Joan (Schiavon) Huesca – Page 2 – Many Branches, One Tree

Daily Life in 1960s Mexico City

Flickr images, Courtesy Michael McCullough The three years my family spent in Mexico City before moving to California in the mid-1960s gave my sisters and me the opportunity to get to know our paternal relatives and learn my father’s native language and culture. I have often thought that if every young person had the … Continue reading

Those Places Thursday: Abuelita’s World

Moorish Kiosk, The Alameda Park, Mexico City. By Ulisesmorales (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons My grandmother, Catalina (Perrotin) Huesca, lived in a small one bedroom flat at 145-B Carpio Street, in the Santa Maria la Ribera neighborhood. The neighborhood, or colonia, was the oldest in the Federal District. Its centerpiece, just a block from my grandmother’s … Continue reading

Family Recipe Friday: My Mother’s Bread Pudding

Joan Joyce (Schiavon) Huesca (1928 – 1987) Bread Pudding Wikipedia Commons Image, commons.wikepedia.org Bread pudding in our house was a treat for us – and a thrifty dessert. My mother, a child of the Great Depression, knew how to stretch ingredients for our family of six. I believe this recipe came from a 1950s series … Continue reading

Treasure Chest Thursday: The Lady Plate

My mother, Joan (Schiavon) Huesca used to say that my grandmother, Alice (McGinnis) Schiavon, was her own best customer when it came to their Chicago antiques business, Chatham Galleries. The Lady Plate, signed by the artist Dapoigny and undated, was with us so long, she was practically a beloved member of our family. One … Continue reading

Workday Wednesday: Going into the Antiques Business

Alice Gaffney (McGinnis) Schiavon (1895 – 1963) Joan Joyce (Schiavon) Huesca (1928 – 1987) Having amassed a sizable amount of furniture and antiques during her European travels to add to her already large collections, my grandmother, Alice (McGinnis) Schiavon, now needed a place to put them. Invitation to and newspaper article about the … Continue reading

Travel Tuesday: Homeward Bound on the Queen Elizabeth

Joan Joyce (Schiavon) Huesca (1928 – 1987) Alice Gaffney (McGinnis) Schiavon (1895 – 1963) From Cherbourg to New York aboard the R.M.S. Queen Elizabeth, September 29 – October 4, 1950 On Friday, September 29, 1950, my mother and my grandmother, Joan and Alice (McGinnis) Schiavon, boarded the R.M.S. Queen Elizabeth at Cherbourg, France, bound for New York City. … Continue reading

Matrilineal Monday: Falling in Love with Europe

Joan Joyce (Schiavon) Huesca (1928 – 1987) Alice Gaffney (McGinnis) Schiavon (1895 – 1963) European Tour – August 15 – October 4, 1950 Though my mother initially had not wanted to go to Europe, she was soon mesmerized by the fascinating people and whirlwind activities on board the luxury oceanliner H.M.S. Queen Mary … Continue reading

Those Places Thursday: Reluctant Traveler

Joan Joyce (Schiavon) Huesca (1928 – 1987) Aboard the R.M.S. Queen Mary, August 15, 1950, New York to Southampton My mother’s passport photo, 1950 My mother did not relish the idea of going to Europe, especially with her mother, Alice (McGinnis) Schiavon. But in the summer of 1950, she had no better plans. The … Continue reading

Talented Tuesday: Our Chinese “Auntie”

The Very Talented Miss Margaret Yu Margaret Yu, far right, circa 1950. I am not sure where this photo was taken or whether the people with her were family members or friends. My mother, Joan Joyce (Schiavon) Huesca met Margaret Yu while both were attending Saint Francis College in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Margaret was an exchange … Continue reading

Matrilineal Monday: College Girl

Joan Joyce (Schiavon) Huesca (1928 – 1987) My mother graduated from Aquinas High School in 1946, a year after the Second World War ended. Joan Schiavon, Chicago, 1945 My grandparents decided my mother, Joan Joyce Schiavon, should attend college near their Chicago home, and they sent her to Saint Francis College in Indiana. While … Continue reading