The Grandfather They Never Knew
Recently, there have been several articles written about Hiram Hagenbuch (b. 1847, d. 1897). Dying as he did, at age 50 due to typhoid fever, there has been little information to pass on to...
Tagged: Clarence Hagenbuch
Ellen Hagenbuch: Photographer
My Aunt Ellen died last February, 2018. The article Last of Their Generation described her life as a lover of family, flowers, and photography. After her death, her niece and nephew (my first cousins),...
Home Remedies
Recently my father, Mark Hagenbuch, handed me a recipe book once owned by Bessie Mae (Robbins) Sechler (b. 1888, d. 1973). It was previously in the possession of Harold Sechler (b. 1923), who is...
New Year’s “Back in the Day”
New Year’s Day is celebrated in many ways. In our family on the Montour County farm, it was a day of traditional foods: pork and sauerkraut accompanied by fresh baked bread smothered in butter...
Treat or Treat
A usual statement out of my mouth every other week is, “I have to start an article.” And, I continue by telling my wife Linda what I’m going to write about for my next...
1937 Picnic Photo Redux
In January 2015, an article about the wonderful photo taken at Knoebels Grove of the Oak Grove Church Sunday School picnic was featured. We can only imagine what it was like to have that...
Pets on the Family Tree
Most people become attached to their pets and treat them as part of the family. Several years ago when I had some graveyard experts to the family plot in Berks County, the one fellow...
Dear Diary
Along with letters, baptismal certificates, newspaper articles, old histories, and other ephemera, diaries can be a very important part of learning about past generations. Knowing this, when I retired in 2008 I purchased a...
Pennsylvania Farm Show Memories
Last week was the 101st Pennsylvania Farm Show held in Harrisburg. If you have never attended this event, you are missing out on an experience that cannot be justly understood through photographs or television....
Oak Grove Church Memories
As mentioned in other articles, family stories and genealogical nostalgia are just as important as recording names, dates, and places. Memories of growing up have brought me to the realization that there really are...
