Objectives Met

Upon the completion of Literacy and Family History, I find that acheived the six main objectives of the course.

• Adhere to accepted ethical and legal principals. Though there was little required of me in this area, I took care to create original materials, give credit to my sources where applicable, and to keep much of the family history research confidential, which is to say I only discussed findings within the context of the class and among my immediate family members.
• Use appropriate rhetorical tools and technologies tailored for specific audiences and purposes. For the family history project, I compiled data into a 20-page document that could be used by other family members as they continue their family history research. Also, for the graduate discussion and class facilitation portion of the class, I finally learned how to use Power Point to create a presentation for our class.
• Integrate verbal and visual elements in composing family history projects. Here is where I struggled the most in class. Without a clear structure for an 8-week project, and not nearly enough time to accomplish what I wanted to for this project, I found it difficult to compose a document with both visual and verbal elements. Though I did create charts and add photos to my final project, I did not feel successful in this aim of the course.
• Evaluate, interpret, and document archive materials. For both projects this semester, I evaluated photos, letters, and Internet artifacts for usefulness to my project, interpreted each through several lens to get more than a surface-level understanding of each, and carefully documented and labeled where and/or from whom I acquired each artifact.
• Collaborate with a non-profit organization (the LJHP) in producing something that meets their needs. For this portion of the course I have accumulated, documented, and organized a binder of research materials on Camp Pokagon.
• Keep an active research journal in which [I] reflect on the process of writing [my] own family history and of helping the LJHP write their manuscript. This entry, as well as all the following entries, illustrate the reflective practice I used throughout the entire semester.

The US Supports Family History Research!

Early this week a man came to the front door of my house, explained that he worked for the US Census, asked a few questions about the type of residence I live in, and then proceeded next door to do the same. He left me with a handout that read:

"Your answers are confidential and protected by law. All U.S. Census Bureau employees have taken an oath and are subject to jail term, a fine, or both if they disclose ANY infomration that could identify you or your household. Your answers will only be used for statistical purposes, and no other purpose. As allowed by law, your census data becomes public after 72 years. This information can be used for family history and other types of historical research. ..."

All semester we've struggled with answering the question, Is family history research a legitimate type of research within the academy? Here, we have the government suggesting it! Not only that, but they group it together within the spectrum of historical research, which suggests a place for it among history classes. Wouldn't it be great to offer a 16-week family history composition class crosslisted as a history course?! I think this would be a great fit and bring many types of researchers together on campus.

A Box About Boxes

(Chapter 7, Box 28 Action)

When I visited my parents in January, I came across a box of old letters that had been given to my father (Brian Jasch) after my great-grandmother (Nettie Ludington) passed away in 1998. The most logical arrangement for this collection was to arrange the letters chronologically according to the date they were posted.

April 9, 1951: postcard to Nettie from Chuck (my grandfather).
September 15, 1954: hospital bill for my father when my grandfather decided to keep him.
1956-59: Brian's immunization card.
May 9, 1965: homemade Mother's Day card made for Nettie from my father.
1972?: my father's enlistment card for 2 years of Regular Army Enlistment.
Unmarked: postcard to Nettie from Brian.
January 16, 1973: letter to Nettie from Brian.
February 5, 1973: postcard to Nettie from Brian.
February 24, 1973: postcard to Nettie from Brian.
March 7, 1973: letter to Nettie from Brian.
June 1, 1973: letter to Nettie from Brian in which he mentions his girlfriend, Sandy.
June 2, 1973: letter to Nettie from Brian.
June 8, 1973: letter to Nettie from Brian.
June 29, 1973: letter to Nettie from Brian in which he tells her of his upcoming engagement to Sandy.
August 16, 1973: letter to Nettie from Brian.
September 25, 1973: letter to Nettie from Brian in which he tells her to not tell Sandy about his "German chick."
October 4, 1973: letter to Nettie from Brian in which he tells her to apologize to Sandy about his German chick; he wants to be with Sandy when he returns home.
October 12, 1973: letter to Nettie from Brian in which he talks about the German chick and tells Nettie once again to not mention his girl on the side to Sandy.
November 5, 1973: letter to Nettie from Brian.
November 15, 1973: letter to Nettie from Brian.
December 21, 1973: letter to Nettie from Debbie regarding the twin boys she had with my
father and her plans to marry him when he returns from Army service.
February 11, 1974: letter to Nettie from Brian.
March 22, 1974: letter to Nettie from Brian.
September 11, 1974: letter to Nettie from Brian.
November 14, 1974: letter to Nettie from Brian in which he tells her of his plans to move out when he returns home.
March 31, 1980: Nettie's invitation to Brian and Joyce's (my mother) wedding.

Though the contents of the box were originally haphazardly strewn inside the airmail box they originally arrived in back in 1998 (many letters needed to be matched to their corresponding envelopes), organizing them for the first time made many things clearer for me. Most importantly, I found proof that my father had two children with a woman immediately before entering the service. He had apparently promised to marry her when he returned. However, throughout his time stationed in Fort Polk, LA and in Germany, he had promised two additional women he would marry them. He had a long-term girlfriend with whom he broke up and got back together with several times over the two year span of letters. He also had a German girl on the side.

I was surprised that my father confided all of this in Nettie (his Ma). What must she have thought of it all? All I know is that Grandma Nettie could hold her secrets--she took as many as of them as possible to the grave. My dad, of course, just snickers and turns red when I confront him about all of this. His nose flares and twitches in a way that prepares me for a lie or a cover-up of some sort. My mom just pretends she doesn't hear it all. I guess what surprises and frustrates me most of all in this family history research-business is how strongly people want to cover up and/or deny their pasts. All I want to do is figure out where I came from before it's too late. At least this box of letters tells me a few things no one else is prepared to.

Introduction

In this blog I will be keeping track of my research progress. I will be recording personal notes and reflections on readings related to "Literacy and Family History."

For the next eight or more weeks, I will also post the stories, photos, and/or interesting documents I come across during my interviews with my great aunt, Virginia "Ginny" (Jasch) Keen, and my father and mother, Brian Jasch and Joyce (King) Jasch. Ideally, I want to discover who my paternal grandmother was/is, but many of these stories seem to have died along with my great grandmother, Nettie (Freyer) Ludington, in 1998 and my paternal grandfather, Charles Jasch, in 2005. Therefore, I will most likely center my research on family stories that were passed down to my great-aunt Ginny and those which took place during her lifetime.

I'm excited to see what I find. Last weekend's trip to Aunt Ginny's (Michigan City, Ind.) and my parents' (Fennville, Mich.) was canceled due to bad weather, so my fingers are crossed for clear roads this upcoming weekend!