Heirlooms: Charles M. Kenyon's Violin and Phebe (Hunt) Vandervort's Piano

Photo Note:  Click on any image to view the full size photo.

My mother, Kathleen Kenyon, and her siblings grew up in post-Depression poverty in rural, Monroe County, Wisconsin. There was no indoor plumbing. No electricity. What heat there was in -30 Wisconsin winters came from a single wood burning stove in their living area, and a wood fueled cast iron range in the kitchen.

The house had been built almost 70 years before in 1872. It was run down, unpainted, and absolutely worn on every surface. But the family was happy to be there. After moving from house to house, after WWI, each of the children born in different homes as their parents worked hard to stay ahead of the rent payments, my grandfather had finally been able to purchase back what was the old Kenyon homestead farm on a land contract which we would call today, rent to own. The farm, which my grandfather had grown up on, had been sold out of the family over 20 years earlier by his father.

There simply was no money for any type of extravagance.

My grandfather, Charles M. Kenyon, and his father, Lou, played violin, guitar, piano, and other instruments totally by ear. They were widely respected for their talent and often played at barn dances and at the community hall.  The fiddle Charlie played was a "Stradivarius" model and had been ordered from the Sears catalog ca.1895-1900 when my grandfather was a boy and the used guitar had been picked up sometime after that. The family did not own a piano. 

Charles Kenyon with his fiddle, ca 1945-50.

Inherited by Charles' grandson, Rodney Kenyon in 1963.

Singing around the guitar and dancing around the fiddle at home in the evenings was a big part of my mother's family's entertainment in the little free time they had from working the farm.

From that point in my story, I will let my Uncle Jim Kenyon's voice take over in a story he shared in his book, "A Record of my Yester-Years"… 

Great Grandma passed away on a Monday in July 1932. Before that time, she gave a wonderful gift to our family. She purchased a brand new Brunswick piano. She wanted (my sister) Doris to take piano lessons, which she did. 

She knew that Dad and Grandpa both played the piano. She also knew that it would bring a lot of good times, singing around the piano, for the family; and it did. That was our entertainment center when company came.

There sure was quite a contrast in our old house, between the old gray wooden benches, unvarnished tables, potbellied stove, bare wood floors, and this beautiful new piano.

Thank-you, Grandma. We had a lot of happy times singing and dancing around your beautiful piano. You brought us many years of happiness in a not so happy era. You brought us many stories to brighten up our dull days; and you made us laugh. You gave us love and continuity with our generations long since passed. 

I remember you, with your frail body and stooped shoulders. I remember you, with your smiling face and the love you delivered to our family.

That piano was known as Phebe's Piano after Phebe (Hunt) Vandervort and was inherited by her grandson, Glen (Shookman) Kenyon and had a place of honor in his family's home until 2014 when my aunt died and it passed out of the family.

Phebe (Hunt) Vandervort, 1851-1932.

ca.1925

© Karla Von Fumetti Staudt

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored on a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means – electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise – without prior permission of the copyright owner and publisher.

Heirlooms: The Silver Cups

 

My Grandfather and Grandmother, Edmund and Georgia Von Fumetti continued a German tradition that had been followed in the Von Fumetti family for generations. I was given a silver cup when I was born, engraved with my name and birthdate, and each of my sisters and brother were given one as they were born. There were slight variations among them all and none of the cups was just like the other. 

My father, Cyril Von Fumetti, with his step-mother, Georgia, and 

my grandfather, Edmund Von Fumetti

July 1984

The little silver cups were not saved for special occasions. We could use them anytime we wanted to, and the wear and dents show that they were frequently used and enjoyed. They often did get pulled out for events such as family birthday celebrations. The photo below is from my sister's birthday in 1968 and all six cups are on the table.

The Silver Cups

Lower right:  Lynn and Karla's cups

Beside the cake: Mark's cup

Two together in front of Mom:  Lisa's and Jill's cups

Upper right:  Viki's cup

We loved the little treasured cups. It made them more special that they had our names and birthdates engraved on them. I would take my finger and follow the letters of script on the cup long before I could read my name. But, I knew it was my name and took great pride in having something that was mine only.  Almost everything we had as children, we were expected to share under most circumstances. These little cups were one of few exceptions.

Of the cups given to the six of us, five still exist. Lynn's was lost over the years.

This is my cup. Full of dents and a bit wobbly on the bottom now as the soft metal has been used, dropped, and bumped many times over 65 years. 

Karla Jean

August 31, 1956

Mark Steven

Now much loved and enjoyed by his grandson, Finn Cooper.

Jill Marie

© Karla Von Fumetti Staudt

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored on a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means – electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise – without prior permission of the copyright owner and publisher.

Giuseppe Maria v. Fumetti, ca.1670-abt.1730; Origins, History, Coat of Arms: Shield and Crest

 

Family tradition tells that Giuseppe Maria v. Fumetti, born in Tuscany, moved to Düsseldorf with a daughter of the House of de Medici as a financial advisor in her marriage to the Elector of Palatine.

My Fumetti line of descent from my sixth great-grandfather:

Giuseppe Maria v. Fumetti, ca.1670 Tuscany - bef.1730 Cologne 

Johann Ferdinand v. Fumetti, 1701-1757

Franz Joseph Anton Nepomuck v. Fumetti, 1739-1799

Johannes Justinus "Justin" v. Fumetti, 1790-1861

Franz "August" Robert v. Fumetti, 1823-1891

Julius Francis "William" August von Fumetti, 1866-1936

Edmund August Von Fumetti, 1901-1988

Cyril William Gene Von Fumetti, 1930 - 2012

Karla Jean Von Fumetti

The following is from the "Genealogisches Handbuch Des Adels, Adelige Häuser B Band III" [the Genealogical Handbook of the Nobility. Aristocrat houses B Band III] by C. A. Starke, 1958 citing Walter Rau: The family von Fumetti manuscript, 1955, the property of the author in Stuttgart:

Translation:  Catholic. The family comes from Italy, probably from the Tuscan nobility, and came to Germany in the 17th century. The family line begins with Giuseppe Maria (v.) Fumetti, died before 1730, Kurköln. Banker in Düsseldorf. Belonging to the nobility was not objected to in Prussia. 

Giuseppe was considered Tuscan nobility when he went to Düsseldorf which at that time was an Electorate of the Holy Roman Empire. Nobility were people who had titles bestowed on them which were hereditary such as Dukes, Counts, Earls, and Barons but were not royalty. Although it seems acknowledged that Giuseppe was a noble from Tuscany, it is unknown what his title was when he went to Düsseldorf. Based on the crest of a Count's crown which adorns the Fumetti shield, Giuseppe was given the title of Count by the Electorate of Palatine. There is no other mention in the family history or papers of any other title, so Giuseppe may have been a Count in Tuscany, or the Elector may have only recognized the title bestowed on him in Düsseldorf.

While I have not found proof that Giuseppe Fumetti escorted her; Anna Maria Luisa de Medici, the daughter of Cosimo III, Grand Duke of Tuscany, did marry Johann Wilhelm, the Elector of Palatine on 29 April 1691. The House of Medici was the Italian banking and political family that ruled Florence for three centuries. Anna Maria Luisa left shortly after her marriage, by proxy in Tuscany, for Düsseldorf, the capital of the Electorate of Palatine.  

The timing of the marriage of Giuseppe Fumetti to Anna Sophia Christina Coppels (Kappels) in 1696 in Düsseldorf lends some credence to the family lore as well the information given in the Handbuch Des Adels.

Beate v. Fumetti b.1917 is a great-granddaughter of Justin v. Fumetti in the lineage at the top of the page. Research done by Beate prior to 1990 and translated by Lisi Fruhling, at that time:

When Anna Maria Luisa de Medici had sent for merchants, artists, workmen and bank-clerks from her house, the Toscana, Giuseppe Fumetti came from there as one of the bank-clerks to Düsseldorf, who had to care for the finances of the sovereign, as the banks of Florenz were said then to be standard in money-matters.

The Fumetti family is demonstrable up from the 12th century. They had lived near the upper Italian lakes, Garda, or Como Lake. They were against a ruling party of the Viscounts. After a battle against them the (Fumetti's) had to fly and there lived in the Toscana. Giuseppe’s parents are unknown. He probably lived in Florenz before removing to Düsseldorf, he was the first v.F. in Germany. 

Taking the account of Giuseppe von Fumetti's life from the Adels book, I turned to Horst Reschke in 2000 who both translated and explained Giuseppe's notable accomplishments:

Giuseppe was a diplomat, or ambassador, for the Electorate of Cologne at the court of Palatinal-Zweibrücken.

An electorate was a state ruled over by an Elector. An elector was one of only a handful of German princes whose obligation and privilege it was, to elect the Kaiser or emperor.  

Cologne - not just the city, but the territory around it - was ecclesiastical territory as early as 313/14. It first became a diocese, when Cologne was conquered by the Franks, in 459 A.D. In the year 794 it was elevated to the status of an archdiocese. In the 12th century the archbishop of Cologne became one of the electors. The secularization of the territory of Cologne began in 1801, when France annexed the area west of the Rhine. It continued in 1803 with the assignment of the area east of the river to several secular states and was wholly completed in 1806, when the Holy Roman Empire of German Nation ceased to exist.

The first time the Palatinate and Zweibrücken were associated with each other was in 1390, when the lineage of the Counts of Zweibrücken became extinct and its possessions fell to the Palatinate. Zweibrücken pretty well remained in the picture all along, but always as a component of a slightly different name combination. The actual designation Pfalz-Zweibrücken came into existence in 1611, when the (convoluted) territory was split three ways. The other two sections were named Pfalz-Moschellandsberg and Pfalz-Kleeburg. 

Giuseppe v. Fumetti and his wife, Anna Coppels, had eight children. My immediate family is descended from their third child, Johann Ferdinand v. Fumetti. Giuseppe died about 1730 in Koln (Cologne) and Anna died 1739 in Düsseldorf, Prussia, though their exact burial locations are unknown.

At the christening of his children from 1697 to 1711 in the St. Lambert's Catholic Church in Düsseldorf, the father's name is given as Giuseppe Maria and/or Josephus or Joseph Maria Fumetti, rather than v. Fumetti which would indicate nobility although it is unclear if that was simply a preference of the recording church. 

All of Giuseppe's children used the title of v. Fumetti during adulthood which indicates that Giuseppe may have been granted his title of Count after 1711, if not before. 

The Fumetti shield has been in existence at least since the time of Giuseppe's move to Düsseldorf and may have been used prior. The shield, as used by the direct descendants of Giuseppe v. Fumetti also includes a crest of a Count's crown. 

Photos and information below are provided by "J. Siebmacher's grosses und allgemeines Wappenbuch, III. Band, 5. Abteilung; Der Adel des Herzogthums Oldenburg; Author: M. Gritzner, Ad. M. Hildebrandt; Publication: Nürnberg: Bauer & Raspe, 1872". 

Wappenbuch, translated to English means Heraldic Book. Siebmacher's Wappenbuch is considered the definitive work on Germanic heraldry.

Translated from German: 

This Italian family, which came from Tuscany at the beginning of the 18th century, was a member, then a privy councilor, of the Cologne electors. His sons turned to Hildesheim and donated the lines that were flourishing in Hanover and Oldenburg. Here the official assessor of the register belongs to Oldenburg Edmund Ludwig August v. F.

W .: In the (oval) g. Shields a descending b., Straight, continuous point, marked with 3 (2.1) stars and each marked with a cross (?) On the shield, which is held by 2 twisted snakes, rests a crown with 9 prongs that have 3 blades. 6 pearls in between. 

The shield shown in this book, is the one that has been used by every generation descending from Giuseppe v. Fumetti. Upper left corner. Siebmacher's 1872.

The earliest family evidence of the use of the coat of arms in my possession is from a hand created rendering on the seal of a document by Johannes Justinus v. Fumetti, the great-grandson of Giuseppe v. Fumetti. Estimated before 1822.

This image of the family crest below was drawn by my great-grandfather, William v. Fumetti in 1886 at age 20. Note that the image below had an addition to the coat of arms, an attached lion's head within a roped embellishment. Family account says that the lion's head was added to our line's coat of arms representing the marriage in 1822 between Johannes Justinus v. F. and his English wife, Katharina Diggles. The lion is a traditional symbol for England.

Several heirlooms exist within my extended family's direct line that carry the v. F. coat of arms or Count's crown.

When my grandfather emigrated about 1880, he brought with him a wax sealing kit in a small wooden box with a sealing tool that is called a petschaft, a form of siegel, or a seal. It is about 4" tall with an inverted copy of the v. F. coat of arms sealing plate is made of metal and attached to a handle. The seal can sit upright in a small, matching wooden cup. It was made after the marriage of Justin v. F. as it reflects the lion's head.

At the time that William emigrated he also brought stones of several types (agate, jade, bloodstone) that had the v. F. coat of arms etched into them. Two are held within my father, Cyril Von Fumetti's, line of descent and one is in the possession of his sister, Phyllis', descendants. Other stones exist among descendants of the emigrants to the U.S., William v. F. and of his brother, Johann Wilhelm Bernard v. F. 

Other pieces of jewelry also exist among the extended family including pendants and cufflinks. This belongs to one of my sisters.

William also brought, or inherited from his parents, some silverware and silver hollow ware which has been dispersed through the family. This is one of the spoons that he had as part of the set of silverware and has the Count's crown engraved on it:

Looking at the above pendant and the green jade ring, the armorial markings for color are fairly obvious. Dots are the standard representing the color gold in the shield, horizontal hatching indicates blue, and though it is not clear from the small images the stars are gold and the crosses are red. It is noted in descriptions of the shield that the crosses are unusual. They may reflect special meaning to the family at the time the crosses were created. They have radiating lines from the upper half of the crosses and a pearl or cabochon in the center, with a dropping straight arm ending in a small round shape. This pendant was made from a casting of the petschaft. The petschaft was created ca. 1822-1880 and may be the truest representation we have of the original coat of arms.

Shapes and colors used in heraldry are meant to represent different attributes of the person or family. Crosses can indicate religious steadfastness or faith; stars, divine quality. The color red suggests military strength, a warrior or military duty, possibly a martyr; gold expresses generosity, wisdom, glory and faith; and blue, to represent truth and loyalty.

The Count's crown reflects 9 pearls, 3 standing on each side of the center blade, and one on each of the 3 blades. Markings on the crown are a combination of crosses and diamonds believed to be black and blue in color respectively based on a letter from Victor v. Fumetti in 1998 describing his father's artwork. The color black, or sable, suggests wisdom, constancy, prudence and grief.

The serpent embellishments are gray serpents with red tongues. They are not considered to be part of the shield, but an adornment.

The dropping lion's head has a gold face with black mane, and the enclosing tapered rope is gold. This is not considered to be part of the shield, but an adornment added to reflect the marriage of Justine and Katharina (Diggels) v. F.

There can be confusion over who is entitled to use a coat of arms. Generally, it was worn by the individual it was awarded to or by a direct line descendant, traditionally male, from the person that was granted the original coat of arms. Modern interpretations include descendants of females with the family surname Fumetti.  

The ranks of nobility are no longer a legally recognized class in Germany since shortly after the end of WWI when the Weimar Constitution took effect in 1919 and all Germans were declared to be equal. The use of von (.v) commonly remained as part of the surname of these families and is still an indicator of which families in Germany descended from noble lines.

Today in the world, the Fumetti surname is found in Germany, Austria, Corsica, Italy, and the United States.  

I am working on a One-Name Study of the surname Fumetti. It is mostly in the research and DNA identification phase but a description can be found at https://one-name.org/ if you type in Fumetti in the box at the top of the webpage that says "Is your surname here?"   

There is also a 1 minute video describing what the Guild of One-Name Studies mission is that can be found here  https://vimeo.com/561265778

© Karla Von Fumetti Staudt

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored on a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means – electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise – without prior permission of the copyright owner and publisher.

Heirloom: Wedding Dress worn by Shirley (Sensenig) Staudt and Kaitlin Staudt

Happy 67th Wedding Anniversary to Shirley and Calvin Staudt 
and 
Happy 2nd Wedding Anniversary to Kaitlin Staudt and Michael Polczynski!

Shirley Sensenig and Calvin Staudt, Sr were married 12 Jun 1954 at Hain's Church in Wernersville, Berks County, Pennsylvania.  Shirley's wedding dress was a lace over satin, tea-length dress over crinoline with elbow length sleeves and silk cummerbund.

Stored carefully away for 65 years, Shirley gave her wedding dress to her grand-daughter, Kaitlin Staudt to use for her marriage to Michael Polczynski.  Kaitlin made a few minor alterations to the dress.  She shortened the sleeves to make it more fitting for a mid-summer wedding and added a modern satin belt to the waistline.   A side zipper was added to make the dress easier to put on and to protect the fragile fabric. Other than that no alterations were needed as the dress fit Kaitlin perfectly.  Genetics won out!

Kaitlin Staudt and Michael Polczynski were married 21 July 2019 at Turner Hall in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Kaitlin currently has the wedding dress carefully stored away.  Maybe her grand-daughter?

Shirley (Sensenig) Staudt, Kaitlin Staudt and Calvin Staudt Sr.

20 July 2019

© Karla Von Fumetti Staudt

Grandma's Scrapbook

A treasured book.  Tattered pages, brittle with age; so brittle that small pieces fall off with every turn of a page.  Items are glued into place, some of them folded so that both sides can be seen where necessary.  

The story starts with the "scrapbook" itself which is a 1926 Central Electric Company hard bound catalog.  It was not new, and likely had been discarded when my grandmother, Harriet (Shookman) Kenyon picked it up and decided it would "do" as a home for her family's precious mementos that had been saved carefully over the years.  The earliest writing that can be verified is that on the inside cover page and that dates Harriet's scrapbook back to at least the fall of 1934; deep into the years of the Great Depression.  Money was scarce if it was available at all.  

Eight children were living at home on the old Kenyon homestead farm.  My grandfather, Charles Kenyon, had returned to claim back his childhood home, buying it a little at a time on a land contract in 1932 which required regular payments from little income.  Charlie and Hattie were luckier than those who dwelled "in town" as the farm had 70 acres with a large kitchen garden that was needed to feed their family.  They had enough produce to share with Charlie's Aunt Cora (Kenyon) Heser when he took the older children into Tomah each Monday to board with Cora so that they could attend school and for his father, Louis who lived with her.  

My grandfather was able to find employment in 1935 working for the newly created Works Progress Administration as a stone mason and builder which helped to bring in a small amount of much needed cash.  There often was not enough money available to buy basic, needed items, let alone something frivolous such as a scrap book.  That was the tone of the day when Harriet likely picked up the several years old catalog and put it to use.  

The scrapbook looked to have a utilitarian purpose at first with things such as her favorite recipes, handwritten and shared by family members and friends, glued in at the front pages of the book but ultimately became a repository for precious clippings, cards and mementos. 

To look at the items in the book, they were largely glued in rough order of the years and give glimpses into Harriet and Charlie's life.  

Double click any of the images to see them in a larger size.

On the inside front page, which had no printing from the catalog, Harriet recorded the 5 youngest children's shoe sizes starting in fall 1934. Shoes were purchased the next summer, then the fall of 1935, but after that went to once a year in 1936, 1937 and 1938, a stark indication of the finances of the family.  Her daughter, Kathleen, told a story of a pair of shoes that she wanted so much as a child that she pulled her toes back to make them fit when she tried them on.  She had to wear them for many months after that because there was not money to buy another pair.  Shoes were handed down where possible to the next child.  According to Harriet's records, Jimmie did not have a new pair of shoes from Fall 1935 again until Fall 1938 and it is likely that the others followed suit where possible.

After pasting in the selection of her favorite recipes, Harriet started reaching for significant mementos from her life, and from Charlie's. The Certificate of Merit was from Charlie's teacher at Pine Grove School, Jennie Shepard.  While undated, Charlie left school before he finished 8th grade in 1902 at age 13.  

This small fan is pasted in with Hattie's childhood memories.  It carries the name of Hattie's younger sister, Bernice Shookman who died at age 8 in 1906 when Hattie was 11.  This may be a memorial card from her funeral.  

Theodora Sidonsel gave Hattie this "report card" in 1903 when she was attending school in Richland County, Wisconsin prior to her family's move to Warrens in about 1905. 

Tucked in with the earlier documents is a sweet handmade valentine from Harriet and Charles' 2nd oldest daughter, Veva from 1926 when she was 7 years old.

Hattie joined the Comfort's League of Cousins, an organization associated with Comfort the magazine which was touted as "The Key to Happiness and Success in over a Million Homes".  Subscription members received the magazine which had entertaining fiction, how-to articles, a Q&A help section in which Uncle Charlie would answer questions mailed into him, and the availability of pen pals.  The League of Cousins was aimed at youth and young adults.  A similar group existed for married women. The magazine was published starting in 1888 and Hattie may have subscribed sometime after she graduated from 8th grade in 1910 and went to work as a teacher.  

This event program from the Pine Grove Public School where Lura Shookman, Hattie's sister, taught in 1912.  The musical and oral presentations would have been given by the 6–13-year-old students at the school.

Harriet received this 1922 graduation invitation from her sister, Helen Shookman.   With their parents, Samuel and Dora (Manley) Shookman's strong encouragement for education, the older 3 sisters, Lura, Ina and Harriet completed 8th grade and then teacher's training, but Helen was the first family member to have the opportunity to go to high school.  It would have been an immensely proud occasion. 

Tucked in among the graduation and wedding invitations from the early part of the century was this marriage announcement for Charles' uncle, Daniel C. Kenyon and Elizabeth Scott from 1895.   Dan and his family moved to Montana in 1898.  

Glued in with a collection of obituaries is this article, "Care of Horses in Army", written by Harriet's first cousin, Floyd Manley dated September 28, 1918. Floyd died in the Spanish Flu Pandemic two weeks later on October 14, 1918 at Camp Lee.

Baby Glen Shookman Kenyon, 3rd child and first son of Charles and Harriet, was announced to close friends and family.  He was born in 1920 with WWI over and the Depression still to come when there was money to pay for such sweet mementos.

Doris was the oldest child of Charles and Harriet.  Doris had graduated from high school in 1934 as did all her younger siblings in years to come, and went on to follow in her mother's footsteps to become a teacher.  Doris was the first of the eight children to get married.

Twins!  Great excitement when not one, but two babies were born in 1926 joining the 3 older siblings Doris, Veva and Glen.

The clippings below share news from Purdy Valley.  Harriet took up writing social news tidbits for the Tomah Journal and these are likely examples of her work although as an unpaid, but regular contributor, she never received credit by name in the paper.  The clipping at the top right reads in creative rhyme:

Purdy Valley, it brought a smile,

When the request came from you.

But glad to hear you like my style,

While reading the Journal thru and thru.

The writer has no special law,

But worth facts that interest you

Will the reader's attention draw

And we'll enjoy the work you do.

This may have been an article that reminded Hattie of her mother, Dora (Manley) Shookman who died in 1921 at the age of 54. 

Hattie had a collection of poetry and literary articles that she deemed important enough to add to her scrapbook.  Despite the very arduous lifestyle, Hattie may be giving an inclination of what she thought of the life on a farm...

This article obviously reminded Harriet of days in the past when her grandmothers, and possibly her mother used a spinning wheel to produce fiber for weaving or knitting. 

A Christmas wish for Santa Claus from young Kyle Kenyon.  I do not know if Kyle received either of his wishes.  Tradition in Charles and Harriet's family included a Christmas stocking with a large orange and apple in the toe, along with nuts in the shell and some hard candy.  All would have been treasured treats with out of season fruit and the oranges shipped to the Midwest from the far South. 

A source of extra cash for the family in the summer were Charlie's strawberries and his watermelon field.  This summer he had a prize-winning melon.

This is one of the later items glued into the scrapbook. Harriet, a mother of 8 children, surely had her work cut out for her in addition to their care and supervision.  She was responsible for all meals including making breads and cakes with only an ice box to temporarily keep a few items chilled.  She did not have an electric refrigerator until sometime after they moved off the farm in 1941.  Laundry was done either by hand, or later, with a gas-powered washing machine, and all of it was hung out to dry whether in the heat of summer or the bitter cold of winter, often freezing on the line.  Ironing was done with a cast iron heated on the burner of the stove and nearly all garments were made of fabric which needed ironing.  Harriet had responsibility for a large, nearly 1 acre, "kitchen garden" where she raised most of the families produce, the majority of which had to be canned in Wisconsin's hottest months to preserve it for the time they did not have those food items.  Most of the meat the family produced and butchered was also canned to preserve it.  This is a typewritten poem which may have been written by Harriet, or someone she knew.

The last items in Harriet's scrapbook would indicate that she did not add any new items to her collection after about 1950 when she had her first stroke.  It gives glimpses into the times that framed her life and created the woman that she became.  It was a prized possession within the family and Harriet's daughter, Helen Joy (Kenyon) Kelley inherited the scrapbook when Harriet passed on.  It was pored over by visiting family members over the years and inherited by Helen's daughter, Jean (Kelley) Gluege.  Jean had it several years and when she was downsizing gifted the nearly 90-year-old scrapbook to me to be shared as much as possible with family members, now living in a digital age.  

© Karla Von Fumetti Staudt

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored on a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means – electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise – without prior permission of the copyright owner and publisher.