Reapin’, Bindin’, and Thrashin’ with Myron and Harold
Readers may wonder how Andrew and I select topics for our articles. In my case, I usually run across or search for something in our family history that is interesting: a curious situation, a...
Tagged: Grace “Sechler” Cromis
Saving Recipes: Harold Sechler and the Chef Boyardee Story
Harold F. Sechler (b. 1923, d. 2018), my first cousin twice removed, saved recipes. He cut them from newspapers, wrote them on scraps of paper, and held onto promotional recipe booklets. His collection of...
Homer Hagenbuch’s Scrapbook, Part 2
In Part 1 of this series, details about the different types of ephemera found in the scrapbook of Homer Hagenbuch (b. 1916) were discussed. His mother, Hannah, and his sister, Ellen, were instrumental in...
Hagenbuchs and Sechlers Entwined
Back in about 1978, I first walked through the graveyard at New Bethel Union Church near the Hagenbuch homestead in Albany Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania. I had been looking for the farm where Andreas...
My Uncle Charles: Now I Know You Better
To begin this last in the series on my Uncle Charles, I want to thank my first cousin, Leon Hagenbuch, for looking through the attic-found box and realizing it’s importance. I suppose to many...
My Uncle Charles: Letters From Home to Chicago
My Uncle Charles was interested in furthering his education. He was not engrossed in farming as many of our Hagenbuch clan in the early 1900s. His story brings to mind the popular World War...
What Did They Read?
Books, magazines, newspapers, fiction, nonfiction, autobiographies, biographies, historical fiction, pure history, romance, poetry—the list could go on and on of what people read. What we read is a reflection of our pleasures, our beliefs,...
A Box Full of Goodies, Part 2
Readers may notice that Andrew and I attempt to write meaningful articles. It would be easy to scan a few photos or letters, describe them, and leave it at that. Instead, we strive to...
A Box Full of Goodies, Part 1
Several weeks ago my first cousin Kathleen (Robb) Shuler and her husband Gerald “Butch” Shuler were in the area so they stopped over to see Linda and me. It was a beautiful day so...
Lithographs: Decorating Homes in the 19th Century
It’s easy to take for granted the reasonably-priced, high-quality art prints available today. Prior to the 20th century, our ancestors had limited options for decorating the walls of their homes, especially with color artwork....
