52 Ancestors: Transportation

This week's blog prompt is Transportation.  I've already written a few times about transportation - Machines and Roadsters and Cars, oh my!  and Cruising so I wanted to focus on something different.  While some might have been obsessed with cars, planes, or trains, what little girl wasn't obsessed with HORSES?

We started with one horse, Smokey Joe.  I think we got him in the summer of 1964, shortly before my 10th birthday.  I don't remember how or why my parents finally let us take the plunge but boy were we excited to bring this mellow guy into our lives.  I think he was about 3 years old (or maybe 5?) and for whatever reason, I seem to remember my parents paid $300 for him.  His former owner was about 15 or so and while she loved Smokey, she wanted to move on to a different horse that she could train herself.  We kept Smokey at the same stable so she was fortunate enough to be able to see him and watch his progress with two new owners.

Me, Sister, Little Brother with Smokey Joe
c. 1964

It didn't take long for our parents to figure out that two girls obsessed with horses couldn't really share a horse so we were quickly on the lookout for another one.  I don't remember any specifics of bringing Snapshot (nee Snip) into our family but there he was!

Snapshot AKA Snap

Boy did we have fun with those horses.  Mom and/or Dad would drive us (about 20 minutes, I think) out to the ranch in the morning and we'd spend the day until someone would arrive back to take us home.  There were many kids with horses so there was always someone to "pal" around with.  Three are etched in my mind - Sue (who was Smokey's former owner) and her horse, Cleo; Rick, and his horse, Cy; and Kathy and her horse.....darn, I can't remember the name although I can see him/her clearly in my mind.  Oh wait, I found some pictures.

Sister, Snap, Kathy, and, and, and....

Sue and Cleo

It didn't take long before we got involved in 4H and showing our horses.  While there was one show arena we could actually ride over the hill to get to, Dad was a good sport and actually drove us to some shows.  We didn't own a truck or horse trailer so we must have borrowed those or, at times, someone let us add our horses to their trailer.

All dressed up and ready to go!

I always loved having Smokey decked out with a blue saddle blanket and a matching rider - sure made his grey dapples standout.

I have a few favorite memories of showing these two - one which involves another form of transportation, the horse trailer.  Snap was not easy to get into the trailer and it always involved a lot of coaxing, crossed fingers and prayer.  Smokey, on the other hand, loved to get into a trailer - we'd throw the lead rope over his neck, give him a little nudge, and into the trailer he went.  Good boy!  Although I'm not sure the owner of the neighboring horse trailer was too happy with him when without any coaxing, he decided the grain inside the trailer must taste mighty fine so he loaded himself in and started munching away.

Snap and sister were very successful at the shows and garnered many ribbons and trophies.

First place trophy!

I didn't excel in the award department but boy did I have fun!  The highlight of my career, though, was my first place trophy in Showmanship.  What a thrill!  And because my number that day was 99, it led to my favorite number from that point forward being 9.

My one and only first place trophy - I still have it!

At some point, even little brother joined in the fun.  I have zero memory of this but he must have been called into action once sister went away to college so Snap could get some exercise.

Look at those cuties!

And look at that, Mom even took a turn.  But what's with Smokey wearing a hat???

Dad, too, got into the act.  Wait - WHAT????

Now THAT'S a different breed of horse!

I sure have some wonderful memories of my years with Smokey - the way he could eat an entire apricot and spit out the pit, the way he would come running when he heard me knock on his stall door, or the hours I'd sit on him backwards resting my book on his rump while I read.  We had a few not-so-good memories, too - the worst being the time my sister's friend fell off Smokey and broke her shoulder.  Thankfully, she healed up fine and the friendship between the families didn't go south.

As time went on and two young girls became interested in other things (college, cars, and boys), riding those horses became arduous and we decided it was time to give someone else the joy of owning a horse.  I don't remember what happened to Snap but I remember vividly making the "deal" for Smokey to head south for someone else to love on.  I remember once a few years later taking a drive by where he moved to, not sure if I was wishing I would see him or hoping I wouldn't (I didn't).

Sure, I had other forms of transportation over the years like cars, boats, trains, planes, and roller skates, there has never been any other form of transportation that brought me so many hours of joy.

Me and Smokey Joe
AKA Smoke-alot-of-cigarettes

52 Ancestors: School Days

Sometimes it's good to take a step back, forget the ancestors for a moment, and concentrate on ME!  So for this blog prompt I'm focusing on my school days - at least what I can remember or have evidence of.  Hey, it's my blog so I can do whatever I want.

Looks like homework (but it's not)
November 28, 1961

I don't have too many specific memories of my early school days but I do remember what teachers I had.  As a kid who moved to a different elementary school almost annually due to a special program I was in, going to a new school with a new teacher is etched pretty vividly in my mind.

Kindergarten was at Schallenberger Elementary, the neighborhood school.  It was around the corner from our house but I don't remember if I walked alone, with Mom, or with big sister.  The day I took this photo (2013) I was all alone as I took a walk through the neighborhood.

Thankfully I have the pack rat gene so I've saved all of my class photos.  So here we are - Mrs. Seery's p.m. class.  All I really remember about this year was laying out our mats on the floor so we could take a nap.  I don't, however, remember if I actually slept or not.  I'm in the back row (might have been the only time I'm in the back), second from left.  There's still a few of these kids that I'm in touch with today.

For 1st grade, I continued on at Schallenberger where my teacher was Mrs. Woolman.  No laughing allowed when you see me in the 2nd row from the top, far right.  What in the WORLD was I thinking with that hair?????

A couple of memories from this year.  First and foremost, my brother was born in November, 1961.  I remember sitting on the little step outside the classroom having lunch when I spotted my dad walking across the playground.  Of course I knew Mom had gone to the hospital the night before to give birth (we spent the night next door) so I was pretty sure what he was coming to tell me.  Please be a girl, please be a girl.  He got closer and closer and I could see a big smile on his face.  And as he approached he said "Debbie (I wasn't Debi yet), you have a baby brother".  What?  I'll leave it at that (my brother knows the story) but I ended up being ever so happy that it was, in fact, a boy.

The other memory was the fact that this was a split class - I was with about half the class in the first grade, the other half was in the second grade.  In California in those days, the deadline to start school was December 2 and my birthday was December 14 so I just missed the cutoff to start school as a 5 year old.  Here I was in a class with 2nd graders and I wanted to do what THEY were doing, not what the first graders were doing.  So midway through the year the school (teacher? principal?) asked my parents if maybe I should skip ahead to second grade since I was more interested in what they were doing.  We talked about it for awhile and I was only too eager to move ahead.  So, I finished first and second grades in one year.  One of my friends and neighbors, John Q., always teased me that I skipped ahead because I knew the big words like THE.

On to third grade where, once again, I was at Schallenberger with Mrs. Mackey.  My most vivid memory of that year was learning to write in cursive - do they even teach that anymore?

And down to the bottom row I go.  That's me, second from right.  There's still some of these kids I'm in contact with today.  Unfortunately, my best friend from that year, Barbara (2nd row from the top, 2nd from right) moved away and I lost contact with her then.

Fourth grade brought quite a change in our household.  My sister and I were both accepted into the Able Learners program (what a stupid name) but they didn't want us in the same class.  So while I went to Willow Glen (which is where I was when JFK was killed), big sister was at Lincoln Glen.  WG was too far to walk so I'm sure Mom drove but I don't remember any of that.  I do, however, remember my teacher, Mr. Fix.

Mr. Fix was quite a character.  The only real memory I have (other than JFK's assassination) is Mr. Fix telling me my last name couldn't be pronounced Leave-y.  I told him yes it could because THAT WAS MY NAME.  He teased that I could either be Debbie Leh-vy or Deebie Leave-y.  And to this day I've never forgotten that.  There I am, bottom row (even when sitting), far left.  And I guess Barbara went to WG with me because there she is in the Girl Scout uniform.

It was time to move again for 5th grade.  Since Lincoln Glen, where my sister went, was closer to home and she had moved on to Junior High, it was decided that I should move to Lincoln Glen.  To this day I wonder why they just didn't start me in LG for two years and have my sister go to WG for her one year.  It was close enough to home (maybe 2 miles) that I could ride my bike on occasion.

Front row again - 2nd from right.  A few from this class I'm still in touch with.  Unfortunately, my dear friend, Pete, (2nd row, far right) left us years ago.  We were friends all through school and even went to college together.

Back to Schallenberger for 6th grade as an Able Learner program started at Schallenberger.  As I took my walk years ago, I snapped a photo of the classroom where our 6th grade was located - that's it on the left.  How is it that I can't remember what I had for dinner last night (okay, it was chicken) but I can remember where my classroom was more than 50 years ago?

And here's the class photo.  Look at that, I'm not in the bottom row.  I'm right next to Mrs. Long.  And I see another friend who has also passed away, Ken S. who is in the top row, 2nd from the left.

As I was preparing for this post I dug out a box of school mementos my parents saved (of course they did) all these years.  I remember dragging the box out of the storeroom as we cleaned out our childhood home but didn't really go through it until today.  Look at all the reports I did!

I did find a lone report card - where did the rest of those go? - but I'll refrain from sharing it.  I guess my good grades didn't really start until my junior high/high school years.

One memory I have is making these folders in 5th grade.  Somehow we made a stamp, decorated some paper, and then made a folder out of it.  Pretty creative way to incorporate art and other curriculum.

And for those who are convinced my memory is completely shot, I remembered all of my teachers' names without looking!

Somewhere I'm sure my individual class photos are floating around - I'll blog about those once I unearth them.

52 Ancestors: Reunion

This weeks' blog post, Reunion, conjures up visions of a very large family gathering, complete with plaid tablecloths, fried chicken, and potato salad.  Unfortunately, as part of a VERY small family, that vision is just one from books and something that never actually happened for me.

My mother was an only child and after her parent's divorce and second marriage for both, she did have two half siblings from her father and his new wife; however, I only remember meeting my grandfather once and to my knowledge, never met his new children.  And since my grandmother never had any more children, that left any cousins on that side essentially non-existent to me.

My dad had one brother who had two children so those were really my only cousins.  And since they lived in Kentucky and we lived in California, we didn't see each other much.  My uncle would make the trek out west on occasion and at one time or another he brought one of his daughters with him.  Sadly, there were very few times when all five cousins were together.

But as this picture proves, there was at least once!

Back, left to right:  Me, Sister, Cousin V
Front, left to right:  Brother, Cousin M
c.1963

Here we are - the Levy cousins!  This looks to be sometime about 1963 since my brother was born in November, 1961 and looks to be somewhere around 2 years old here.  I was notorious for closing my eyes when the camera snapped.

Several years ago I connected with a distant cousin on my mother's side - her grandfather was the younger brother of my great grandfather.  And just like that, she was GONE.  But she did share with me some information about our common ancestors and a reunion that occurred in 1979.  What a gift to have this newspaper article - unfortunately, I do not know the newspaper it was printed in.

The Horgan family, descendants of Jerry and Maggie Horgan of Ireland, who never immigrated to this country, held a family reunion at the Zamora town hall on June 2.  More than 100 descendants of the Horgan clan were present for the potluck dinner.  They came from Dinuba, Livermore, Redwood City, Sunol, Red Bluff, Sacramento, Salinas, Esparto, San Jose, Newark, Fresno, Arbuckle, Merced, Davis, Knight's Landing, Woodland and Zamora.  A few older friends of the family around Zamora were also invited.

The oldest member present was Irene Fitzgerald Johnson of Arbuckle.  Youngest members were Kelly Barnard of Livermore and Bonnie Hilleby of Woodland.  Traveling the farthest was Viola Fitzgerald Crawford of Fresno.

Father Elwood Geary said Mass for the family in St. Agnes Catholic Church in Zamora on Sunday morning.  The church was built by John, Cornelius and Andrew Horgan.

Planning the reunion were Betty Dall of Dinuba, Edith Heidrick, Mary Croll and Mable Hermle.  Mrs. Hermle is the second generation Horgan in this country and the only one in her generation that is living today.  The Ireland couple were her grandparents.

How cool is that?  Can you imagine finding 100 descendants 40 years ago and then planning a reunion and notifying them all to gather on a specific date????

And then there was a photo of the St. Agnes Catholic Church, built by my 2x great grandmother's brothers John, Cornelius, and Andrew.

What a great little church!  I'd sure love to see inside.

Look at this - a current photo!

St. Agnes Catholic Church, Zamora, California
from google maps

But best of all is this photo of some of the Horgan descendants who gathered that day - and labeled with the names!  Only problem is I can't be sure of who is who with one exception - my grandmother's sister, Viola Fitzgerald Crawford who is third from the right.  And I know this only because she looks EXACTLY like my grandmother!

Clifford E. Johnson, Irene Fitzgerald Johnson, Harry Johnson, Jack John E. Fitzgerald (Patti's grandfather), Elfie Johnson, Lorraine Follett (Viola's daughter), Clarence Follet (Lorraine's husband), Viola M. Crawford, Jane Fitzgerald Schneider, Carla Schneider.  Note - Irene Johnson died a few months after reunion

I enlarged it so I could see it better.

I'm guessing that Lorraine is to Viola's right with her husband, Clarence, standing behind her.  And if Irene Johnson was the eldest, I would guess her to be 2nd from the left.

Interesting to note that in all the times we visited my grandmother in Fresno, I don't remember ever meeting Viola.  And being that my grandmother was still living in 1979 (and quite active), I wonder why she didn't attend?  Could it be that there was some sort of rift between she and Viola?  Another question I will probably never have answered.

As my family grows and grows due to this journey I'm on, maybe one day I'll have a chance to attend my own family reunion.

52 Ancestors: Earliest

This weeks' blog prompt is Earliest.  At first I was stumped - should I write about the earliest document I have, the earliest ancestor I have documented, or earliest memory I have of one of my ancestors?  Wait - how about the earliest photo I have of my ancestors?  So here we go.....

Paternal side

3x great grandmother, Hannah (Plotzky) Steen, 1828-1909

2x great grandmother, Rebecca (Steen) Schwartz, 1848-1918

2x great grandfather, Louis Schwartz, 1834-1893

2x great grandfather, Ferdinand Gunzendorfer, 1838-1907

2x great grandmother, Fannie (Goldstein) Gunzendorfer, 1848-1910

Great Grandmother, Bertha (Schwartz) Gunzendorfer, 1872-1950

Great grandfather, Abraham Gunzendorfer, 1869-1944

Great grandfather, Herman Levy, 1856-1918

Great grandmother, Goldie (Benas) Levy, 1864-1926

Grandmother, Mildred Loraine (Gunzendorfer) Levy, 1896-1982

Grandfather, Sigmund Levy, 1888-1968

Father, Gordon Levy, 1927-2005

Maternal Side

2x great grandmother, Sarah (Miller) Brooks Anderson, 1836-1923

2x great grandmother, Rebecca (Waller) McAboy, 1845-1928

2x great grandfather, Mathew Fitzgerald, 1850-1905

Great grandmother, Mabel (McAboy) Fitzgerald, 1883-1966

Great grandfather, Edward Fitzgerald, 1879-1968

Great grandmother, Frances (Brooks) Martin, 1860-1936

Grandmother, Clara (Fitzgerald) Martin Hunter, 1903-1987

Grandfather, Earle Martin, 1900-1986

Mother, Geraldine (Martin) Levy, 1928-2013

And last but not least - ME!

I'm missing a few and hope to one day find them but I feel like I have a pretty good collection!