Travel Tuesday: The Exotic and the Mundane in Mexico City

Benita (McGinnis) McCormick (1889 – 1984) Phillip Columbus McCormick (1892 – 1981) Gilbert Cayetano Huesca (1915 – 2009) Joan Joyce (Schiavon) Huesca (1928 – 1987) From the Many Branches, One Tree treasure chest, this 1966 photograph celebrates the spring visit of my great-uncle-and-aunt, Phil and Benita (McGinnis) McCormick, to Mexico City, where our family was living at the time. … Continue reading "Travel Tuesday: The Exotic and the Mundane in Mexico City"

Not-So-Wordless Wednesday: It’s All Relative

Phillip Eugene “Bud” McCormick (1927 – 2004) Benita Jane “Janie” (McCormick) Olson  (1927 – 2011) Joan (Schiavon) Huesca (1928 – 1987) My great-aunt “Detty,” or Benita (McGinnis) McCormick, and her younger sister (my grandmother, Alice (McGinnis) Schiavon), lived several blocks apart on the South side of Chicago, both from each other and from their mother, Mary Jane (Gaffney) … Continue reading "Not-So-Wordless Wednesday: It’s All Relative"

The Day JFK Was Shot

I was a third grader at Saint Philip Neri Elementary Schoolin Chicago, Illinois, when the principal’s voice came over the public address system, announcing that President John F. Kennedy had been shot in Dallas.  She asked all the classes to stop what they were doing and join in prayer for our president.  It was just … Continue reading "The Day JFK Was Shot"

Amanuensis Monday: The Astor Fire, Part 7 – Epilogue: I Will Remember

Joan (Schiavon) Huesca (1928 – 1987) Enrique Huesca (1909 – 2003) Mercedes (Formento) Huesca (1924 – 2004) Eduardo Huesca (1947 –  ) Introduction:  In the spring of 1978, my father, Gilbert Huesca, sent my mother, Joan Huesca, then 49, on a flight to Mexico City to visit his family while he stayed behind in California to tend to business … Continue reading "Amanuensis Monday: The Astor Fire, Part 7 – Epilogue: I Will Remember"