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Archive for the ‘Genealogy’ Category

Making My List and Checking It . . .

Posted in Family History, Genealogy, Kalamazoo history, Kalamazoo late 1800s - early 1900s, Michigan history, Photography late 19th century, Remine, tagged , , , , , , , on December 10, 2013| 25 Comments »

I have a lot of genealogy projects I need to work on and posts I want to write, but it’s a busy time of the year, and so I am going to use today’s post to make my list and to show you what will be coming up here as well (bolded will be blog posts):

  • I have more results from Yvette Hoitink to share. One is about the Mulder family and how they made their living in Goes, the Netherlands.  This also relates to me and an occupation I have had in my life. So have my parents and my grandparents and great-grandparents. Any guesses?
  • Work on the occupations of my family in the Netherlands.
  • Check into the location of Etaples.
  • Work on my tree branch that connects to the Van Gessel family.
  • Write a post about my (Klein) connections with the Van Gessel family.
  • Update my tree with all the new information I have gotten from many sources.
  • Go through new information from Grady.
  • Write a post on the Flipse update and the DeSmits (one or two posts)
  • I plan to reorganize the pages of this blog (not the posts, but the pages, which are tabbed at the top of the page). I want to organize pages by family branch: DeKorns, Zuidwegs, Mulders, etc. 
  • Brook Lodge
  • Harold Remine
  • Alice Leeuwenhoek Moerdyk
  • Organize newspaper clippings and photos and eventually prepare posts

After I do all the above, there will be plenty more to do, including finding out more about some of these photos I have. Here is one of a boy in “Nymegen,” according to the name on the photo. W. Ivens is the photographer.  But so many mysteries. Who is W. Ivens? When was the photograph taken? Is Nymegen the same city as Nijmegen? If so, it’s a city on the opposite (eastern) side of the Netherlands than my relatives came from. Nijmegen is almost to the German border. It’s on the Waal River, which is the main distributary branch of the Rhine River and flows through the Netherlands. Who is the boy? Why is he so far from Goes?

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What Fell Off the Bridge? (Mystery Solved With Your Help!)

Posted in DeKorn, Family History, Genealogy, Joseph Peter DeKorn, Kalamazoo history, Michigan history, Photography early 20th century, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on December 5, 2013| 21 Comments »

Since I haven’t had time to work on any of my larger genealogical projects, I thought I’d share a smaller one today.  This photo is from the Joseph DeKorn collection. He was my great-grandmother’s brother, and he took a great number of our family photos during the very early 1900s.

Because someone took the time to write on the back, I felt that this photo was important to someone in the family. In fact, I believe the handwriting belongs to Uncle Joe.

Timber trestle bridge over the Huron River at Ann Arbor was designed and built by Professor Charles Ezra Greene.

Timber trestle bridge over the Huron River at Ann Arbor was designed and built by Professor Charles Ezra Greene.

Here is what is written on the back:

This is the bridge across the Huron R. It was designed by the late Prof. Greene. The place where the posts are close together is where the [?] fell through. The track in the foreground is the Michigan Central. The Ann Arbor crosses the bridge.

Where the WHAT fell through?

Does that say “where the car fell through”? Did someone’s car fall between the posts into the river?

I looked on the internet and all I found was that in the Detroit River, during Prohibition, this happened, according to Wikipedia:

There was no limit on the methods used by rum-runners to import alcohol across the river. Government officials were unable or unwilling to deter the flow of alcohol coming across the Detroit River. In some cases, overloaded cars fell through the ice, and today, car parts from this illegal era can still be seen on the bottom of the river.

But that’s not the Huron River. And what time period are we talking about for this photo?

On the back, it says “the late Prof. Greene.” Here is biographical and obituary information about Professor Charles Ezra Greene. He died in 1903. So the photo was taken at some point after that.  A steel bridge eventually replaced this bridge, and it might have happened in 1924.

In this bio, we learn this about Professor Greene’s credentials:

[Professor Greene] entered the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Here he was graduated Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering in 1868. From this time until 1870 he was Assistant Engineer on location and construction of the   and   Railroad in Maine. The next year he was United States Assistant Engineer on River and Harbor Improvements in Maine and New Hampshire, and was then appointed City Engineer of, where he also carried on a general practice until the summer of 1872. In that year he was appointed Professor of Civil Engineering at the University of Michigan, a position which he held to the time of his death, October 16, 1903. When the Department of Engineering was established as a separate organization in 1895, he was made its first dean. In 1884 he received the honorary degree of Civil Engineer from the University of Michigan. In addition to his duties as professor he carried on an extensive consulting practice. He was Chief Engineer of the Toledo, Ann Arbor, and Northern Railroad from 1879 to 1881; Superintending and Consulting Engineer of the Wheeling and Lake Erie Railroad bridge at Toledo in 1881-1882; designer and Superintendent of the construction of the Ann Arbor water-works in 1885; and designer of the Ann Arbor sewerage system in 1890. He paid special attention to the invention and development of graphical methods of analysis of frames, bridges, and arches. He published several works which were well received by the profession and which have been used in designing important structures: “Graphical Analysis of Bridge Trusses” (1874); “Trusses and Arches, Part I, Roof Trusses (1876), Part  , Bridge Trusses (1878), Part  , Arches (1879) “; “Structural Mechanics” (1897). He was a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers; also of the Michigan Engineering Society, of which he was president for three terms. In 1872 he was married to Florence Emerson, of  , Maine, who with their two children survives him, – Albert Emerson (Ph.B. 1895, B.S. [ ] 1896) and Florence   (A.B. 1903).

Joseph DeKorn attended the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. I’ll make a guess he took the photo when he was a student at Michigan. This helps narrow down the date of the photo because Uncle Joe was born in 1881, so he would have been studying at the university in the first few years of the 20th century.

Joseph Peter DeKorn (photography by Marion Studio)

Joseph Peter DeKorn (photography by Marion Studio)

What is perhaps very telling is that Uncle Joe studied Civil Engineering, so perhaps he was a student of Professor Greene before the man died.  It does sound as thought Professor Greene taught up to the last. It also sounds as if he was an amazing teacher. At the least, Joe would have learned of Greene’s influence in the classroom.

Joseph DeKorn stayed true to his studies and went on to become Chief or Supervisor of City Light and Water for the City of Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Additional information provided by my uncle in a comment to this post: Charles E. Greene was indeed Joe DeKorn’s prof. He learned both what to do and what not to do from him! Joe DeKorn was in charge of building the Grand Rapids water system which to this day draws it’s primary water from Lake Michigan.  As Uncle Don says, it was a big project!

What do you think that he writes on the back of the photo? Does it say car or cars? Or something else?

FABULOUS CLUE BY MY FRIEND WANDA WHO POINTED OUT THAT THE CAR OR CARS IN QUESTION WOULD BE TRAIN CARS LED TO THE SOLUTION TO THE MYSTERY

This article is from the January 29, 1904 Kalamazoo Gazette.

There is a long article in the Ann Arbor Argus-Democrat on the same day. It indicates a dispute over the cause of the accident and says that actually 13 cars were destroyed.  But the bottom line is that it was NOT a defect in the bridge that caused the accident, but a broken flange on a coal car.

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Slamming Up Against That Ole Brick Wall

Posted in Caledonia Michigan history, Family History, Genealogy, Lucille Edna Mulder Zuidweg, Mulder, Noffke, Waldeck, tagged , , , , , , , , on December 2, 2013| 4 Comments »

First things first:  Happy Birthday, Mom!!! xoxo

Some time ago I wrote about Mom’s grandmother, Clara Waldeck Mulder, and her family in “I Uncovered a Stunning Clue in My Search.” I explained that I had had difficulty discovering any information about Clara’s mother. Her name was Alvena, and I had a photo with her in it, but her last name seemed to lead to a dead-end–as they say in specific genealogy jargon, I’d hit a brick wall.  Heh.

My mitochondrial DNA comes to me from her: Alvena to Clara to my grandmother Edna to my mother (who turns XX years old today) to me.

Alvena married Gottfried (Godfrey) Waldeck, and they had perhaps ten children. Clara was the youngest. Eventually I found that Alvena’s maiden name was Noffke, and I discovered on Ancestry that there are lots of descendents of Alvena and Godfrey throughout southern Michigan.

I have made contact with two people who share this ancestry. The female relative and I have DNA hits on both Ancestry and 23andme. She is from this Waldeck/Noffke branch. I also “met” a man with the last name Noffke and we are actually related in the same way, except that his dad was adopted so when he takes the DNA test, his results won’t help us narrow in on anything.

When I found the female relative, she gave me a copy of the minutes from years of family reunions. This report documents births, deaths, etc. I felt at that time that I was closer to finding out more about the Noffkes and to discovering where the Waldecks and the Noffkes came from.

We’ve always been told they were from Germany, although some documents I’ve read online say “Prussia.”

Germany at the time that Alvena's parents were born

Germany at the time that Alvena’s parents were born

But what now?

The concept of “Germany” could mean different things to different people in the 19th century, when the family emigrated. My 23andme report shows that I have at least one Polish gene. Could it be from that branch of the family?

How can I locate the area of Europe, even the town or village, that my ancestors came from?

I do have the names of Alvena’s parents. They are Ludwig (Louis) and Dora Couch. Couch doesn’t sound like a German name to me. It seems to be an English name. But where could that come from?

Brick walls are crazy-making.

Any ideas on where to go from here?

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From The Family Kalamazoo to You

Posted in Family History, Genealogy, tagged , , , , , , on November 28, 2013| 14 Comments »

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Yes, those are my kids and somebody who doesn’t want to be identified ;).

The pretty nails belong to my mother.

Here are a couple of little treats for your holiday (the Johnny Cash will make you cry by the end):


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How Did My Relatives Get Around?

Posted in DeKorn, Family History, Genealogy, Kalamazoo history, Kalamazoo late 1800s - early 1900s, Photography early 20th century, Photography late 19th century, Zuidweg, tagged , , , , , , , , on November 26, 2013| 9 Comments »

Here are a few of my family photos showing their methods of transportation one hundred plus years ago in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

These first two photos (above and below) seem to be the same wagon, but is it the same horse? This house is Richard DeKorn’s house, so I am going to guess it was his wagon and horse. The wagon looks fairly comfy with the upholstered seat and the umbrella.

This next one is also at Richard DeKorn’s house (on the left in the photo). It’s a horse-drawn sled, necessary for getting around in the winter!

LHcd382_LHcd382-R1-E005

LHcd382_LHcd382-R1-E014This last one could have been taken out in public as the two men on the right side of the photo are not posing for the shot. This wagon is not plush like the other and is pulled by a team of two horses. It appears to be more of a work vehicle (like a pickup ;)), but the pole jutting up from the bed looks suspiciously like a fishing pole.

You are all good at finding things in photos I haven’t seen. What have I missed?

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The Van Lieres of Kalamazoo Redux

Posted in Adriaan Zuijdweg/Adrian Zuidweg Sr., Adrian Zuidweg, Family History, Genealogy, Kalamazoo history, Kalamazoo late 1800s - early 1900s, Netherlands history, Photography early 20th century, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on November 20, 2013| 9 Comments »

Last week I wrote about my grandfather’s cousins, the Van Liere boys of Kalamazoo.

After I published that post I was given supplemental information by the very kind Adri Van Gessel, so I would like to add a little information and eventually I will go back and update the earlier blog post.

Marinus van Liere was born in 1874, not 1875. Goes is the correct location. His birth date was September 29, 1874, and his parents were Jacob and Katharina. Marinus was the 3rd boy named Marinus born to the couple, but the first two had died as infants. Out of 12 children, only five lived into adulthood. Pieter also immigrated to the United States. Here is the info on Pieter:

          Pieter Marcus van Liere (Peter), son of Jacob van Liere (I) and Katharina Barbier, was born on March 9, 1868 at Goes, died on January 8, 1953 at Kalamazoo (MI).

Pieter was married on July 31, 1890 at Kloetinge to Pieternella van Haveren (Nellie), daughter of Cornelis van Haveren and Pieternella Louisse. Pieternella was born on October 20, 1871 at Wolphaartsdijk, died on January 13, 1941 at Kalamazoo (MI).

From this marriage:

1  Catharina Van Liere was born on May 29, 1893 at Goes.

Catharina was married on May 6, 1915 at Kalamazoo (MI) to Dirk Goldschmeding (Dick), son of Johannes Leonardus Goldschmeding and Gijsbertje de Haas. Dirk was born on August 2, 1891.

2  Cornelius Van Liere was born on November 8, 1895 at Goes, see III-A.

(Peter has emigrated with his wife and his two children to America on March 13, 1909. He was a painter).

The question is if this Pieter is the same Peter Van Liere who shows up in the Kalamazoo Gazette. Because there are several articles spanning a period from 1888 to 1911, it becomes clear that the Peter Van Liere in the paper is older than Pieter and was already causing a ruckus in Michigan before our Pieter was married in the Netherlands.

As a reminder, here is the photo of the sons of Marinus and Johanna (my great-grandfather’s sister).

The Van Liere Brothers

From left to right they are:

Eugene (the tallest), Luke, Jake, Jim, John, Renny. Jane wasn’t sure about the last two, but if the others are correct perhaps Adrian and then Peter.

Here is updated information on dates. This changes the birth order to Eugene being 3rd born, not Adrian. Adrian is #4. It also adds a sad note to the family history by noting a stillborn baby in 1913.

1  Jacob Van Liere (Jake) was born on April 14, 1902 at Goes, see III-B.

2  Johannes Van Liere (John) was born on April 23, 1903 at Goes, see III-C.

3  Eugene Van Liere (Curly) was born on June 28, 1904 at Kalamazoo (MI), see III-D.

4  Adrian Van Liere (Ade) was born on October 7, 1905 at Kalamazoo (MI), see III-E.

5  Peter M. Van Liere was born on October 24, 1907 at Kalamazoo (MI), died in October 1965.

Peter was married on May 2, 1936 at Kalamazoo (MI) (1) Louise Watson, daughter of William Watson and Bertha Stanley. Louise was born in 1916.

Peter was married on July 2, 1948 at Kalamazoo (MI) (2) to Lorraine J. Mentor, daughter of Frederick C. Mentor and Irene Johnson. Lorraine was born on October 2, 1910 at Kalamazoo (MI), died in March 1981 at Lawton (MI).

6  Lucas Van Liere (Luke) was born on August 7, 1909 at Kalamazoo (MI), see III-F.

7  James Van Liere was born in 1912 at Kalamazoo (MI), see III-G.

8  N.N. van Liere was stillborn on August 25, 1913 at Kalamazoo (MI).

9  Marinus Van Liere (Renny) was born on September 23, 1915 at Kalamazoo (MI), see III-H.

There are some other details, but rather than getting too mathematical again ;), I will pass them on to the Van Lieres by email.

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Dad Writes about His Wartime Experiences

Posted in Family History, Genealogy, Klein, U.S. military, tagged , , , , , on November 18, 2013| 18 Comments »

I wrote about my Dad, Rudy Hanson, being a veteran of the U.S. Army in a previous post. He recently joined a Combat Veterans’ Writing Group, which meets at the local library. The Western Herald, the newspaper for Western Michigan University, just published a piece on the class and showcased the stories of a few veterans. You guessed it–my dad’s was one of those selected!

Here’s a link to the article “COMBAT VETERANS’ WRITING GROUP RECALLS PLETHORA OF WARTIME MEMORIES.”

Extra special for me is how his story connects with the piece I wrote about his mother’s sewing talent. I think you’ll enjoy his story!

Way to go, Dad!

Dad and me 1955

Dad and me 1955

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The Van Lieres of Kalamazoo

Posted in Adriaan Zuijdweg/Adrian Zuidweg Sr., Adrian Zuidweg, Family History, Genealogy, Kalamazoo history, Kalamazoo late 1800s - early 1900s, Netherlands history, Photography early 20th century, Zuidweg, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on November 13, 2013| 21 Comments »

As I grew up, relatives would say to me that we were related to this family or that family, but any description of the connections seemed vague. One of those names I heard I was related to was VAN LIERE. I think I even went to school with a Van Liere or two.

After all these years and lots of research, I now understand how I am related to the Van Lieres. They are my grandfather’s cousins!

This is how the connection works:

In My Grandfather’s Story Part II, I described how, when he was a child, his family lived two houses over from Grandpa’s aunt’s house on Burdick Street in Kalamazoo.

His father’s sister, Johanna Geertruida Maria Zuijdweg was born in Goes, Zeeland, the Netherlands on 23 December 1873. On 10 May 1900, she married Marinus van Liere in Goes. Marinus was born in 1875 in Goes. He was the son of Jacob van Liere and Katharina Barbier.  When he married Johanna, he was a shoe maker.

Johanna Zuijdweg VanLiere and Marinus VanLiere with son Jacob

Johanna Zuijdweg VanLiere and Marinus VanLiere with son Jacob

They had two boys and then immigrated to the United States in 1904.

They lived in Kalamazoo, Michigan and had another six boys, for a total of eight. Here is a photo of the family with the first three boys, taken in Kalamazoo.

Johanna has not only gained weight with the birth of the 2nd and 3rd children, but she seems to have aged. In a very short period of time she not only had the three boys, but also left her country and started a new life in Kalamazoo.

The Van Lieres

The Van Lieres

I believe Marinus may have had a shoe store in Kalamazoo because I found an ad for the store, dated 30 Oct 1917, and it was on Burdick Street. In the 1910 census the Van Lieres lived at 1338 S. Burdick St. The store is 1208 S. Burdick St. 

Marinus passed away 22 November 1941 in Kalamazoo, and Johanna died on 14 July 1947 in Kalamazoo.

Here is a photo shared by Jane Van Liere of the eight Van Liere boys, sons of Marinus and Johanna (Zuijdweg) Van Liere. NOTE:  THESE ARE THE FIRST COUSINS OF MY GRANDFATHER, ADRIAN ZUIDWEG. Click on the photo so you can see it enlarged!

The Van Liere Brothers

The Van Liere Brothers

From left to right they are:

Eugene (the tallest), Luke, Jake, Jim, John, Renny. Jane wasn’t sure about the last two, but if the others are correct perhaps Adrian and then Peter.

This is how we get a lot more Van Lieres in Kalamazoo than Zuidwegs: Johanna took her husband’s name and had eight boys who then kept their last names, whereas Grandpa was an only child of the only surviving Zuijdweg boy (his father Adrian).  By the way, we do have another Adrian Zuidweg in the family as my cousin’s son shares Grandpa’s and Great-Grandpa’s name.

So the Van Lieres might be Van Lieres, but they are also Zuidwegs!

Here is the information we have collected so far. There are no doubt large gaps and most likely children missing in this list.

JACOB (Jake), the oldest Van Liere boy, grew up to be a fireman for the City of Kalamazoo.  He was born 14 April 1902 in Goes, the Netherlands, and died May 1968 in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

He married Margaret Lucas (1911-1971). Jake and Margaret had a son, Charles Robert (born 28 Jul 1933 in Michigan and died 29 may 1957 in Kalamazoo), and a daughter Jean Kilgore.

I believe this photo was taken of Jacob when the family still lived in Goes.

Jacob Van Liere

Jacob Van Liere

JOHN, son #2, owned a shoe repair near the family home on Burdick Street, across from the ice cream shop. The shop has been called Mathews, but it could have been Mursch’s ice cream shop.  The ice cream was made in the back of the store.

John was born 23 April 1903 in the Netherlands, most likely Goes. He died 7 January 1974 in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

He married Trinet Van Tichelt (born 22 Jan 1906 in the Netherlands and died 28 Mar 1989. John and Trinet had a son, John. He was their only child. John married Jane and they have 7 children and 16 grandchildren.

This is the branch of the family that provided me with the photograph and with information about the boys.

ADRIAN (this name goes back far in the Zuijdweg family), son #3, was a golf instructor. He was born 7 Oct 1905 in Michigan and died 16 Apr 1984 in Brevard, Florida.

He married Vivian or Violet Irene (born 7 Feb 1908 in Michigan and died 21 Apr 2007 in Belmont, Kent, Michigan). Adrian and his wife had a daughter, Betty (born c. 1928 in Michigan).

Here is Adrian’s 8th grade graduation notice in the Kalamazoo Gazette on June 16, 1920.

EUGENE (Curly), son #4,  lived in Las Vegas. He was born around 1905 in Kalamazoo and married Lydia B., who was born in1906.

PETER, son #5, owned Van Liere Tile in Milwood. He was born 24 Oct 1907 in Michigan and died in Oct 1965. He married Lorraine. Peter was a member of the Elks. He played a lot of golf.

LUCAS (Luke), son #6, worked for The Upjohn Company. He was born 7 Aug 1909 and died 12 May 2001, both in Kalamazoo. He was married twice, first to Sadie and then Myrteen A. Wolcott.

On 27 August 1922, the Kalamazoo Gazette reported on Luke’s golf game in this article. Start reading about half way down on the left column.

JAMES (Jim), son #7, worked for The Upjohn Company in Arizona. He was born in 1913 in Michigan.

MARINUS (Renny), son #8, worked for The Upjohn Company. he was born in 1915 in Michigan. He married Dorothy.

In looking for articles on the Van Lieres in the local newspaper, I happened upon two other Van Lieres at the turn of the century. One was Peter Van Liere, who was somewhat regularly in the newspaper. I did not find a connection with our Van Lieres, although a familial connection is still possible.

The other was a Cornelius Van Liere, who died in 1902. The Probate Order (5 June 1902), as well as related information, is in the newspaper. What is worth noting is that Marinus Van Liere is mentioned in the Probate Order. This is two years before Marinus and Johanna immigrated to the U.S. Was Cornelius an uncle of Marinus? There’s always another mystery . . . .

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Any Ideas on This Old Photo?

Posted in Family History, Genealogy, Illinois history, Klein, Photography early 20th century, tagged , , , , , , , on November 6, 2013| 35 Comments »

Here is a photo I need some help with. I wonder what you think is going on here. The house in the background is my father’s grandparents’ home in Elmhurst, Illinois. The lady in the window is Dad’s grandmother, Margarethe Klein. She passed away from cancer in 1932.

The only other person I can identify is my grandmother’s youngest sister Helen. She’s the young blonde at the right side of the photo, back row. Helen was born in 1910. What year do you think this photo is?

And what in the world do you think they are doing? Any ideas on what brought them all together for the photo?

Elmhurst, Illinois

Elmhurst, Illinois

Next week:  back to my Dutch ancestors . . .

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The Talent of My Other Grandmother

Posted in Chicago history, Family History, Genealogy, Illinois history, Klein, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on November 4, 2013| 18 Comments »

Let’s take a short break from my mother’s family and jump over to my father’s family.  My father’s mother Marie was the Head Fitter of the 28 Shop at Marshall Field’s flagship store in Chicago for years and an artist with a needle.

From the time I was born, Grandma sewed me beautiful dresses. But I first paid attention to her sewing on Christmas the year I was four. As we opened gifts, Grandma leaned down toward me, with her pearls swinging, and handed me a huge box.  The blue eyes of a doll my size stared back at me when I pulled up the lid.  I named her Bonnie, after one of my favorite records, “My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean.”

Grandma handed me another large, but more beautifully wrapped, box.  I untied the grosgrain ribbon and discovered she had sewn an array of beautiful dresses trimmed in selfsame bows and flowered beads.  The beret Grandma created for Bonnie matched the pink satin-lined pale blue velvet coat.

Bow on back of Bonnie's velvet coat
Bow on back of Bonnie’s velvet coat
Pearl button closures on Bonnie's velvet coat
Pearl button closures on Bonnie’s velvet coat

When I was eight, Grandma sewed me a glorious trousseau of clothes for the imitation Barbie (Miss Suzette) my parents had given me.  My doll didn’t have the requisite zebra-striped swimsuit or the Enchanted Evening gown and fur stole, but she had a copper satin cocktail sheath covered with a copper rose point lace outer skirt.  Both were trimmed in copper seed beads.  The wedding dress of white satin was heavily beaded with real seed pearls. A lace trimmed slip fit underneath and the veil was matching lace and beaded with the pearls.  I looked for stitches to see Grandma’s tricks, but they were invisible as all good magic.

When I was away at college, my mother gave the Barbie clothes away. While Bonnie has always sat on a chair in my bedroom, for a long time I kept Bonnie’s clothes in a small suitcase in my closet, away from dust and sunlight, and reveled in the knowledge that I had preserved these treasures.  After moving to my last house, I decided to put them away more securely.

Then I forgot where I put them! For years I thought they were lost. Finally, last year, I found the clothing. The only piece missing is the velvet beret.  All I have left of the Barbie clothes are the memories as I don’t have a photo of them.

All these years later, my parents have given me my grandmother’s German porcelain doll and the clothing Grandma made for her.

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These doll clothes represent all the beautiful clothing my grandmother designed and sewed over the years. Clothing, Art really, which is long gone.

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