffman Sisters

Lavonne Huffman Jackson (l) and Imogene Huffman Shoemaker (r), my grandmother. Sabina, Clinton County, Ohio circa 1908