Small town with a big heart...

As a parent, I often offered words of wisdom to my kids, which sometimes generated a wrinkled face or a critical response. I would often find myself telling them, you just never know.  It got to the point where I even got tired of saying this.  But it is true.  If you don't try, how will you ever know?

I volunteer in the research library for a local historical society.  Every so often I catch myself still sharing those words of wisdom with new researchers. 'You just won't know until you at least check it out.'  So what if it leads you to a dead end...you JUST might learn something new.

While exploring Facebook recently, I stumbled on an open forum group called, If you grew up in Hanover.   The group's vision is, 'Small town with a big heart.  Post memories of growing up and share your stories.' As a researcher I am sharing this link with you because it could be of some value to you.  How so, you might be thinking?  Well ...

1. How many times have you found family photographs and the only clue was that was in or near to Hanover, PA?
2. You know of a Hanover landmark but wonder what it looked like in the 1800s when your great grandfather was settling in Hanover, PA.   

In this open forum Facebook group of 2,038 members, you can post your inquiry and hopefully get results.  It doesn't hurt to check it out.

Another resource for pictures that you may be interested in resides on the Hanover Public School District's web site.  Why, I haven't figured that out yet.  Check out this link, too, for photos of Hanover's past.

These may or may not be significant to you, but perhaps you can share these links with a fellow researcher, or link them to your blog.  These are free and credible resources that one day could solve one of your mysteries. 

Am I a romantic ?

Posting to my blog has taken the back seat to my computer activity.  In my spare time, I have been entering lots of research about my husband's family tree, the Staub Family Tree. 

In 1985, a wonderful lady, Jean L. Staub, compiled her research into a book.  This book was shared with a select contributing family members.  Jean deserves so much credit for her tedious work!

In typing the names into my database, I am falling in love with all the old-time names.  For instance, Kathleen Anastasia, Nadine, Aloysius, Leo.  I, too, was named after my grandmother and probably many grandmothers past.  For a very long time, I thought that my name, Mary Kathryn, was not very unique.  I have now changed my mind and thank my father for naming me, even if he had gone behind my mother's back in doing so.  I bet they had a small argument over this. 

Now back to my database.  Happy research, everyone.