Luck of the Irish

Some of our friends have gotten really serious about genealogy. For HH’s birthday last year, one of them (thank you, John S.) made up a thick notebook of HH’s family history all the way back to his relative who lived in England. I can’t imagine how many hours of work that took, but it was super detailed. Our local library is one of the best genealogy research centers in the country, and HH always says someday he’s going to dig around there, but he never does. When his brother came to visit us, though, he read through the book and went home to dig more into their family’s past.

I helped HH’s dad do a notebook for the part of their family that came from Ireland. Seems one of HH’s great-great-greats poached on a lord’s land and had to leave Ireland as a stowaway to save his skin. I haven’t been bitten by the family tree fever yet, but I know my mom’s dad, a Pedersen, and his parents moved to Wisconsin and started a dairy farm when they left Denmark. My grandmother was a Ransberger when she met him at a square dance and later married him.

Ethnicity can add interest to a person and his background. That’s why I made Ansel’s family Norwegian and why they owned a dairy farm. In Karnie’s series, Karnie’s dad’s family is Italian, so he loves to cook Sunday suppers and expects Karnie and her brother and his family to show up. There are cheese boards and pasta dishes. Her mother’s family is from England, and her mom loves to bake. Think trifles and puddings.

Heritage adds a dash of flavor to a character and his background. Since today was St. Patrick’s Day, I made corned beef with cabbage, onions, carrots, and potatoes for supper tonight–in honor of HH’s great-great something. And I’m going to start reading Murder in an Irish Village by Carlene O’Connor. I hope you had a good St. Patrick’s Day and you found your idea of a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow.