Before Spring Break, Allison was given a family history project for her 2nd grade class. She was asked to interview a family member to learn a little about her ancestory. Since we already had plans to visit AZ, she decided to ask Grandpa Al to help out. Prior to our arrival, she asked him to find some old photos, a family heirloom and be prepared to answer some questions about his childhood and family history.
We spent Thursday at his home in Surprise listening to fascinating stories, looking through photo albums and mapping out the family ancestory.
Grandpa Al told Allison all about this 107 year old clock that was his grandmother's. Her name was Lillie Newman and it was given to her as a wedding present from her mother when she was just 16!
Taylor was even intrigued by all of the information he had to share. We learned that he earned 5 cents a week allowance and loved building model airplanes and cars. He walked to and from school and once got in trouble for taking money out of his "March of Dimes" collection can to buy a drink at the grocery store. Oooohhhh!!
Grandpa Al at about 18 months.
His mother was a telephone operator. What a neat photo!
Graduation.We also learned that his family came from Ireland, Germany and Hungary. After going through so many albums, we actually stopped by Kinko's to scan several of the photos to keep at our house. It was a fantastic experience for Allison and all of our family and I think Grandpa Al really enjoyed going through all of the momentos. I think Allison is ready to get her project underway at school next week.
