How Can You Help Haiti Earthquake Victims ?

Are you wondering what you can do to help people in Haiti? We’ve all heard so much about the unbelievable devastation , and there are so many people trying to collect money to help, you’re probably thinking: “Who can I trust?” Lots of people have started collections on their own, but sometimes it’s better to stick to what you know is trustworthy and reliable. 

 I’ve officially taken on the role of publicity chair for our United Methodist Women’s group at church, although I’ve been doing publicity work for some time without the title!  I grew up in the Lutheran Church, but I’m now a United Methodist (is there such a thing as a religion of convenience?), because when we moved to Boonville, we learned the nearest Lutheran Church was about 30 miles away.

Hang on…we’ll get to the point soon!   

So, even though I sometimes find myself thinking “Lutheran Women” instead of “United Methodist Women,”  I’m committed to our women’s fellowship and friendship, and of course, missions.   

Boonville UMW President Kay Skjellerup (center) checks supplies for health kits, during regular monthly meeting January 20. Looking on are Kathy Crofoot, left, and Debbie Hayes.

  One of the  projects  we’ve done regularly over the years is make health kits for UMCOR (the United Methodist Committee on Relief), especially during emergencies, such as the most recent one in Haiti. I’ve attached a Word document of an article I submitted to our local newspaper about our latest effort on this behalf. I’m not sure this will work, but I hope you can read it (please be patient – it may take a while). Click here:  Health Kits a Tradition for Local Women

If you can’t connect – in a nutshell – it tells about making health kits for UMCOR, one of the top-ranked relief efforts in the country. We collect several basic hygiene items, which are put together in a kit. They’re then sent wherever needed – in this case it will be to Haiti. 

UMCOR claims, “Every dollar you give to UMCOR goes to the program you designate.  UMCOR is 100% efficient.”  Not many agencies can make that claim.  

Bottom line: If you’d like to send a monetary donation to help our United Methodist Women make health kits, please send a check payable to UMW, with “Health Kits” on the memo line, to 105 Ann Street, Boonville, NY 13309; or if you’d like to send a donation directly to UMCOR, please go to  www.umcor.org  for information and instructions.

More Family Found

Hello once again! Winter’s getting a bit old, and I’m beginning to feel I need to get out more often. Watching the feisty little chickadees and the agressive woodpeckers cavorting and jostling at the birdfeeder is fun for a short time, but I’m thinking I need a change of scenery. That doesn’t mean I haven’t been busy. I’m on this computer constantly!

This blog and the one I maintain for the Boonville Historical Club need regular updating, and my latest project is trying to design a website for our United Methodist Women. I’ll be back to writing more often for our hometown community newspaper, The Boonville Herald (see link on the sidebar), and presently  have about four stories I’m working on, plus my regular weekly column.

The view from my kitchen window!

This past Monday morning, January 18, the news director of the local radio station  interviewed me on  the phone  about the Boonville Historical Club’s projects: collecting reading material, personal hygiene articles, and foodstuffs for our two “adopted” platoons. He wasn’t sure when it would be on the radio, but possibly toward the end of the week. Radio interviews are something I’ve done before, but I always hate hearing myself later. (See  www.boonvillehistoricalclub.wordpress.com for more details.)

While  busy with volunteer work for our church (I’m also on the administrative council) and the historical club, I continue to search for distant cousins and other relatives. It’s absolutely amazing how many people with the last name Druck have become my FaceBook friends. I’m not sure how or if we’re all related, but I know a lot of them are.  There are lots of descendants of the original York County immigrant, who now live in Kentucky, Ohio, and Indiana, and even parts of California and Texas.  If your surname is Druck, and you’re not of Jewish heritage, we’re probably related. The Jewish Drucks came over to the U.S. later, some of them from Poland, according to what I’ve read.

And speaking of Drucks in Ohio, I recently communicated with a Ms Liza Druck, which coincidentally was my paternal grandmother’s married name. Her maiden name was Eliza Stump, but she was called Liza. What a small world. Liza’s father is Donald Edward Druck, Jr., son of Donald Edward Druck Sr., who died in 1959. He was married to Hazel Yunker. Her great-grandfather was Edward F. Druck, married to Artie M. Wright.  According to Liza, Edward F.’s parents were Fredrick Druck and Mary Linkman. “And this is as far as I’ve gotten on the Druck side,” says Liza. She writes, “From what I’ve  found on ancestry.com, Edward F. Druck was born in Cincinnati but lived most of his life across the river in Campbell County, Kentucky, where my father and grandfather grew up.”

 Can anyone shed any light on this line and help Liza? I’m sure that we’re connected; I just haven’t figured it out yet.

One Druck that is related is Michael Hoover, who found this blogsite and contacted me to tell me that his grandmother was Viola Druck Hoover.  During a recent phone call with Mike, he also told me about some relatively unknown Druck burial sites. Mike graciously offered to guide me to these sites next time I’m in York County, and I fully intend to take him up on his offer. He also offered to share photos and other information about his grandmother’s line. So, thanks to Mike, who it turns out is about a fifth cousin, once removed, I’ll be adding still more data to my collection of Druck family history. If anyone else out there would like to share, I’d be happy to hear from you.

There's plenty to eat for everyone!

Digital Photo Frame is a Hit!

 A digital photo frame was the highlight of our Saturday afternoon visit with my parents at their York Township home over New Year’s weekend. 

 

My sister Bobbi and her husband Mike joined us for lunch, after which our nephew Joe, his wife, Jo, and two of their three boys, Alec and Sam (Bailey was at wrestling practice) stopped in with a special Christmas gift for Maw-maw and Pap-paw Druck: a digital photo frame. It was a unique gift, as it contained many photos that some of the kids and grandkids had contributed (some from long  years ago). Thanks to Joe for coming up with the idea and for taking the time to download all the photos.  Pap-paw Druck was fascinated by this latest technology, and to be honest – so was I!    

 

(In the photo above, Pap-paw and Mam-maw – Ben and Hazel  – Druck,  with Bobbi  Druck Kehr, kneeling,  and in back, left to right, Joe Druck, Judy Druck Routson, Mike Kehr, and Keith Routson. On the table at left is the digital photo frame. If you look closely, you’ll see the photo that was onscreen when this picture was taken – their granddaughter Kathi Geesey Feese, with her husband Chris and son Ryan, vacationing in Costa Rico.)

 A digital photo screen is somewhat like a small computer screen. You download digital photos (thousands of them), and then you can watch a slide show of all the photos moving across the screen. I’d love to have one myself, since I have more photos on my computer and on CDs than I know what to do with. As usual, lunch was wonderful. It was a delightful visit, and we all enjoyed the photos.  But the time spent with family was much too short.        

Another shot of Pap-paw and Mam-maw, here with nephew Joe Druck, and Joe's wife, Mary Jo, who took the other photo.

Later Saturday afternoon, we visited an aunt of Keith’s and a cousin and her family in York. We hadn’t seen them in many years. His Aunt Phyllis is the widow of Keith’s dad’s brother, Bob Routson, who passed away about 14 years ago. Their daughter Sheri is married with two teenage daughters, whom we had never even met before! We had a nice visit, before heading back to Gettysburg for the evening.     

Snowstorms seem to be the usual routine on our travels through southern New York State during the winter, and driving home Sunday evening was no different. In about the same area where we had run into the fluffy white stuff Thursday on the way south, we were again caught in the midst of a snowstorm. Visibility was near zilch, and the roads were slick, but we finally made it home safely.  

After sitting in the car most of the day and driving through blinding snow, I’m in no hurry to travel anywhere soon. 

Aunt Phyllis Routson with her daughter Sheri Routson Parker, Sheri's husband, Philip, and their daughters Kristin, left, and Jessica.

It’s Old News, but…

The expression “old news” is an oxymoron. If it’s old, how can it be new?  But here I am anyway, behind schedule, bringing you belated news about the holidays.  

By now, most everyone has put away Christmas decorations and is thinking of the next observance: Ground Hog’s Day, Valentine’s Day, maybe the Spring Solstice? As I write this blog, though, I’m still thinking of our Christmas festivities. Well, actually there weren’t many festivities.   

Morgan and Brigitta hamming it up for the camera!

    Keith and I observed Christmas a little late this year. Except for an enjoyable afternoon get-together with the Boonville Herald staff and the Christmas Eve worship service at church, our celebration here in the snow-covered pines was uneventful.   

Dan concentrates during a Trivial Pursuit game

As explained in my last post, we decided to delay our usual holiday trip to Pennsylvania until after Christmas weekend. So we actually celebrated the coming of 2010 before we held our usual family Christmas gathering.     

We stayed with daughter Kristina at her Gettysburg home, and she once again outdid herself as hostess for a wonderful New Year’s Day brunch. Following a sumptuous meal that featured everything from traditional breakfast foods – like Kris’s tasty homemade French toast – to hotdogs and sauerkraut and lots of delicious sugary treats, we traded gifts with Kris and our granddaughter Brigitta (home from college), as well as future son-in-law Dan; our son and daughter-in-law Brian and Diane, and their two children, our grandchildren Joshua (also home on college break) and Morgan; and daughter Amy and her fiancé John. We missed our Florida family: daughter Kathi, her husband Chris, and our grandson Ryan, who enjoyed the holiday at home.     

Josh plays guitar, along with a computerized game, which I won't even try to explain! In background: his mom and dad, Diane and Brian.

We don’t get too many opportunities to spend the greater part of a day with family, so it was a joyous occasion. Watching the younger generation try to keep up with the animated Guitar Hero X-Box pros playing Beetles tunes was a fun treat (entertainment for the younger set is a whole lot different from it was in my teenage years!) Towards evening, some of us – mostly the older generation – tested our skills during a hilarious game of Trivial Pursuit. It’s always a lot of fun to play the game with Kris and Dan, who have to be two of the smartest people I know! I love this old game, but it’s frustrating sometimes to realize just how poor my memory has become!     

Stop by again soon for news of a special  Christmas gift for two special people! 

Kris tries for a piece of the pie during our Trivial Pursuit challenge!

Teaching an Old Dog New Tricks

There’s no truth to that old adage, “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.”  Let me explain.

Several months ago my husband and I  decided to forego the usual trip to Pennsylvania over Christmas weekend, for several reasons. We planned, instead, to head south for the  New Year’s celebration with family in York and Adams Counties and trade Christmas gifts with kids and grandkids on New Year’s Day.

We had no sooner arrived and unloaded the car at the home of Daughter Number 1 in Gettysburg on Thursday evening, December 31, when we headed out to a restaurant/bar called Gettysburg Eddie’s. This unique eatery  honors  a native son, a one-time famous left-handed pitcher and 1946 Baseball Hall of Famer named Edward Stewart Plank (1875-1926).

 Not only did Kris treat us to dinner there;  she and her fiance Dan introduced us to a new recreational activity called Buzztime Trivia. 

Buzztime Trivia is an interactive electronic game that’s played in selected restaurants and bars across the country, and Kris and Dan are devoted fans. In fact, they’re listed among  the top five scorers at Gettysburg Eddies. I’ve always been a Trivial Pursuit board game aficionado, but this was the first time I’d had to test my hand-eye coordination along with my trivia knowledge.

But even a senior citizen like me can learn to play Buzztime Trivia. You play against your friends or family at your table (in our case it included Dan’s parents), or against other individuals in the same restaurant/bar in which you’re sitting. Or, they might be in another establishment across town, or anywhere in the country. It took several games to get coordinated,  but eventually I caught on. While watching the questions appear on an overhead screen, you push a button on a hand-held device for the correct answer. Your score depends on speed, as well as accuracy. It was a fun way to spend New Year’s Eve, and I had been looking forward to it. 

As to Gettysburg Eddie – well, that’s another story. In the meantime, if you’d like to learn about this unique  restaurant, Buzztime Trivia,  or the baseball pitcher, visit www.gettysburgeddies.com. Click on the link on the left-hand side – “About Eddie Plank” –  for more on the farm boy who scored big time in the major league.  

Stop by again soon for news of our New Year’s Day/belated Christmas celebration.