52 Ancestors Week 24: Artistic

 From Amy Johnson Crow: Week 24:

The theme for Week 24 is “Artistic.” Is there a painter, crafter, quilter, knitter, crocheter, or musician in the family? This is their week.

Art by the talented Becky Hopkins and was colored in by me!

    So many people in my family have been artistic in one way or another. I've already talked about how my grandfather Marco painted some pretty cool paintings. I have a second cousin who is an actor. I may have even mentioned my own webcomic in this blog once or twice. This is only a few examples of how artistic my family can be. While drawing and acting are great talents to have. I think it's about time I tossed in some music. Ready? Blues riff in B. Watch me for the changes and try to keep up.

    I don't know if my great-grandfather Vincenzo ever played a musical instrument. He did have a great singing voice according to my mother, though. Whenever she would visit him or he'd visit, Vincenzo would actually sing to her in Italian. Now, I have no idea what he was singing or if she even knew. What I can tell you is that Vincenzo's singing was just a small part of my family's appreciation of music.

   On my father's maternal side, his cousin Joe Villanucci was also musically inclined. When he the cousins were growing up, they would play music together. Was Vincenzo the front man for the group? Probably not. No. 

    Still, they had pretty good songs from what I've been told and later Joe himself became a music teacher. He even played local gigs in Haverhill, Salisbury and other places around the Merrimack Valley. He actually taught me how to play the piano as that was his instrument of choice. I'm getting a little ahead of myself. There's more to this musical story about Joe and my father!

    When I was looking for articles about my family, I happened upon this gem from the Newburyport Daily News.

    I might have talked about this article before. This comes to us from the Newburyport Daily News on July 12th, 1962. In the picture we see Joe tickling the ivories while his brother Dennis plays the guitar. In the background, my father watches. The caption said that my dad was "playing it cool" while his cousins played their instruments.

    The small group played for the motel Joe's father Arnold and my grandfather owned. I'm not sure how big the crowds were at the Colonial Arms motel. But, it was cool that they played for the people there. You gotta love good live entertainment and I'm sire my grandfather and Arnold paid them well for their services. I mean they had an in-house band that was related to them. What could go wrong?

    The music continued well after my brother and I came around. Our father was and still is a huge fan of classic rock. He's a huge fan of the Beach Boys and this is a huge contrast to the type of music my brother and I listen to. While my dad was all about classic rock, we were very much influenced by the music we grew up listening to. And that's normal. I just wish I had some musical skills. As it is, I can only do "Rock Band"/"Guitar Hero" on easy mode.

Still playing it cool, Dad?

   My brother and I learned to play piano from Joe and every time we visited him I'd always play the piano. Was I good? I don't know. The the most I was ever able to do was "Stairway to Heaven" or "Chopsticks". Just basic stuff. I was never Elton John or anything like that.

     It's just as well, I suppose. Everyone has their own specific artistic skill. Some people draw. Some people sing. Some people act. Whatever the case is, it's clear to see that my family has many artists running around the tree making music or drawing.

    It would be nice to carry a tune, though. And hey. It never hurts to try! I was surrounded by music and got a great appreciation for the art style as a result!

See ya next time!

52 Ancestors #23: Wedding Bells

 From Amy Johnson Crow: Week 23:

The theme for Week 23 is "Wedding Bells." Do you have a favorite ancestral wedding photo? What about an ancestor who heard wedding bells multiple times?

DING.....DONG!

    Amy sure has a way of timing these prompts just right. Not only is today my grandfather Bob's birthday. Today is also my grandparents' Bob and Natalie's  77th wedding anniversary! My grandmother always said that they picked that date so he'd never forget. Smart woman! We do have several pics from their wedding in our archives. Join me as we take a trip to Haverhill, Massachusetts on June 5th 1948!

Look at this motley crew.

    This picture is probably one of my favorite pictures from their wedding because not only is my great-grandfather Austin there along with the other Felkers. There's a story that goes with the dresses the ladies all wore. Rather than buying all of the dresses, my grandmother and her sisters handmade each dress and the accessories that went with them. Nana had serious stitching skills. Unfortunately, that meant that each of her ten grandkids got wooly sweaters for Christmas every year. Man, they itched....

    I digress. I can also identify everyone in the picture, too. In the front from left to right we have Natalie's sister, Dorothea, Dorothea's daughter Brenda and Natalie's sister Eleanor. In the back, we have from left to right my grandfather's uncle Donald Laplante, his brother Alfred Hamel, my grandparents Bob and Natalie, Natalie's sister Elaine, my great-grandfather Austin and my grandmother's brother Norman.

    Whew. That's quite a crew.  Everyone's all dressed to the nines and looking quite spiffy. If Gentlemen's Warehouse was around in the 1940s, I'd say they'd like the way they looked. I guarantee it.  It's a great picture and even though I could colorize it, I've never bothered to because I think we have a color version of this picture somewhere. It's a priceless gem like this next photo.

    I have a feeling this picture was taken after the ceremony. My grandfather's wearing the same tux he had on in the wedding party photo. My grandmother wisely changed out of her dress and put something that was a bit more comfortable on. Let's face it. Late spring in Massachusetts gets pretty muggy and there is no way my grandmother was going to party in that hot dress for a long time. She wouldn't have made it past the DJ playing the chicken dance song.

    Nah. I doubt they had the chicken dance at their wedding. They had style. They had class. And the fact that the song wasn't written then. John Phillip Sousa on the other hand? That would be a "Yes". My grandfather was a HUGE fan of his work.  He collected everything John Phillip Sousa ever wrote. What can I say? My grandfather had great taste in music.

    Though, I am a bit curious about why he kept VHS copies of "Golf's Funniest Moments" lingering around for decades. He had great taste in music. But, he kept a lot of weird stuff.

    It was very cool how both of my grandparents included all of their siblings in the wedding. The ones in the wedding party weren't the only ones helping out. Nope. All of their brothers and sisters participated in one way or another. Some of them handled the flowers. Some of them helped with the tuxes. It was pretty clear that both families worked together to give Bob and Natalie the wedding of their dreams. 

    I do wish that I had more pictures from the wedding. There might be more of them in the boxes my aunt gave me in 2020. There are albums there and I haven't gotten through everything. Once I have some time, I'll be sure to check it out. For now I have these two great gems in my collection.

    All in all these wedding pictures are fantastic. My grandparents obviously had no idea that their marriage would produce six children and that those kids would give them ten grandchildren and eventually many great-grandchildren. It's quite a legacy that got its start on one late spring day in 1948. Happy anniversary, Nana and Papa!

And I'll see you all next time! 

52 Ancestors Week 22: Reunion

 From Amy Johnson Crow: Week 22:

The theme for Week 22 is “Reunion.” Whether it’s a family reunion, a class reunion, or some other commonality that brings people back together, it’s an opportunity for connection and context. What reunions can you think about in your family tree?

Keep smiling while grandpa takes the picture. Just keep smiling....

    In my experience, just about any family get-together can be a reunion. When your family is as large as mine, it sometimes takes an act of God to get everyone in the same room at the same time. Christmas parties, birthday parties, weddings and all those events can be considered a family reunion. What about graduations? Yeah, we can toss those into the mix. I remember one graduation/reunion VERY well. Let's go back in time to Friday June 13th, 1997.

    Why are we going back to that specific date you ask? Well, it was the day of the famous Merrimack Valley Lightning Storm, of course. It was also the day I graduated high school. It wasn't my idea to graduate in the pouring rain!  Before graduation our class huddled together in the gym and we could hear the thunder and lightning outside. It was almost daring us to go out there and get our diplomas. Our family and friends were gathered at the outdoor track and we put it to a vote. Do we go out there and get rained on or do we wait another day?

Want to give me a second to
change, Papa? No? Fine....

    Judging by this picture you clearly can see that the class decided to graduate that day despite the rain and despite it being Friday the 13th. We had a very, very rushed ceremony with very few speeches. We grabbed our diplomas and headed home after a few hugs and promises that we'd get together when it was less...ya know....rainy.

    On the ride home my parents told me that it was probably for the best that I graduated when I did. I said "Ma, I'm drenched.. The first thing I'm going to do is change out of these clothes." My dad said "You might want to wait a few minutes...."

    We pulled into the driveway and I see a ton of cars sitting there. It looked like a mall parking lot on the day of a sale.  I sat back and I was like "Oh, god...the party." I had almost forgotten because of all the hustle and bustle. We had planned a party for weeks and family members from all over the place were invited to attend.

    I go inside and who was the first to greet me? My grandfather Bob with his camera! He ushered me into the living room and I was still soaked to the bone.....

  I've explained many times how my grandfather took his photography hobby very seriously. He was the kind of man who'd make sure every shot was perfect and that everything came out exactly as he'd imagine it. The only problem was I was impatient and soaked while I was getting my picture taken. My parents took a picture with me and it wasn't very flattering as they were getting wet just standing next to me.

    Off to the side I could see my brother and my cousins laughing and that was why I was giving someone the side-eye as the picture was taken. I was not having a good time (At first.) After what seemed like ages, my grandfather finally finished taking pictures of me. I ran upstairs and changed before anyone could blink.

Can I has cake?

    After a few minutes, I went back downstairs and greeted everyone properly. My little cousins still made jokes about the rain and everything but it was all in good fun. I greeted my grandparents, aunts, my great-aunts, my dad's cousins, their significant others and everyone else who was at the party. See. All it took was a change of clothes to improve my disposition. I do not like being photographed soaking wet. 

    I did appreciate the hugs from various family members who were so happy that I graduated.  I got to hear family stories about their own graduations. All of them were much, much drier than my own. 

    Both of my grandmothers graduated Haverhill High at different times and told me how different it was graduating with the war on the horizon. I can only imagine. I think I touched upon that when I wrote about their yearbooks a few years ago.  It was still great hearing stories while waiting for dinner and everything. I was honestly just glad to be dry at that point. Still, it was fun catching up with everyone that day.

    We also talked about my plans for the future. Everyone knew I was going to Merrimack College in North Andover. But, they didn't know what I'd be studying. At that point I hadn't decided on a major. Naturally, everyone gave me some advice. It wasn't until I talked to my future sister-in-law Kathleen that I decided on something that I'd actually be good at. I'm not sure if she was at the party. I know she came by the house some time after my graduation since my brother and her were dating at the time.

My mom took this pic in three seconds
to prove a point.

        I also got to see cousins who I usually saw around Christmas. My cousins Kristyn and Ryan used to live in the apartment above my father's office and had moved to Nashua by the time I graduated. I saw them less despite them being relatively close by. It was good seeing them and the other cousins.

    My grandfather took the opportunity to take pictures of the whole motley crew while he could. And once again he took forever and a day to take the picture! Meanwhile, my mother used one of those disposable cameras and took a quick pic of him taking a picture of us. Imagine if she had an iPhone back then. That's something my grandfather NEVER figured out. I think he just preferred the old-style cameras. I wasn't gonna argue with him!

    After the final pictures were taken, my cousins and I went upstairs to play video games. I think we had enough of pictures for a while. After food and everything I just wanted to relax with my cousins  I do have a bit of a mystery, though. Since my grandfather was taking a picture of us in that shot, what happened to the picture? I haven't been able to find it in the photo albums my aunt Linda gave me in 2020. Perhaps someone in the family has it. Or it could be in the pile of photos in a box labeled "Pics from the '90s".

    As you can see reunions can happen even at graduation parties. We had a great time despite the torrential rain. I guess it's true what they say. You can make the best out of any situation despite the weather conditions outside. Sure it was wet and I had the mood of a wet cat when I came home. But, it didn't matter. I was with my family and the day was made even more memorable since I was with them. That's what reunions are all about. Making new memories and being together in any situation. They all came by to celebrate and that was all I wanted. I don't even care much that it was raining. We were inside and I probably wouldn't change anything if I could. 

    Though, I did have to make sure my college graduation was dry.  Thankfully, that ceremony was inside!

See ya next time!

The most Italian pic ever.*

*= Yes, I know some of those people aren't Italian. Work with me.

52 Ancestors Week 21: Military

 From Amy Johnson Crow: Week 21:

The theme for Week 21 is “Military.” Who is someone in your family tree who served in the military? Who was a civilian whose life was affected by the service of a family member? This is a great week to write about them.

I'd be remiss if I didn't continue the banner theme from last week.
Come on down, Autobrat!

   If you've been a regular reader of the blog, you'd quickly see that generations of people in my family served in almost every armed conflict America has been involved with since the American Revolution.  I have ancestors who've served in multiple capacities and have served in just about every branch of military there is from the US Army to the Navy, Marines and the Air Force. Sadly, there's no Starfleet officers in my family tree. Then again that's just exploration and defense and well....we  haven't invented the warp drive, yet. Now, with all that in mind you'd think that everyone in my family had a good idea of who served in what conflict. What if I told you that wasn't always the case? 

So much swagger.

        My great-grandfather Alfred Hamel was known to have served in the US army during World War I and in World War II. Records of him serving in those conflicts are easy enough to find on Ancestry and Familysearch. He had various medals awarded to him during his time in the service as well. It's pretty clear that he served in those wars. There's no doubt about that!

    Despite the mountain of evidence saying he served in those wars, people in my family have claimed that Alfred Hamel was also a rough-rider who served with none other than President Theodore Roosevelt during the Spanish-American War. I mean they were like "Yeah. Alfred charged up San Juan Hill with Teddy! Here are the pics to prove it"

    There's just one teeny, tiny problem with that. Alfred was born in 1896. The Spanish-American War took place in 1898 when Alfred was only two years old. The only "rough-riding" he did was a case of the terrible twos.

   Now, to be fair, maybe he played "horsey" with his father Eugene at the time. I have no idea. I also have no clue how this odd story got started. I didn't even hear about it growing up. I first learned about it well into my genealogical adventure and a few years after my grandfather Bob passed away. Mmm. Convenient, huh? I think my mother never told me because of how farfetched it sounded. The math wasn't there. My grandparents never told me about it because it never came up. It was just so random how some people assumed he was a rough-rider. Thankfully, quashing that story was quick and easy thanks to a box my aunt Linda gave me during the Covid lockdown.

    I'm pretty sure I've talked about the box before. Inside were various family albums and near the bottom of the box were photos from Alfred's tour of duty during the first World War and various other documents like the image on the right. This picture is a certificate commemorating Private Hamel for his service along the Mexican border during World War I. 

    Could this conflict have been confused with the Spanish-American War? I would say "most likely". Even his obituary in 1962 made references to serving on the Mexican border during the "Pancho Villa era". There was no reference to him being anywhere near Teddy Roosevelt or any of the rough-riders.

    The conflict was actually the Mexican Border War which lasted from 1910 to 1919. I get the feeling that event was quickly glossed over in history class because of the the much bigger crisis happening in the world at the time. I didn't even learn about it until later myself. I knew about Pancho Villa and everything. But, I had no idea the conflict he was involved in was called the Mexican Border War. You learn something new every day.

    I think this is probably why people in my family were confused about which conflicts Alfred actually served in. It's pretty easy to get the Spanish-American War and the Mexican Border War confused.  Both wars involved Mexico and that's where a lot of my family's confusion came from. I think I need to create a spreadsheet illustrating who fought in what war. At least I have a free space page on WikiTree: https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Space:Chris_Ferraiolo%27s_Notable_Relations

We are NOT rough riders!!

    Figuring out Alfred wasn't a rough-rider was pretty simple since all the evidence was already inside the box my aunt gave me. I don't think any two year-olds were riding horses. Old Teddy wouldn't have allowed that for sure.

    Still, you have to wonder how the rumor got started in the first place. Maybe people in my family were confused since other conflicts were happening at the same time. Alfred did technically served in the US Army during the first world war. However, he went to Mexico rather than Europe.

    You really can't blame anyone for the confusion. World War I was over a century ago and over time stories are lost.  Not everyone is going to know who fought in what conflict and it's up to genealogists to solve the riddles. Sometimes the solution is really simple. I mean can a two year-old really carry a rifle and ride a horse? Hm....This actually sounds like a great idea for a comic character. No wait. That one already exists. Check out "Captain Underpants". Yes. That is a thing and that is his name. Have I ever told you all that comics are weird? Because they are.

    In any event, it's easy to see why Alfred's time in the US National Guard was distorted. So much was happening in the world at the time and it's easy to see some stories get lost or distorted. Stories aren't told and people assume pictures are from various events. This is probably why it's a good idea to keep various military records and put them in a place where the information could never be forgotten. Sites like WikiTree come to mind. I might be a little biased there. 

    At least I have a good idea of who served in which conflict and in which branch of the military. It's hard to talk about just one ancestor who served because I've got so many of them on both sides of the family tree. It's neat and I do my best to honor everyone who served regardless of rank, where they served and when. It's just a good idea to keep track of WHAT conflicts people served in. You don't want to accidentally picture a diaper clad upstart charging up a hill with a wooden sword. 

See ya next time!

52 Ancestors Week 20: Wheels

 From Amy Johnson Crow: Week 20:

The theme for Week 20 is “Wheels.” I have to admit that this prompt is dear to my heart, since my Dad owned and operated a service station for 50+ years. Anyone like that in your family? How about someone who took an epic road trip (or train trip – they have wheels, too!)

We now return to All Roads Lead to Haverhill

    I have a feeling my father would have gotten along very well with Amy's father because he wasn't just a dentist. Doctor James Ferraiolo liked to tinker with all kinds of engines be it boat, lawn mower and even cars. It's a trait he likely inherited from my grandfather Marco. Marco liked to work on cars and other things with wheels and when my dad was old enough he was promised a set of wheels of his very own. Think of it as one of those "rites of passage" deals. Fathers tended to give their sons their old cars back in the day. Things may not have panned out the way he expected because my father's fondest memories were behind the wheel of a 1968 AMX. 

Not my dad's old AMX. Actual pic coming soon.

      The reason why my father was so fond of the AMX is simply because it has a cool design. I have to agree. It does look pretty cool. Sure I grew up in an era with Lamborghini Transformers and cars that fought crime, I still appreciated the look of quite a few real life cars. What's not to like about a car that's built like a tank?

    My dad drove an AMX like the one in the picture mostly through medical school in the late 1960s. It survived four years in New Jersey and it served my parents quite well since they ran the wheels to the ground. Seriously, it took quite the beating in that era since they went everywhere with it!

    My parents recall taking the car to and from Haverhill, Mass on many occasions. One time they even drove on the Tappan Zee Bridge with a Christmas tree on the roof! That had to have been an interesting sight and likely caused several people to turn their heads. Let's be honest here. It was the early 1970s and a car with a tree on the roof was likely not the strangest thing people have seen on the highway. Nope. People would have done way weirder things for sure. It's a shame no cameras were around to capture everything like we do these days!

    Sadly, all good things have to come to an end. By the mid 1970s, they traded in the AMX for a family car. That made sense as they were starting a family and everything. AMXes weren't exactly known for their family-friendly reputation, you know. So, it had to go. It was the end of an era.....or so we thought.

    Over the years my father went through different types of cars from a Supra my 3rd grade teacher was infatuated with (Don't ask!!) to various Toyota sports cars. In his heart,  he was still a fan of the AMX. It got to the point where he had to buy and restore an AMX in the early 2010s.

Oh, yeah....

    We erected a car garage in the backyard around 2010 and my father went right to work on restoring an AMX with the help of his friend, Ron Abraham. Ron had a repair shop in Andover, Mass and had been a friend of my dad's for years and years.  In fact, he even had a boat behind ours for as long as I can remember. More on him some other time!

    My father and Ron worked on the car and  whatever parts they couldn't find, they found on eBay. 

    It took a while to finish and you can't argue with the results! The car runs very well despite the engine being over fifty years old. Some parts are missing, though, like a side view mirror and a few other odds and ends. It's all good. It works great and I took a ride with my dad once for a test drive.

Chikka chika chikaaaaaaaaaa

    The ride was a little bumpy to be honest. I was riding in a car that didn't have the advancements that modern cars have. It was still a nice trip around the block and my dad likely felt like he was back in time. Back to when cars didn't have access to satellite radio or seats that warmed you up on a cold night. There was no power steering or air conditioning, either. It was a strange experience for me! Bur, I bet I'd have felt the same  nostalgia if I rode in a car my parents drove in he '80s and '90s.  I do miss my mom's Toyota Camry.

 Our smooth ride was cut short when the brakes started acting a little weird. That's not a good thing to happen on a country road! We took it back home and put the AMX to bed. 

    We called up Ron and he and my father fixed the problem. I'm no car expert so I couldn't begin to tell you what was wrong with the thing. At least the engine worked and my dad was happy with the results. In the end, that's what really mattered. He has an affinity for old cars like the AMX and to this day he still tinkers with it every once in a while. It's a hobby of his and fixing an old car that he enjoyed in his youth is a great one to have!

    Cars have always played a big role in my family and even though I'm not much of a car guy like I said. I can still appreciate them. You just won't ever see me riding a motorcycle or anything. I'd rather have a steel cage around me than be exposed to high velocity with a helmet being the only thing protecting me! At least cars afford some level of protection and it's great to see my dad relive old memories with his AMX hobby. At least it isn't a motorcycle....

See ya next time.

52 Ancestors Week 19: At the Library

 From Amy Johnson Crow: Week 19:

The theme for Week 19 is “At the Library.” Any librarians in the family tree? What about a fantastic find you’ve made at the library? This is a good week to write about it.

Want to check a book out at the biggest library in the universe?

    Who doesn't love libraries? I've written about my adventures at the Haverhill Public Library in the blog many times and here's one of my favorite entries.  I'll admit I haven't been back there since the place was flooded last year. What's that? I never talked about that incident? Well, to make a long story short there was a bad snowstorm in January 2024 and some pipes burst following some heavy rain. Some reference materials did get some moisture. But, by and large everything worked out well and they opened up again a few months later. For details check out this link.

Not a bad place!

    The last time I was there was about maybe two months before the flood. My dad's cousin Bob took me there because he wanted to look stuff up and I wanted to use the reference room on the third floor. The reference room at the Haverhill library is where they keep all the reference material you could ever ask for about the city.

    In this case, I was looking for the burial plot of my second great-grandfather, Antoine Legault. Remember him? I still can't find his grave. More on that later.

    I knew he was buried in Saint James Cemetery in Haverhill. I just had no idea where. Unfortunately, finding his final resting place proved to be a monumental task.

    When I got there, I asked the nice lady behind the desk if she could bring out the archive of grave listings for Saint James. I swear the question sounded so much better in my head. I imagine they don't get many requests for that archive. At least she was nice about it. She went into the back and came out with four or five plastic cases. Each case had hundreds upon hundreds of loose computer paper. I umm....didn't expect that. I don't know what I was expecting. Maybe a book? Or a tablet with information? Something with a search bar? I resigned myself to my fate and started looking and prayed that I didn't get any paper cuts.

Welcome to the biggest cemetery in Haverhill.

    As I looked through the loose papers, it became apparent that Saint James Cemetery is probably the biggest cemetery in the city. Thousands upon thousands of souls were buried there. Thankfully, each folder had an index at the end and that cut my time looking through that mess considerably.

    Sadly, I was only able to find one or two Legaults by the time Bob came back from doing what he needed to research. None of the Legaults that I found were Antoine. I knew he was buried there! His death certificate in 1901 clearly stated he was buried in Saint James. Looking back, I really wished that the archives were organized a little bit better. Like by year of death. That would have made sense. Instead, I got envelopes full of papers with random dates.

    Let me just say that it's probably not the worst thing that could have happened during that expedition. It's good that the HPL has that all well documented. It's just not terribly efficient in how that information is presented. I think if they were to move the information to a digital platform, the task might not seem so arduous. Not to mention less messy. I dropped one of the folders by accident and the papers inside went everywhere. Whoops. Don't worry! I cleaned it up!  The librarian even got a laugh. I guess it wasn't the first time it happened. At least my visit was not uneventful for her.

    Now, she did offer to help me look through the folders. But, she had to help someone else. I don't think she knew what I was looking for or really the question. I had to explain that I was an amateur genealogist and that I was looking for the burial plot of an ancestor. Saying "I'm looking for a burial plot for someone" sounds weird no matter what your profession or hobby is. I think she finally understood that I was a genealogist and not some weirdo looking for someone. At least I hope so!

    I sadly left the library that day emptyhanded. I was planning to update Antoine's page on Find a Grave with more information as well update his page on Wikitree. It happens. You win some and you lose some.

    Fortunately, he does have a page on Find a Grave and I did request help from a volunteer to help find his grave. Hence the name of the site.
 
        As of May 2025, there are over 9,000 memorials at Saint James and so far no one has found Antoine's grave. I wasn't kidding when I said that Saint James was the biggest cemetery in the city if not one of the biggest. Finding his grave is proving to be a monumental task. However, I did find that his daughter Emma was buried there in 1896. Could he be buried with her? It's hard to say. I wasn't even able to find her information in the library.

    The Haverhill Public Library is still a great resource. It's reasonably close by and would have more information I need for my family history than the Kelley Library in Salem.  Don't get me wrong. I love the Kelley Library. Friends of mine have worked there. It's fantastic! They just ummm...don't have the droids I'm looking for. 

    Eventually, I probably will head back to the HPL at some point. I want to see if they've improved a few things here and there. If a disaster strikes, it's usually a good time to improve a few things once repairs are completed. I'm sure things look even better now. I'd just have to take a trip to Haverhill to check things out.

    Libraries are an important resource and it's good to have them up and running. I'm glad that despite the flooding, the HPL is back in action. It's been over a year since the flooding and there's still a ton of information I need to find there. I think if I go again, I'll poke around the newspapers section. Here's hoping I get a chance to go. Perhaps then I'll come back from the factfinding mission with some genealogical gold! Fingers crossed!

See ya next time!

52 Ancestors Week 18: Institutions

From Amy Johnson Crow:  Week 18:

The theme for Week 18 is “Institutions.” The word “institution” has both positive and negative connotations. Graduating from an institution of higher learning vs being institutionalized. Then there are people who are described as institutions in their community or organization because of their longevity and knowledge. How will you interpret this week’s prompt?

This could be the X-Mansion or the Luthor Mansion depending
on your fandom. Either way, that castle is awesome!

    Institutes for higher learning have always had a long and storied history of promoting excellence in their students and taught people much about the world.  They change people for the better and in turn they get to make the world a better place. That's what the promotional material would have you believe, anyway. Fine institutions such as Suffolk University and the College of the Holy Cross have also been known as places where the students would often meet the partner they'd end up spending the rest of their lives with. Who says school just has to be about learning? 

Married in 1972.

    In the late 1960s, my parents James Ferraiolo and Diane Hamel met at Suffolk University in Boston, Mass while they were studying medicine. My father was on the fast track to becoming a dentist and my mother was studying biology. They had a chemistry lab together and you might say they had.....great chemistry. Huh? HUH?! 

    Wow. I can actually hear your groans through the Internet. It's true! They had chemistry together. They worked on all kinds of chemical formulas that just made my head hurt when it came time for me to take chemistry in high school.

    What's interesting is how my parents grew up in neighboring cities in Massachusetts and ended up meeting each other in Boston. Not only that. My mom's cousin Nancy was in my father's homeroom in high school!

    There's a reason why this blog is called "All Roads Lead to Haverhill". No matter how far away someone is, there's always a connection to Haverhill, Mass. Anyway, back to the story.

    My parents got married in the summer of 1972 and shortly afterward, they headed to New Jersey where my father would continue his studies and get his doctorate. While in New Jersey, they didn't have much as they lived in a simple trailer. He went to school while my mother worked in the nearest hospital.

    Eventually, they made their way back to New Hampshire, built a house and started a family. It would take some years before their old medical journals were looked at once again by their youngest, precocious and ever so innocent son. Those images gave me nightmares. You don't need to know about the horrors of a neglected mouth. I've seen things....

    My father set up his dental practice in Salem, New Hampshire and would work non stop for fifty years until his retirement in 2025. My mother went on to become a lab supervisor at Merrimack Medical Laboratories where she studied blood cells for hospitals in Boston and elsewhere in Massachusetts.

    Anyway, it was very cool how the son of an Italian immigrant met the love of his life at school. The stars aligned and they didn't need anyone singing "Johnny B Good" at the Enchantment Under the Sea dance. It's an amazing coincidence to be honest. Two people from neighboring cities in Essex county, Massachusetts meeting in Boston and building a future together sounds like the plot of a rom com. Some days it still feels that way!!

Smile!

    This year, my brother Jim and his wife Kathleen  celebrate their thirtieth anniversary.  They met in 1995 through one of their mutual friends at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass. She was a political science major and my brother was heavy into information technology.  They met during their freshmen year and have been inseparable ever since.

    Having actually been to Holy Cross to visit my brother I can tell you a lot about the school from an outsider's perspective. Ready? There are just way too many hills! I mean....wow. I know I ran cross country and track and I should be used to the hills. However, one of my prerequisites for my college experience wasn't so much the academia as it was that it had to be FLAT. It's a good thing Merrimack College had only a few hills! Holy Cross made sure you didn't skip leg day.

    In 1996, Kathleen interned at the White House during the Clinton administration. She called it one of the best experiences of her life even though she never met then President Bill Clinton. Oh, that would have been cool.

    After they graduated, they moved to Charlottesville, Virginia where Kathleen worked on getting her doctorate in political science at the University of Virginia. By that time, I was struggling trying to think of a major at Merrimack and Kathleen suggested giving political science a try. I did and I did pretty well for myself. I don't want to toot my own horn or go into the gritty details. It was a lot easier doing that than going into medicine like my parents did. Plus, it's good to know that I can use my degree in stuff like genealogy! Sadly, that's never a major. Hey. It all worked out for the best! I was always interested in history and political stuff. Would I ever go into politics? Ummm....No. No, I would not.

    These days Kathleen is a professor at James Madison University. There, she teaches students the ins and outs of American politics. She's written several papers and has even been published a few times. Not bad, right? As for my brother? He's now one of the major IT guys at the University of Virginia. There, he puts his computer skills to good use and has even taught his kids a few things about computers.

    In the end, I guess you could say that institutions like Merrimack, Suffolk, Holy Cross and the University of Virginia really do change lives for the better. Who knows what kinds of people my parents, my brother or even I would have been had we not gone to on to attend institutes of higher learning.  Those schools may have been known as places where people learn about life. It's also places where lives change and get started. They really are where your future begins!

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See ya next time!