What are some of the oldest family stories handed down to you, ones that you hold most dear?

Our cousin was Wild Bills mother. Grandma’s family.

Lots of funny stuff. Lots of horrible stuff. Nothing particularly meaningful or inspirational sadly. That said, much of what I lived through and personally experienced is important to me as they helped shape who I am and continue to try to be, and not be.

Uh, my stepfather worked at a factory that made plastic flowers.

My mom used to go ballroom dancing at the same place and time that Resurrection Mary was supposedly killed.

My mom told repeatedly how her mom and five siblings moved several times during her childhood. She hated Mac and cheese, and one time they attended one day of school and moved again, and that one day they served Mac and cheese.

She had an awful story about falling from a tree, and a stick broke off inside her. She said xrays don’t show wood so the doctors didn’t believe her. I don’t believe her to this day. There would have been an entry wound and festering.
She said lots of things that I know to be bs, so…

I’m pretty much the most interesting person in my family tree, so it will be my descendants who will have the great stories.

Resurrection Mary probably was buried in that cemetery on the sly, and so no record. That would account for various aspects of the story.

My paternal grandfather was put in an orphanage in Latvia, because his parents were too poor to take care of all of the children. When his uncle in America sponsored them, they did get my grandfather from the orphanage and he came over by boat with his siblings (Thank God). Mind you, the ships left from Southampton, England, I don’t know what the journey was like getting to the port. What I’ve read is sometimes people waiting to emigrate were at the ports weeks or months. My grandfather and his siblings had various types of mental illness, and my grandfather was slightly hard of hearing. He worked I a slipper factory most of his life in NYC. I feel sad for him. It almost always makes me cry. I think he was probably very lonely, even though he had people around him. My grandmother died in her 50’s. He died in his early 70’s if I remember correctly.

My grandma used to tell a story of being a very little girl and sliding down the banister of the tall stairway in her house. She told me that story again shortly before she died. She was remembering mostly her childhood near the end. The house was in The Bronx. Her dad died when she was 5, and they had to sell the house. It was sold to the Catholic church and nuns lived in it. I don’t know if that is still the case now.

She also used to tell me that her dad came over as a child from Russia with his whole family, his parents and siblings altogether. I guess that was a big deal. I think often times the men came first, ahead of the rest of the daily.

My dad famously got mad at his teacher in elementary school and threw his assignment out of the window. Lol. Out of the school window in front of her.

My dad was told by a K-12 counselor (I don’t know what year) he would never make it through college. He has a PhD and taught college for 8 years.

My dad worked in a sugar factory when he was 14, and one guy accidentally fell in the vat of hot liquid sugar and died. Can you imagine?

My aunt was the person who brought to light that some dogs could detect an oncoming seizure in their owners who had epilepsy.