In celebration of Halloween, here are some photos of me dressed up for the holiday when I was little.
abt 1985
abt 1989
2nd grade Halloween Party
abt 1989
Thursday, October 31, 2019
Thursday, October 24, 2019
Week 43: Transportation
How do you get around? What is your mode of transportation? A car, bicycle, skateboard, scooter, city bus, train, airplane? Whatever the case, we all use some form of transportation. And if you own your own mode of transportation, you had to get it from somewhere: Store, friend, dealership, etc. Well, if you lived in or near the town of High Ridge in Jefferson County, Missouri, it's possible you bought a car from (or had it repaired by) my Grandpa, Les Wheeler.
Their property sat right at the end of Carol Park Road half on Old Gravois Road. Talking to Mom and Dad (Dad was friends with my Uncle Les), they both told me a lot of accidents happened right there at that intersection. You can see the stop sign right in front of their house in the picture below. That's where Carol Park Road ends on Old Gravois Road. You can also see some of the Used Cars my Grandpa Les had for sale.
Between the 1950s-1960s, my Grandpa owned his own used car dealership, repair shop and towing business. They operated their business out of their home off Carol Park Road in High Ridge. Sadly, the house is no longer standing. When they redeveloped Hwy 30, they had to tear down the house to put the retaining wall in. The line on the map is where Carol Park Road used to meet up with Old Gravois Road.
I am a member of a group on Facebook called: You Grew Up In High Ridge, Murphy, House Springs, Ceder Hill area if... and I posted these photos in the group hoping to get some stories. I was not disappointed. I found a few people that were very familiar with my Wheeler family and Grandpa Les' Auto Sales.
Ira Culley: I went to school with Les Wheeler the son I guess and Ruth was my Sunday school teacherI was so excited to hear stories about my family from the members of the group. It really made my family's stories come to life. After reading this, you can understand why I chose to write about my Grandpa for this prompt.
Robert Baumhoegger: Didn't Wes drive a red 1964 vet. or am I thinking of a different guy
Doug Woolford: Yep the vet he wrecked was a 1960. I was home for the holidays, Dec 64, pegged the speedo going down Antie hill on 44. Yep he was a little wild lol!
Lou Mayes: I think the new Highway 30 took the House because of the retaining wall they had to build. When you are coming out of Carol Park Road now, the wall is right square in from of you with old Highway 30 on top of the wall within 20 to 30 feet.
Eddie Buck: Didn't one of the Les Wheelers have dump trucks?
Jen Rickards: Yes, they had dump trucks and tow trucks. Tow truck said 23 1/2 hour towing and had Ruth's name on the hood.
Don Masson: Last one I remember Les have was an LTL 9000 Ford parked down on Hunning road, along with Ottie Evans and a few others.
Lou Mayes: I think that house was on the corner of Old Highway 30 (Gravois) and Carol Park Road. I remember that they were putting up some kind of CB antenna and using an Aluminum extension ladder and it got away from them and hit the power lines. I think no one was hurt real bad but did suffer some burns. In the one picture, you can see the stop sign and the angle Carol Park Road comes into Gravois. I grew up across the street from the Wheeler’s in Starlight subdivision. Always heard them revving up their engines over there and Doug Woolford always hung around there. To get back to the Powerline accident, JD Weiskopf feet got burnt but I don’t remember how bad. It seems to me someone did die but my memory doesn't serve me very good.
Marshall Munzlinger: He [Les Jr.] drove 49 mercury then he had Corvette and many more in the years.
Donna Hoffmann: He had a 56 Chevy that he shifted with vice grips and he drove an-old Lasalle that belonged to his dad.
Doug Woolford: Les[Jr.] and I ran together all the time. My best friend. That 1960 Ford conv (convertible) Margaret’s mom's car; road in it a lot. Les and I ate dinner well we call my mom see what she had and then see what his mom was having and we ate what we liked the best. Oh sometimes we ate at both lol!
Marian Rowden Umfleet: Les Wheeler jr. Was going too fast and hit me in the backend in a 1961 Chev. Impala. My sister and I both had real bad whiplash! But that was a long time ago.
Ray Bequette: I knew the Wheelers. Knew Les Sr and Jr and went to school with Margaret. Great people.
Robert Baumhoegger: Les Jr. used to drive around in a (I think ) 1964 red Corvette.
Jody Clardy Hedge: I went to school with your mom (and with Ray Bequette). I lived on Carol Park Road (Old Gravois). Long time ago!!
Sonny Kolaks: I remember Les senior's car lot I also remember less Junior having a trucking business pulling in dumps around the area worked with him for a year or so good people.
This is my Uncle Les Wheeler Jr standing in front of their house on Carol Park Road in High Ridge.
Wednesday, October 23, 2019
What's Your Song?
A story was posted in the Genealogy Forward The Storykeepers Facebook group from my friend Darry about the song that eventually became his wife's song. The story was beautiful and moved many to tears. Then he posed this to us: "What was your song for your significant other? Why? Do you still know all the words? Tell us the story." So here is a story about a few songs that are very special to both my husband and me.
Back in 2002, Mark and I were working together at One Way bookshop off Manchester Road in West County. We had met in November of 2001 and quickly became friends. As time went on, our friendship grew into more. We were working together almost every shift. It was obvious to everyone around us that we should be together, but we were very gun shy. We didn't want to ruin the friendship we had developed and we had both been hurt in the past by others. But there was no mistaking the feelings we had for each other.
The first song that began to mean something to us was Carolyn Dawn Johnson's song, "I Don't Want You To Go." After work, we would sit in one of our cars with the radio playing and just talk. We would talk about anything and everything. I never met someone I could just talk with for hours on end and not be self-conscious. Before we knew it, it would be very late and we would have to go. We didn't want to, but we knew we had to. But it seemed like every time, this song would come on the radio. And we both felt the same way. We didn't want the other person to go. I still smile when I hear that song, thinking back to those nights.
Another song that is really special to us is "I Don't Wanna Go" by Avalon. We were both romantics at heart and would always try to outdo each other with things. This was before we were actually dating. One night after hanging out, we drove back to the bookshop to pick up my car. It was pouring rain, which was frustrating because I had planned something wonderful to do after we would get back to my car. So I improvised.
I had keys to the bookshop, so I let us in and told him I had a surprise for him. I took the CD that had this song on it and put it in the store sound system. Before it played, I explained I put a lot of thought into this song. I told him I wanted to have a slow dance with him outside by our cars, but since it was raining we would have to have the slow dance inside if he was willing. He said he was. I told him this song just speaks so much to me about how I feel about him. So we slow danced to this song in the middle of the bookstore around 1am. Linda, the store manager, would have probably had a fit if she knew. It was a very special moment. From this moment on he thinks of me when he hears this song. We finally officially started dating soon after this.
One last song I have to mention is one he picked out for me. He knew I had been hurt by a few guys in the past and was having a hard time trusting anyone. I did not want to get into another relationship right away. Well, one night while sitting in his car, he played this song for me. He wanted me to know that he was patient, and he knew I wanted to be sure before I made any decisions. He wanted to reassure me that he could be trusted. At the time I told him I still didn't know him all that well and I couldn't say if he was or was not "The One". Turns out, he was. So now when I hear this song, I just want to cry. The song is "The One" by Gary Allan.
Now, these are not the only songs that have meant something to us over our lifetime, but they are the top three. I will include a playlist of songs I call, "Our Songs". It starts with a collection of songs he prested to me after we were married which is the soundtrack to the "Book of Wife"; a collection of letters he wrote to his future bride. The playlist has grown over the years. Music plays a big part in sharing how we feel about each other.
Here we are, 17 years later, married with one child. The bookstore has been closed for a long time, but the building that once housed it still stands. Every once in a while we will drive by there and stop. Just to reminisce. Our lives together began at that bookstore and it will always hold a special place in our hearts.
You are probably asking why I am sharing this on my genealogy blog. Well, our stories are just as important as our ancestor's stories. One day this will be all that survives of our lives, just like with our ancestors. How many times do we wish they would have written stories, telling us about their lives? So we must take charge of documenting our own stories and history so it can be passed down. Take some time and write down some important details from your life.
Back in 2002, Mark and I were working together at One Way bookshop off Manchester Road in West County. We had met in November of 2001 and quickly became friends. As time went on, our friendship grew into more. We were working together almost every shift. It was obvious to everyone around us that we should be together, but we were very gun shy. We didn't want to ruin the friendship we had developed and we had both been hurt in the past by others. But there was no mistaking the feelings we had for each other.
The first song that began to mean something to us was Carolyn Dawn Johnson's song, "I Don't Want You To Go." After work, we would sit in one of our cars with the radio playing and just talk. We would talk about anything and everything. I never met someone I could just talk with for hours on end and not be self-conscious. Before we knew it, it would be very late and we would have to go. We didn't want to, but we knew we had to. But it seemed like every time, this song would come on the radio. And we both felt the same way. We didn't want the other person to go. I still smile when I hear that song, thinking back to those nights.
Another song that is really special to us is "I Don't Wanna Go" by Avalon. We were both romantics at heart and would always try to outdo each other with things. This was before we were actually dating. One night after hanging out, we drove back to the bookshop to pick up my car. It was pouring rain, which was frustrating because I had planned something wonderful to do after we would get back to my car. So I improvised.
I had keys to the bookshop, so I let us in and told him I had a surprise for him. I took the CD that had this song on it and put it in the store sound system. Before it played, I explained I put a lot of thought into this song. I told him I wanted to have a slow dance with him outside by our cars, but since it was raining we would have to have the slow dance inside if he was willing. He said he was. I told him this song just speaks so much to me about how I feel about him. So we slow danced to this song in the middle of the bookstore around 1am. Linda, the store manager, would have probably had a fit if she knew. It was a very special moment. From this moment on he thinks of me when he hears this song. We finally officially started dating soon after this.
You are probably asking why I am sharing this on my genealogy blog. Well, our stories are just as important as our ancestor's stories. One day this will be all that survives of our lives, just like with our ancestors. How many times do we wish they would have written stories, telling us about their lives? So we must take charge of documenting our own stories and history so it can be passed down. Take some time and write down some important details from your life.
May 2002 July 2019
Tuesday, October 22, 2019
Week 42: Adventure
When I think of Adventure, the only thing that comes to mind is when ancestors decided to go west. Whatever the reason was, it was definitely an adventure. Packing up your meager possessions and leaving everything you have known behind for the unknown. Most of my family stayed in the midwest, so I never had to research the idea of going west... until I came across the Bell family.
Daniel Preston Bell was born in Indiana in 1848 and lived there for most of her early life. He married Mary Patrick in 1872 in Indiana and they had three children. Then in 1881, they left Illinois and headed west to New Mexico by train. This was the beginning of a new adventure for the family.
I have not done extensive research on the Bell family before they left Indiana so I do not know why they decided to go west. I will have to research history more in-depth to understand the motivation behind their decision. I do know that once they got to New Mexico, they took a covered wagon to La Plata County, Colorado. Once there, Daniel Preston Bell acquired a Land Patent in 1886. It's possible he acquired this though the Homestead Act put in place by the government. That could have been a motivator to move west. What an adventure!
The Bell family farmed the land as best as they could. Although I've lived in Colorado and am familiar with the surrounding area they lived in, it's not exactly the easiest ground to farm. It's very mountainous, dry, desert-like, rocky, so it's possible it didn't work out very well. I wonder that because in 1900, they are living in Durango, La Plata County, Colorado, running a boarding house. It could be that they were just doing that to earn extra money. Their farm property was located about 20-25 miles East of Durango.
To my surprise, they went from Durango to the little town of Silverton very shortly after this. Daniel Preston Bell decided to jump on the wagon of becoming a miner. According to the 1910 census, he had become a miner in a quartz mine! Wow!
As I said before, I haven't done extensive research on the Bell family... yet. But I plan to. I plan on taking a trip back out to Colorado at some point to visit Silverton. I wrote a small story about the Bell family when I first learned they lived in Silverton. You can read about them here: Relatives in Silverton, Colorado?!
Though I can't provide many details about this family, I can still say without a doubt when I think of the word Adventure, I think of the Bell family traveling from Indiana to Colorado. It may be time to trace that adventure.
Daniel Preston Bell was born in Indiana in 1848 and lived there for most of her early life. He married Mary Patrick in 1872 in Indiana and they had three children. Then in 1881, they left Illinois and headed west to New Mexico by train. This was the beginning of a new adventure for the family.
I have not done extensive research on the Bell family before they left Indiana so I do not know why they decided to go west. I will have to research history more in-depth to understand the motivation behind their decision. I do know that once they got to New Mexico, they took a covered wagon to La Plata County, Colorado. Once there, Daniel Preston Bell acquired a Land Patent in 1886. It's possible he acquired this though the Homestead Act put in place by the government. That could have been a motivator to move west. What an adventure!
The Bell family farmed the land as best as they could. Although I've lived in Colorado and am familiar with the surrounding area they lived in, it's not exactly the easiest ground to farm. It's very mountainous, dry, desert-like, rocky, so it's possible it didn't work out very well. I wonder that because in 1900, they are living in Durango, La Plata County, Colorado, running a boarding house. It could be that they were just doing that to earn extra money. Their farm property was located about 20-25 miles East of Durango.
To my surprise, they went from Durango to the little town of Silverton very shortly after this. Daniel Preston Bell decided to jump on the wagon of becoming a miner. According to the 1910 census, he had become a miner in a quartz mine! Wow!
As I said before, I haven't done extensive research on the Bell family... yet. But I plan to. I plan on taking a trip back out to Colorado at some point to visit Silverton. I wrote a small story about the Bell family when I first learned they lived in Silverton. You can read about them here: Relatives in Silverton, Colorado?!
Though I can't provide many details about this family, I can still say without a doubt when I think of the word Adventure, I think of the Bell family traveling from Indiana to Colorado. It may be time to trace that adventure.
Saturday, October 12, 2019
Happy Blogiversary Auntie Jen!
It's October, so you know what that means. It's Family History Month! And what a better way to celebrate, than to start a blog about your family history, which is what I did three years ago. So this month is my three-year Blogiversary! Woo hoo!!
It's hard to believe it's been only three years since I started recording my journey through Genealogy on an online forum. I've been doing research since 2012, but only decided to share my journey online in 2016. I really wrestled with the idea for a few months before starting it. My main goal was to share the research I had done with helpful tips I'd learned along the way.
Most Popular Blog Posts
My secondary goal was to hopefully make connections with long lost family. I had found out while performing searches online for information about specific ancestors, blogs would come up in those searches. So I figured that if I put out the names of ancestors I was researching, other family members who may be searching for the same ancestor would come across my blog. I didn't know how long it would take, but would you believe it happened this year?
What's next for Auntie Jen's Family Trees
This is just the beginning! I am currently participating in the 52 Ancestors challenge put out by Amy Johnson Crow. Once that is over, I will be focusing on writing deeper family stories based on research I have already done. What's the point of doing the research if you don't get the stories out there! I'm currently working on the story of Pauline Ilg. This will be a series of blog posts set up as "chapters".
I will also be working more on my YouTube Channel. If and when I am able to make trips having to do with my research, I will upload videos. I will share those videos here on my blog
The next big goal is to expand my knowledge and research. I'm hoping to take everything to the next level. One day I would love to do genealogy research as a career. Some days I feel like I have learned so much in such a short time, yet other days I still feel like such a newbie. So I'm hoping to take some more classes, attend seminars, improve my research skills, and develop a niche for my research.
I appreciate all your support and feedback. Keep checking back often for new stories and updates. Be sure to follow me on all my social media accounts as well!
Friday, October 11, 2019
Week 40: Harvest
Autumn is my favorite season. The weather turns cooler, the leaves change color, the air smells of burning leaves; this time of year makes me so happy. And depending on what you planted for the year, it's also Harvest Time. Cornfields and soybean fields are about ready, depending on your area. Soon you will see farm equipment on the roads or on the sides working hard. I never grew up on a farm though. The town we lived in was right on the edge of St. Louis County and Franklin County. Most of the farming was done in Franklin County. But that still didn't stop Dad and Papa from having a garden in the back yard.
When we moved into the house on High View, there was a nice big back yard. And my dad and papa utilized it for sure. They planted a nice big garden in the back. We always had an abundance of tomatoes (which I could not stand) but also had zucchini, yellow squash, radishes, okra, pumpkins, and some other vegetables. There was no specific Harvest Time growing up. It was just going to the garden and see what's ready.
It was the same way with my dad when he was growing up. When they lived in the barn on Antire Road, they had a huge garden. He and his siblings always helped out with the gardening duties. Dad told me they would plant so many vegetables, especially tomatoes. He said they planted so much because they wouldn't be sure if some would survive the frosts when they would come in. Dad told me one year, Papa was convinced all the tomato crops had died from the most recent frost so he bought more and planted them. Turns out, the original ones hadn't died and now they had double tomatoes!
Dad also said they would set up the tractor at the end of their driveway right on Antire Road to sell vegetables to anyone who would pass by. That would help bring in some income. Papa would also go to the local Farmer's Market to buy, sell and trade. With having nine kids in the house, they had to do all they could to get extra food and money in the house.
I was doing some research on the Great Depression recently and came across a book of stories that were told by people who lived through it. Something many people talked about was having their own gardens in the backyard and trading with others for different food. As they put it, if you had a garden, you would never go hungry. It reminded me of my dad and his family when he was a kid. As I've grown and learned more about my family, I've developed more of an appreciation for gardening and for farmers in general and doing everything you can to take care of your family.
So while it is Autumn and Harvest time is fast approaching, I think of good memories I have with my dad and papa and the garden we used to harvest from. And with Thanksgiving coming up in just over a month, it reminds me how much I have to be grateful for.
When we moved into the house on High View, there was a nice big back yard. And my dad and papa utilized it for sure. They planted a nice big garden in the back. We always had an abundance of tomatoes (which I could not stand) but also had zucchini, yellow squash, radishes, okra, pumpkins, and some other vegetables. There was no specific Harvest Time growing up. It was just going to the garden and see what's ready.
It was the same way with my dad when he was growing up. When they lived in the barn on Antire Road, they had a huge garden. He and his siblings always helped out with the gardening duties. Dad told me they would plant so many vegetables, especially tomatoes. He said they planted so much because they wouldn't be sure if some would survive the frosts when they would come in. Dad told me one year, Papa was convinced all the tomato crops had died from the most recent frost so he bought more and planted them. Turns out, the original ones hadn't died and now they had double tomatoes!
Dad also said they would set up the tractor at the end of their driveway right on Antire Road to sell vegetables to anyone who would pass by. That would help bring in some income. Papa would also go to the local Farmer's Market to buy, sell and trade. With having nine kids in the house, they had to do all they could to get extra food and money in the house.
I was doing some research on the Great Depression recently and came across a book of stories that were told by people who lived through it. Something many people talked about was having their own gardens in the backyard and trading with others for different food. As they put it, if you had a garden, you would never go hungry. It reminded me of my dad and his family when he was a kid. As I've grown and learned more about my family, I've developed more of an appreciation for gardening and for farmers in general and doing everything you can to take care of your family.
So while it is Autumn and Harvest time is fast approaching, I think of good memories I have with my dad and papa and the garden we used to harvest from. And with Thanksgiving coming up in just over a month, it reminds me how much I have to be grateful for.
Week 41: Context
Context: In its earliest uses (documented in the 15th century), context meant "the weaving together of words in language." This sense, now obsolete, developed logically from the word's source in Latin, contexere "to weave or join together." Context now most commonly refers to the environment or setting in which something (whether words or events) exists. When we say that something is contextualized, we mean that it is placed in an appropriate setting, one in which it may be properly considered. - Merriam Webster Dictionary
When we are researching our ancestors to learn more about their lives, we have to make sure we keep everything in context. Decisions they made in their lives during a certain time period may be different than the decisions we make today. We have to make sure we keep this in mind when we write the story of our ancestors' lives. We do our best to communicate to the reader the details so they can gain a better understanding of how and why they lived and made the choices they did.
So when we are putting together their story, it is our job to clearly state the details to provide a full understanding of the context of the situation. Context can be defined as “the formal or informal setting in which a situation occurs; it can include many aspects or dimensions, such as environment, social activity, goals or tasks of groups and individuals; time (year/month/day)." - Source While the source of this quote is referring to something completely different, it fits when it comes to writing the story of our specific ancestor.
How many times have we heard a story, watched a movie, or seen something happen where we have spouted, "Oh, I would have done something different." The question is, would you? Would you really? Until you are in the shoes of that person, dealing with the same thoughts, circumstances, feelings, etc., you really have no clue what you would have done. We are so quick to pass judgments on people, including our ancestors, for the decision they made that we would have supposedly made differently.
When I was writing about my 2nd great Uncle, I spent a lot of time researching the history of the town and the time period in which he lived. In doing so, it really opened up my eyes to understanding his life and what he and his family would have been going through and why they made the decisions they did. Read his story here: William Ilg, the gone but not forgotten Uncle. I also did my best to include some of this historical context in my writing, so hopefully, the writer could get a better understanding of his life. Without this context, his story was very dry and unrelatable.
Recently, I also participated in a YouTube Collaboration called Project Genealogy. The topic we addressed was Migration. Each one of us recorded a video about Migration relating to our genealogy research. I filmed a video discussing the reasons why my German ancestors immigrated to the United States, more specifically Missouri. Without doing this research, I couldn't understand why my family would come to the state of Missouri. Now I have a better understanding. Watch my video below, and don't forget to check out all the videos in the Migration Series.
While it's important to make sure you include context, it is also equally important to make sure you don't take things OUT of context. The media is famous for doing this. They will take a statement that is made and use it in ways it was never meant to be used. One statement I have made before is, "I don't like to watch Christmas movies." Now that statement is not completely true. I do like to watch Christmas movies. I love Christmas movies. So why would I say this statement? This statement is in response to my dad asking me if I will watch a Christmas movie in July. That is something I do not do. I will not watch Christmas movies outside of Christmas time. So while my statement is true, when taken out of context, it makes it appear that I am a liar. So when writing your ancestor's story, do not take things out of context.
It's amazing how important context is when it comes to life. It's something we constantly forget about but should be considered daily. Whether talking, listening, writing, investigating, or reporting, we should always be thinking about the context.
Wednesday, October 9, 2019
William Ilg - Eligible for a medal: UPDATE
Almost a year ago, in November, while researching my 2nd great Uncle William Ilg, I learned that he qualified for a Purple Heart Medal, posthumously for his sacrifice in World War I. From my understanding, he was never awarded this citation. Sadly, his military service file was destroyed in the 1973 fire at the National Personnel Records Center. I contacted the National Archives with my question about his eligibility and this was what I received back:
After gathering all the information I could about William, I filled out the application (given to me by the St. Louis Archives) to have his file amended to include the Purple Heart citation. I sent off the application in February of this year and had not received confirmation that they had received it. I've emailed them twice over the past few months, both confirming that they had not received it. This last email though, the customer service rep told me to email in my application along with my documentation so they could process it immediately. Oh, I am so happy to hear this! So I just emailed off the application and documentation to the Army Review Board. They said it would take a couple of days to process (to put in their system), but then the board still needs to review it. That could take a couple of weeks or more. Oh, I am going to be on pins and needles.
What am I hoping to get out of this? Well, first the obvious, I am hoping they will amend William's Military Personnel File to include this citation. His sacrifice deserves to be recognized and remembered. After that, I don't know what to expect. From what I have learned, only the next of kin can receive replacement medals of fallen soldiers. William had no next of kin. He was never married nor did he ever have any kids. So all he has left is nieces and nephews. Half of me knows I will probably not receive the Purple Heart Medal in the mail for William, and I am ok with that. That wasn't the purpose of this journey. The purpose of this originally started with learning more about him and making sure he was never forgotten.
I hope to update you soon with the outcome of this quest. It would be amazing if it happened around the date of his death so we could memorialize him with this award. Who knows? We will have to wait and see. Check be often for the conclusion to this magnificent story.
During WW1 the Purple Heart was not awarded for wounds inflicted by the enemy; it was awarded for military merit. During WW2 it was designated for wounded veterans; the following is an excerpt from our instructions:So as you can see, he wouldn't have become eligible until almost 25 years after his death. By 1942, his mother had passed and the only family still living would have been his brothers: Joseph (my great-grandfather) and John. Grandpa Joe was great about making sure William had a headstone issued by the government (placed around 1931), but I doubt he went to the trouble of trying to get William's file amended to include a Purple Heart. He would have had to have contacted the Army Records office to inquire about it if he would have known. As I have learned during this process, it hasn't been an easy one.
"This award, the modern form of the original Purple Heart established by General George Washington in 1782, is conferred on any person wounded in action while serving with the Armed Forces of the United States. It is awarded for wounds or death as result of an act of any opposing Armed Force, as a result of an international terrorist attack or as a result of military operations while serving as part of a peacekeeping force, while serving with the Armed Forces of the United States. It is also awarded posthumously to the next of kin of personnel killed or having died of wounds received in action after April 5, 1917.
The original Purple Heart Medal was awarded for "Military Merit", and before World War II was only awarded to three men. During the early period of World War II (7 Dec 41 to 22 Sep 43), the Purple Heart was awarded both for wounds received in action against the enemy and for meritorious performance of duty. Executive Order 9277, dated 12/3/42 authorized the award only for wounds received."
For WW1 the Purple Heart was also awarded for exposure to Mustard Gas. So a WW1 veteran couldn't request the Purple Heart medal until after 12/3/42. - St. Louis National Archives
What am I hoping to get out of this? Well, first the obvious, I am hoping they will amend William's Military Personnel File to include this citation. His sacrifice deserves to be recognized and remembered. After that, I don't know what to expect. From what I have learned, only the next of kin can receive replacement medals of fallen soldiers. William had no next of kin. He was never married nor did he ever have any kids. So all he has left is nieces and nephews. Half of me knows I will probably not receive the Purple Heart Medal in the mail for William, and I am ok with that. That wasn't the purpose of this journey. The purpose of this originally started with learning more about him and making sure he was never forgotten.
I hope to update you soon with the outcome of this quest. It would be amazing if it happened around the date of his death so we could memorialize him with this award. Who knows? We will have to wait and see. Check be often for the conclusion to this magnificent story.
Here are some videos I put together about William Ilg
Wednesday, October 2, 2019
History Fair 2019
I have exciting news! Coming up this month on October 27, the Franklin County Historical Society will be hosting its annual History Fair in Union, Missouri at the Senior Center. There will be many vendors attending this event... including ME!! Yes! I was invited to be a vendor for this event to showcase my blog, crafts, research, and the GAA facebook groups. This will be my first event showcasing my blog. I am just beyond excited! And the best part: it's FREE!
Not only will there be vendors, but there will also be food, a silent auction, historical items on display, and a raffle! I know one thing my dad will be interested in is the Antique Tools they will have on display. Well, and of course coming to see me, but you know, Tools come first.
Funny story: when my husband went to my dad to ask his blessing to court me, he was all serious asking my dad if he could talk to him. My dad's response to the question was, "Oh yeah sure! I thought you were going to ask to borrow a tool or something." I see how I rank in the scheme of things haha!
Seriously though, I can't describe just how excited and honored I am to participate in this event. I also look forward to talking with the other vendors that will be there. For a list of the vendors, please see the flyer below. The items that will also be available for the Silent Auction are also listed. And did you notice who's logo is advertised on the flyer?
Not only will there be vendors, but there will also be food, a silent auction, historical items on display, and a raffle! I know one thing my dad will be interested in is the Antique Tools they will have on display. Well, and of course coming to see me, but you know, Tools come first.
Funny story: when my husband went to my dad to ask his blessing to court me, he was all serious asking my dad if he could talk to him. My dad's response to the question was, "Oh yeah sure! I thought you were going to ask to borrow a tool or something." I see how I rank in the scheme of things haha!
Seriously though, I can't describe just how excited and honored I am to participate in this event. I also look forward to talking with the other vendors that will be there. For a list of the vendors, please see the flyer below. The items that will also be available for the Silent Auction are also listed. And did you notice who's logo is advertised on the flyer?
So if you are available, please come on out,
have some fun, and say Hi!
Hope to see you there!
Consider becoming a member or donating to the
Franklin County Historical Society.
Visit their website: http://www.franklincountymohistoricalsociety.com/
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