My paternal grandfather worked for the Minnesota State Highway Dept. in the 1950′s when we lived with my grandparents. He posted a huge map of MN on the wall and made up a game of “Can you find it?” that the two of us often played together. Of course, he knew where every one of the 10,000 MN lakes were, and nearly all of the tiny towns that dot the rural landscape. I didn't, but I surely learned about a lot of them while we played that game! He went duck hunting at this lake, fishing at those three, lived in that town for several years, etc... Playing that game with Pop Pop one of my favorite memories of our time together.
Pop also introduced me to photography, bird-watching, gardening, and family history/genealogy – all things that still absorb my interest and time today. Late in life, he learned to oil paint – thus the artistic side came through one last way during his long, creative life. All his descendants share some artistic talent or other.
Here is a piece featuring my grandparents: their wedding photo, my grandmother with their first child, may grandmother's parents' home, an old postcard (Pop was also a mail man for a number of years prior to becoming an accountant). This is one section of a larger piece entitled "Threads of Our Lives."
For me, this book combines my creativity, my memories, my life stories/lessons, my interest in genealogy, and more. I will probably buy a copy – if I don’t win one! And if I don't ever have my own copy, the idea has been planted. How can I not create some maps of my own???
