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| Research for Client Four Rivers Genealogical Society |
This year has been the longest shortest year I've had in a while. It went by fast, but the beginning of the year was so long ago that I had to scroll back through my accounts to remind myself what all happened and what I'd accomplished. So take a trip back with me through the year 2025 and reminise what the year brought.
January was spent mostly recovering from the holidays and planning out my year. I was invited to give a lecture at East Central College in April, so I spent most of the month preparing. We also had a severe ice storm come through that caused damage to the roof at the museum. This would lead to a year of cleaning, protecting, remodeling, and fixing up things at the museum.
February was spent doing more research on the Grand Army of the Republic in Franklin County for my lecture. Lynn and I took a trip to some local cemeteries to locate a few of the first graves decorated for the inaugural Memorial Day in Franklin County in 1888.
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| First Memorial Day in Franklin County Local History Series - History of GAR 24 April 2025 |
Blog Post: In Search of Civil War Veterans: Chiles Cemetery
We went to Chiles Cemetery first, but couldn't find any of the headstones as they haven't been maintained. Lynn did locate an old friend of hers who was buried there, so it wasn't a wasted trip. We tried to find another cemetery, but it was on a farmer's property, and we weren't sure exactly where it was, so we didn't disturb the landowners.
Cemetery Laws in Missouri - Lynn Wagner
So everyone knows, Missouri law allows for any person to visit a cemetery on private property for normal cemetery business such as paying respects and leaving flowers. You must attempt to make contact with the property owner. If you cannot reach them, go up the chain to the local historical society, then authorities as a courtesy to say hey I’m here looking at this cemetery. If you park on the road or a driveway, leave a note on your dashboard explaining. I’ve even left notes at the door of the house on the property.
Missouri Revisor of Statutes: https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=214.132
During this time, the Missouri State Archives also released the 1974 Death Certificates to the public. Each year, they release the next set of death certificates to the public for viewing. So next year, they will release the 1975 Death Certificates.
March brought in a historic Tornado on the 14th. It traveled through Franklin County, destroying many businesses and homes. (Pinterest Board of photos) I spent time downloading photos and stories to add to the FCHS Pinterest board. During this time, I also decorated the front window at the museum to be ready for opening on the 19th.
The big event of the month was the Local Author Showcase Vol. 1 at the FCHS and Museum. I was one of six authors with a table set up to show the book I wrote about my 2nd Great-Grandma. Pauline Ilg: Brave and Courageous. I brought five books to sell and came home with none. It was such a great day. I was grateful for the support of my hubby and my bestie, who made the reel below for me.
April was crazy as I was doing final preparations for my lecture. I visited the Washington Historical Society to research one of the local GAR posts. I also finally visited the newly remodeled Clark Branch of the St. Louis County Library in Frontenac. It was exciting to see all they had done to improve the library. It's also the location of the St. Louis County Library Genealogy History Department. In a word... AMAZING! My favorite new addition is the Memory Lab for digitizing old media. I haven't used it yet, but I plan to next year.
The most exciting event to happen this month was the lecture I gave at East Central College here in Union as part of the Local History Series arranged by Sue Blesi and assisted by Suzanne Pautler. I was so nervous, but it all went well for the most part. I even received a special surprise from the local chapter of the SUVCW. You can read more about it on the blog post I wrote: https://auntiejenstrees.blogspot.com/2025/04/surprise-at-my-ecc-lecture-on-gar.html
May called for a vacation. I went to Chicago with my bestie for a book convention. It was a lot of fun just cutting loose. I also shared some of my bookmarks with others. Upon my return, I began working on a new tree for a client. This would occupy the majority of my free time for the rest of the year. But this month wasn't all fun. We finally reached the end of a long journey. We closed the sale on my childhood home. This was something I had been looking forward to for a long time, but when the end came, it was hard and emotional. We filmed a final walkthrough video, which I plan on putting together next year. It will include photos and videos from all the years we lived there. But I did put together a special goodbye video.
June had its ups and downs. I ordered more copies of my book with the money I earned from selling the other copies I had. I usually have to wait for a good deal from Shutterfly as it's so expensive. Hubby and I worked on digitizing and labeling photos and slides, a never-ending process. My bestie invited me to a book signing by one of her favorite authors, held in an old, restored building called The City Foundry. I got to look at some old photos and even a historic map of St. Louis.
Unfortunately, in between all that, our spare time was spent helping my mother-in-law as my father-in-law's health was declining. We started helping her go through things in the house to start getting rid of items and passing items along to Mark and his other sister. There are still some things to go through; similar to my childhood home, Mark's family has been in their house just as long.
July brought about the change we were dreading. My father-in-law passed away on the 30th. We spent the month visiting him in the hospital as often as we could. In between all that, I filmed a few reels for the historical society and wrote a blog post about How Newspapers Can Lead to Other Sources.
August was spent planning the funeral and preparations. We went through photos, told stories, and reminisced. I had the pleasure of putting together the sideshow for the funeral. The obituary was written by my sister-in-law, and you can read it here: https://auntiejenstrees.blogspot.com/2025/08/in-memory-of-paul-rickards-my-father-in.html.
In Union, Andy's Produce moved into a newly remodeled historic building, refurbished by Union Furniture. This property sat vacant for years and was in horrible disrepair. It used to house the Union Bottling Co., Crystal Ice and Fuel, and Vitt Mill. I had the privilege of visiting the opening weekend. What a transformation.
The last thing I worked on for the month was a new blog post. My child helped me with this one, as it addresses some subject matters that their generation is currently facing. How Will Genealogy Be Different in the Future
September was spent researching more for my client, with a few breaks in between. One exciting event I went to was the Local History Expo at the Clark Branch of the St. Louis County Library. The last time I attended this event was before the COVID-19 pandemic. I was so excited to attend. I even arranged for the Franklin County Historical Society to have a booth the next time they have their event. One of the classes I attended was about the 1973 Fire at the National Personnel Records Center (You've seen me talk about this before). I was also excited to talk to some of the different organizations, including the Carondelet Historical Society. Once I mentioned the book I wrote that features Carondelet, they were interested in having a copy in their library. One of the other organizations I talked with was the St. Clair County Historical Society (Illinois). I mentioned I had some family from there, and they invited me to write a small story for their newsletter. It was a great day. I even got to visit with my Aunt!
We also got to celebrate Lynn's birthday at Balducci Vineyard, a local winery. I'm not a big wine drinker, but it was very informative, and I actually found a few wines I liked. Lynn is our FCHS president, and she really deserves a break after all the hard work she has been doing at the Museum. I even got to bring my child along, who is 21 now!
October is when everything hit the fan. Mom had a crushed nerve in her back which caused excruciating pain. I was taking care of her as much as I could. Then MY back gave out right around when we were supposed to have our History Fair. I'm still recovering, and so is Mom. But during this month, I wrote another blog post for Halloween (Spooky Family Story Time), I filmed a few new My Two Cents Videos and started a new series called Conversations with a Genealogist. All of these are on my Instagram.
As I mentioned above, we also had our Annual Franklin County History Fair. I did not have my own table set up this year with so much going on. So I helped out with the FCHS and their booth. We had a decent turnout, although the rain kept some people away. We had some new vendors this year, which was great! We hope they come back next year.
November, I spent most of the month laid up with my back. So I took the time to work on my client's report. I'm still working on it, actually, because I have so much to share. It was also my father-in-law's first birthday in heaven, so we visited him at Jefferson Barracks. He has a beautiful spot on the hill overlooking the rest of the cemetery with an amazing view of the sunset.
December wraps up with a few good moments. I finally sent off my book to the Carondelet Historical Society. Now my book will be in their library collection! I'm still working on my client's report, mostly because I keep finding more interesting things. I made a few silly memes and reels to share, attended the FCHS Christmas Party, and also shared a Christmas Ad my Grandma and Grandpa Wheeler published in the Jefferson County Record in 1958 and 1959.
Some other things that happened this month
Books added to my collection: The GAR Blue Book, The Glorious Contentment, a Fort Leonard Wood Yearbook, and many books from my dad's collection, including History of Eureka, a Vietnam Veterans book, and a book about Sacred Heart Church.
Items Digitized: Some of my Grandma's slides and the new Fort Leonard Wood Yearbook
Newspaper Finds: An article about my Papa trying to save some men at a local gas station, a photo of my dad's high school football team, the original ads placed in the newspaper for our childhood homes, and (just this week) ads and information on the Rivermont Service Station and Trading Post (more details on that coming soon). Plus, I found numerous articles for my client about her family.
New Family Heirlooms/Antiques: Auntie's Liquor Cabinet, Mom and Dad's record player (including instruction booklet and original purchase receipt from the 1970s), antique laundry items, Father-in-law's bowling trophies, Grandma's antique filing cabinet, Honey's cedar chest, Mom and Dad's old kitchen table from the 1970s, Honey's curio cabinet, and my dad's old rifle (22 long JC Higgins sold at sears in the 1950s).
I hoped to accomplish more this year. Of course, I feel that way every year. Although I am pleased with what I managed to achieve in spite of many obstacles. I have countless ideas on what I hope to accomplish next year, but we will see what my health will allow. One major change is that I will not be seeking re-election on the FCHS Board for health reasons. It broke my heart to make that decision, but I felt God tugging at me to make this decision.
I do want to say thank you to everyone who followed along with me this year. Who celebrated my accomplishments, enjoyed reading my posts, participated in the questions posed on my social media accounts, and for the new followers who joined me this year on my journey. I am humbled by all God has given me and what He has allowed me to do. Next year, God willing, I will have more videos, more stories, more finds, and maybe even a new book?? Until then...
HISTORY FANATICS!
