It's Christmas!! A Photo Essay

Christmastime at home.

As some of you may remember, I showed what Halloween looked like at my house. Well, in the spirit of fair play, it's time to even the playing field and show the Good Lady Wife at her absolute best, at her favorite holiday. So without further ado, I give you......

Christmas

Let us begin with those who watch over the landscape of the holiday. In the living room, atop the bookcases, which are decked with numerous adornments, you will find....

The Clauses, Santa and the Missus

They watch the living room, without a doubt, the most important room in the house, as it holds...

The Christmas Tree!!

This year, unlike the spruce that is usually found in the tree stand, we opted for the new Blue Korean tree. We were told that it is a hybrid of several different trees and is new to the market. It's branches and needles are actually somewhat sticky, which accounts for the wonderful scent of pine that flows through the room. Denser than usual, I was unable to do the layered lighting that I have done over the last several years. 

As with many trees, there are inhabitants that make the holiday brighter. Ours in no exception. 

There is usually at least one owl in our tree.

The Christmas Mushroom. Anyone can have a pickle in their tree.

The Good Luck Pig from Germany.

Our latest resident: a Hummingbird.

Atop the tree, an Angel in red, above several of the glass balls that are always found on the upper, more sturdy, branches.

From there, a walk through the house brings on other scenes of this beloved holiday. 

The Hutch, holding Santa, an Angel and varied tea and chocolate pots.

A small forest on an iced-over pond, guarded by wine glass soldiers.

A place to put your letters to Santa and Loved Ones.

Even the window reminds passers-by what is important.

Above the Film Library, the Snow Families congregate, watching those watching television.

They seem happy.

So, if you do stop by, 

Have a seat.

...or have a Cookie. 

But, always remember....

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all!!

2020 Short Film Challenge

I have been challenged by my friend, V, at work to watch 500 short films that I have not seen, during my lunchtime at the office (generally one hour to one hour fifteen). (If you read my articles at Bloody Whisper, you might remember that V was the friend who viewed the two Dead Snow movies with me for my article revisiting the series.)

I have excepted this challenge.

I am a short film lover. Currently, I have seen more than 1600 shorts.

Yes, I have kept track of them long before Lettrbox!

So, here's the numbers...

there are 52 weeks in the year

times 5 days a week

260 possible days

less 22 days for occurrences (sick time, vacation, etc)

238 possible days

less 26 furlough days

212 possible days

less 5 holidays

207 possible days

to see 500 short films.

The rules:

1. A short film is defined as any film less than 45 minutes in running time.

2. All short films viewed must not have been seen by me before 2020.

3. In order to qualify, the short film must be listed as such by IMDb.

4. All short films must be attainable on line.

These are rules for viewing that I already follow.

5.There will be blogs for each week with the films viewed, many accompanied by a list of those I have already viewed.

I am already putting together Theme Weeks based on Birthdays and World Events. For instance, the week beginning 5 Jan 2020 will be Animation in honor of Emile Cohl (born 4 Jan) and Winsor McCay (born 5 Jan).  And so one. (by the way, Animation will be a reoccurring theme. There are a lot of cartoons out there. I'm looking forward to Max Fleischer week!)

I also plan to leave links if you would like to see some of the films that I have seen.

Feel free to follow along.

It might be fun.

Feel free to ignore the whole thing.

But you might miss something. 

Either way, I am going to enjoy this.

En garde!

Genealogical Mythology - How my Grandfather came to America

This is a complicated story spanning three continents. You will find lies, theft and other deceptions.

My Grandfather was the first Ernest. Actually, he was Ernst. As he had no middle name, and my Father had a different middle name from mine, I am neither the second nor the third.

Ernst Fink was born in Gomaringen, Wurttemberg, Germany, in 1908. His Father, Gottlieb, would die in the battle of Vauquois in France in 1915, leaving his Mother, Katharina, with four children to raise on her own. Ernst would die in Philadelphia in 1964.

Here, again, we turn to his wife, Verna Stevenson, my Grandmother, for a tale of woe.

According to Verna, Ernst's Mother had a single brother. He made his way to Australia and began a sugar plantation. He was very fond of his sister. Upon his death, he willed her everything, with the intent that she send one of her children to America to be educated and successful. As her oldest was already married, she decided to send Ernst.

Ernst was not happy about the idea. But, as the dutiful son, he went, rather angrily, we were led to believe. So much so that he never answered any of his Mother's letters.

The money, however, was stolen by another member of the family, who were able to send three of their children to college. Ernst would spend much of his adult life as a trolley conductor for the PTC (Philadelphia Transit Company, which would later become SEPTA).


This all sounds like a Movie of the Week.

The story begins to unravel about four years ago. Gomaringen, Germany became genealogy crazy! In 2015, Beatrice Burst and Birgit Wallisser-Nuber published the book "Das Gluck in der Fremde gesucht, Gomaringer Auswanderer 1679-1957". The book was a compilation of everyone in Gomaringen who emigrated from the town to the four corners of the world. The tome is nearly 590 pages long and covers all known information about families that left the country.

Not only was this done, but Gomaringen set up a website that carried birth and death records and other information about the town's inhabitants.

Of course, I was drawn to the Fink section of the book. That's when I found Karl Fink.

Karl Fink was born in 1880. He was the brother of Ernst's Father (not the brother of Katharina). He died in Goodna, Queensland, Australia, on 14 Nov 1926. The entry says that he had an estate worth about £1200 that was split between five people.

For reference, the Australian Pound and the British Pound were in parity until 1931. This means that they carried the same approximate value. The Pound in 1926 was about $4.8675. Thus, the estate was valued at, roughly, $5840; split five ways, $1168 each. With most better colleges costing $2000 per year (that is courses, room, board and books), there is hardly enough there to send one person to college, let alone three.

Another factor that does not help the story is that Karl died in 1926, yet Ernst was sent to America in 1925. Does clairvoyance enter into this story?

The last piece of the puzzle is that my parents had only heard this story from Verna, not from Ernst. He never spoke of any of this.

So what did happen? Here's my theory:

In the 1920s, Germany was in the throes of depression and hyper-inflation. Their currency was being devalued on an hourly basis! Legend had it that a wheelbarrow full of Deutsch Marks was needed to buy a loaf of bread. In America, Katharina's family had a thriving business and offered to train one of her sons. As the oldest was already married, she sent Ernst. He was the only other son. The daughters would likely marry and be supported by their husbands. (Note: this isn't the way it turned out as Ernst's sister, Luise, never married and was sent to America in 1950). Ernst may not have been happy about coming to America, but it was the best way to provide for him and insure his survival.

Oh, funny thing about Karl Fink. He died in the insane asylum in Goodna. Cousins of mine from Germany were working in Australia and researched his time there and actually published a small book on his life and the Goodna Asylum.

To this day, I am at a loss as to the stories that my Grandmother told. I honestly don't think she was happy unless she was "stirring the pot".

Genealogical Mythology - How Herbert Stevenson Lost His Job as a Fireman

Herbert Clarke Stevenson (1895-1968)

or as I would likely have known him, Great Grandfather.

Among the family heirlooms are pictures of him in a Fireman's uniform and his badge.

His daughter, Verna Stevenson, my Grandmother was a teller of tales. One of her favorite tales was how her Father lost his job as a Fireman.

According to the story, Herbert was storing sugar and flour for a neighborhood bakery during the Second World War. As many may know (or may not know), rationing was the word of the period. So much was rationed for the war effort. Among them was gasoline, rubber, meat, sugar, flour and others. This was serious business.

That is, unless you were in comedy. When Curly of the Three Stooges sang "She was bred in old Kentucky (but she just a crumb up here)", the closing lines deal with cutting a slice of her "cauliflower ear." Then he sings, "'Cause that ain't rationed." Bugs Bunny was in plane that was getting ready to crash because of the gremlin, when it ran out of gas. The last gag is him making reference to the ration sticker on the window of the plane.

In real life, though, there were stiff penalties for hoarding rationed goods. Herbert was found to be hoarding, which, according to my Grandmother, cost him his job. Story told.

But wait! My Father remembers that he was a fireman at the Navy Yard during the war. Is it possible that there is more to this story than anyone thought? That's really a silly line. I mean, if there weren't more to tell, why would I bother blogging about it?

Here is where your resources go beyond the census. In Philadelphia, there is the Fireman's Hall Museum. Not many visit this wonderful place. As a kid, I remember it fondly. Every bit of fireman history for the city is here. Considering that Ben Franklin created the country's first fire department right here in Philly, where else would it be? The Museum has a file on everyone who ever worked as a fireman in the city. An email put the research wheels in motion.

They don't get a lot of funding. Needless to say, there was a contribution. Try to remember to be generous to your sources, especially those that are underfunded. Most people don't even know that the Museum is there. It was more that a year for the response to show up.

Herbert became a fireman on 9 July 1920. The letter went on to say there he was "dismissed" on 6 March 1928, more than 13 years before the war! It was also noted that there was nothing in their records to show employment as a fireman after 1928.

About six years after the letter, I was using Newspapers.com. I plugged in his name. This is where the story gets juicy.

It seems that Herbert ran into a little trouble in 1926.

Yes, Herbert wasn't hoarding sugar, he was bootlegging. Prohibition has begun in 1920, with even stiffer penalties than hoarding.

The article says that he was to go before a judge the next day. So far, I have found little to say what happened. As far as the Navy Yard story, it may have been true. He had experience and with all the able-bodied men in service overseas, the Navy may have hired him. Maybe he did hoard sugar and flour during the war. There is no newspaper stories to support any of this. There is also no one left from that time. Sadly, the facts came to light after my Grandmother had passed.

Next time: Why my Grandfather came to America
.

Halloween at Home - A Photo Essay

Although the outside of the house bears no ghosts, no gravestones, not even the witch who has stood sentry near the front door, the inside is ready for the season. Credit for this goes to my Good Lady Wife, who puts as much heart into Halloween (my favorite time of year) as she does for Christmas (her favorite time of year).

The entertainers dance above the dining room table.

While receipts are decided for dinner.

And prepared with such skill

Place settings and other tableware await their use

After dining, relaxation and pleasant conversation

Or some light reading

         

                               

Or perhaps, a movie  

The signs are all there

Hoping you had a pleasant visit

Happy Halloween.

Genealogical Mythology - Martin Fink & the San Francisco Earthquake

(This one is completely my fault)

There was a group of my ancestors I lovingly referred to as "The Lost Finks of America." These were ancestors who left Germany, came to America and disappeared.

I found information on a family group that came here one at a time. Originally, I could only find one, namely Martin Fink.

Martin was born in the town of Gomaringen, Germany on 15 Dec 1872. He would come to America in 1889, later than his two sisters and his father, who took me years to find. But Martin seemed to pop out. He showed up in San Francisco, California on the 1900 Census, with a wife Johanna and a son Freddie.

After that find, I started to look in other censuses. The 1910 Census gave me a shock. Martin was listed, but no wife or son. He also listed himself as a Widower. Immediately, I jumped to the obvious conclusion.

On 18 April 1906, at 5:12 in the morning, the ground beneath the city shook. Many of the wood framed houses could not take the motion and collapsed. Other buildings also crashed to the street. Fires broke out all over the city. Thousands died.

My belief was that Johanna and Freddie did as well.

So sure was I that this had occurred, I contacted Gladys Cox Hansen. Mrs. Hansen was compiling a list of those who died in the Earthquake, as the official death toll in 1907 is said to be only 478. She believed the number was closer to 3,000. She set about trying to prove this by asking anyone who had relatives who died in the Earthquake to contact her with their stories.

This became my story for several years. Until....

Newspapers.com

This gave me access to The San Francisco Call. Plugging in Martin's name I found some interesting items. First, I found the obituary of Freddie Fink. Turns out that Freddie died on 6 May 1904. I also found a daughter that was stillborn in 1905.

Next, I found a notice that Martin and Johanna got a divorce shortly after the death of their daughter.

In other words, neither Johanna nor Freddie were killed by the Earthquake. I had to contact Gladys Hansen and have their names taken off the list.

The word Widower was what set me off. With the devastation of the Earthquake, it didn't seem a stretch that Martin was left alone. Contributing to this was that he was a baker. Bakers are known to start work in the wee hours of the morning, so he would not have been home. The bakery, which would contain ovens, would likely be a well-built brick building that should survive an earthquake. It made sense that he was protected and that his family was at risk.

Lesson learned.

Martin, who would outlive his second wife, died in a home in 1947. Johanna, who remarried, died in 1952.

Next time: How Herbert Stevenson Lost His Job as a Fireman.

Genealogical Mythology - Peter Labenz

I'm in my 30th year as the Family Historian.

One thing that really hit home was the concept that people make up stories about their family history.

For instance, many people who had a relative in the Civil War will tell you that their ancestor was at the Battle of Gettysburg. If it were true, the battlefield would have to be the size of Texas. With all the muster rolls available online, this story is easy to verify.

But what happens at a smaller level? How about the story your Mother tells you that is passed down to her and another relative restates? Or the one your Grandmother tells you, from her personal experience? Or the one on records that you find in a search? What gives?

Let's take the case of my Great Grandfather - Peter Labenz

Peter Labenz was born on 20 September 1875 in West Prussia. He came to America with his parents and a number of brothers and sisters on 28 March 1892. He married Eva Kant in 1897 and lived his life in Philadelphia, working as a Morocco Finisher, which means he was a leather worker.

Wedding Photo of Peter Labenz & Eva Kant, 1897

Somewhere around 1901, he, like his brother August, lost an arm in the machinery. Many did at that time. OSHA and unions were not part of the American landscape at that time. Here's where the story begins.

The tale is told that while recuperating in the hospital, he was visited by his wife Eva, who told him that "she didn't want to be married to a cripple" and she "didn't want to see him again." The story goes on to say that he did not go home and became a hobo. He died under the wheels of a freight train that he tried to hop a ride on. Kind of a given that a one-armed man would have difficulty grabbing a ride on a moving train.

This story survived into the 1990s.

It took me a while to find that he died in 1917. For a man who never came home, he sired seven children between 1901 and his death. That fact never seemed to occur to anyone. When I finally obtained a death certificate, I found that he died of kidney failure, a disease quite common among leather workers of the time.

In trying to determine why such a story was around, I found out about my Great Grandmother, Eva. It seemed that the story was more about her than him. Apparently, she was a very tough woman, sometimes abrasive, with a proud Prussian heritage. Her sons would tease here asking if she was Polish. She would get irate and defend her birth in Prussia. I also heard that when questioned about her Father, who remains somewhat of a mystery, she would tell her children that they didn't need to know about him.

She passed in 1959, 42 years after her husband.

In that time, she raised seven children. You had to be tough.

I probably should mention that it was likely to be Eva who was home when the census taker came around in 1910. She mentioned among her children her son Edward. He's on the census. He died in 1907.

Next Time:  Martin Fink and the San Francisco Earthquake.

The Poseidon Adventure

You have no idea how thrilled I was to get this film for the Shelley Winters Blog-a-thon. For me, The Poseidon Adventure is more than a movie. It is the moment I became a true Film Buff.

Up until that time, my movie-going was tied to my parents and my siblings. Don't get me wrong. Going to the theater with them was always fun. But I had reached a point where seeing films like "Brothers of the Wind" and "The Sound of Music" had worn thin. I wanted to see "real" films; ones that I picked. We had a Dollar Movie within walking distance. Dollar Movie Theaters showed "Second Run" films or films that had already done the "big" theater chains. That became my escape.

actual photo of the theater at the Mini-Mall

On a Saturday, I grabbed a dollar and walked across Route 130 to the Cinnaminson Mini-Mall. The matinee was The Poseidon Adventure. It would be the first film I went to solo.

One of the first in a line of Disaster Films, the Poseidon Adventure would be followed by films like "The Towering Inferno" and "Earthquake". I would see them too.

The movie boasted one of the most unique settings for a film: an upside-down ocean liner. That was the draw. Anyone can run through a burning building or jump cracks in the ground. But a world where everything is topsy-turvy. How could I resist?

As with any ensemble cast, the beginning of the film is there to introduce the characters. In no particular order, we meet:

A policeman and his used-to-be-a-hooker wife played by Ernest Borgnine (one Oscar) and Stella Stevens (one Golden Globe), respectively.

A single man who spends much of his time jogging around the deck, played by Red Buttons (one Oscar).

His character is noticed by a older couple, going off to meet their new grandson, played by Jack Albertson (one Oscar) and Shelley Winters (two Oscars).

An older and a younger priest argue over faith and values, played by Arthur O'Connell (two Oscar nominations) and Gene Hackman (one Oscar).

An English butler played by Roddy McDowall.

An annoying brother and his annoyed sister, played by Eric Shea and Pamela Sue Martin.

The lead singer of a band, who gets to sing "The Morning After" in the film, played by Carol Lynley.

The captain of the ship played by Leslie Nielsen.

Could anyone actually afford such a cast today? Highly doubtful.

When we meet Belle Rosen (Shelley Winters) and her husband, Manny (Jack Albertson), they are relaxing on deck chairs. They see James Martin (Red Buttons) as he passes, taking his morning jog. Belle watches with interest. She observes that he runs because he's lonely. Manny looks somewhat exasperated. Belle is going to try to fix someone up again. He advises her to leave well enough alone. Of course, she really doesn't listen. Mrs. Winters' character is a kindhearted woman with a loving husband. The two are never seen apart. As usual, she plays it beautifully. There is nothing you don't like about Mrs. Rosen.

During the New Year's celebration, the ship is hit by a giant tidal wave and turns upside down. Gene Hackman gathers some survivors with him to venture through the boat to the bottom, which is now the top. Using the Christmas Tree to reach an access point, they climb out of the ballroom. Belle, being a bit rotund, gets stuck. It seems to be her fate to stay until a slap on the behind by Hackman gets her moving up the tree. The small band of survivors escapes just before the ballroom fills with water.

At another point, Belle needs help going up an upside down staircase. They wrap a fire hose around her to pull her up. Of course, Eric Shea's character tells her not to worry, that he helped his father land a marlin when they were fishing. He does later apologize for his remark. Belle is very forgiving.

The fat jokes end there.

Winters' character, although confident in the love department, is sure she won't live to see the closing credits. At one point, she gives her husband something to give their grandson, as though she couldn't go on. In spite of those moments, she does carry on. That lack of belief disappears when Gene Hackman is trapped by falling debris underwater. She shows off a medal that she earned as a child for underwater swimming and dives in to save him. And does!

Overall, she plays the role of Belle with love and heart.You would have to be made of stone to want someone other than Shelley Winters to be your grandmother!

Shelley Winters was a guest on the Mike Douglas Show shortly after the movie premiered. They show the underwater scene. She points out that during the shots, she is constantly pushing the hair from in front of her face. She wanted people to see that it was her performing the stunt. Several articles have appeared confirming this. Was there anything that she could not do?

Playing a loving character like Belle shows the versatility of Shelley Winters. Consider that the previous year would find her in three horror movies (Revenge!, What's the Matter with Helen? and Whoever slew Auntie Roo?). To be able to cross genres as easily as she did is the mark of a true professional.

Of the nine Oscar nominations, only Shelley Winters would garner an acting nod for Best Supporting Actress for her performance as Belle. It would be her fourth nomination. Although she didn't win, she would win the Golden Globe for her portrayal. It would be her first Globe in five nominations.

Oh, wait. I think there are other cast members. Well, some make it, some don't. If you want to find out who survives, you'll have to see the movie. And, for goodness sake, see the original, not the remake. You can't get a film with that much talent in one place. That is, unless you watch "Earthquake" or "The Towering Inferno". But do it after you've seen "The Poseidon Adventure."

Bonus:

Mad Magazine got into the act as well with their parody, "The Poopside Down Adventure." I couldn't resist.