Like Yogi, I had to replace my lawn mower this year, and picked out a 22 inch Craftsman from Sears. I really liked the Toros, but couldn't justify the expense to myself as I can cut my lawn in only 40 minutes. The important features are that it is self-propelled and has a rear bagger. My next door neighbor, Pete, is a bit older and has a riding mower, but he has more grass. When we put the pool in ten years ago, the best thing about it is that it cut the lawn mowing time in half.

Batman pulled over by the police..

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-17564941

My aunt sent me this regarding the use of a cell phone while fueling up:

In the first case, the phone was placed on the car's trunk lid during fueling; it rang and the ensuing fire destroyed the car and the gasoline pump.

In the second, an individual suffered severe burns to their face when fumes ignited as they answered a call while refueling their car!

And in the third, an individual suffered burns to the thigh and groin as fumes ignited when the phone, which was in their pocket, rang while they were fueling their car.

For those of you who are interested, the Census Bureau is apparently making its records from 1940 available online. I think it's individua records for the geneology minded. Here's the story link:

http://openchannel.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2...-census-records

Thanks for that heads-up, oli.

For anyone doing genealogical research (I do some) this is a big event. Generally these records stay sealed for 72 years, so it would normally be another few years or so before the 1940 census records are available to someone like me.

I'd love to see if my parents are on the records together. They married April 13, 1940, and a week after most of the census records were collected.

The downside is the records cannot be accessed (yet) by name. You'd have to access them by street address (assuming you knew your ancestors' addresses).

Oli,

I was doing research a number of years ago thru Ellis Island and actually found my grandparents records (both sides of my family)and purchased the manifest of my grandparents and my father (who was just a little boy) from Italy to Ellis Island. I even got pictures of the ship they sailed on.

The manifest was hand written (also comes typed) and asks several questions. One of the questions was "how much money do you have on you?" My grandfather had $25. Can you imagine? I made up a little album of those type of things and gave it to my father one Christmas. He LOVED it.

Anyway, I saved the link to my favorites and will do more follow-up research. Thanks for the link.


TIS

The Ellis Island site is a real gift, isn't it? My kids have used tons of stuff from there for research papers, and it's fun to just go on and browse.

Sinc we are discussing this, I'd like to propose a scenario. Suppose that back during the era when our great-granparents and grandparents came here from Italy, what if we had the media we have today: newspaper, the web, cable TV, radio, and 24/7 news. Would our ancestors have been raked over the coals like some in the media rake immigrants (legal or illegal) today? Afterall, how many of them spoke english?; how many jobs were they taking from real Americans?; were they still loyal to Italy?: what about that strange food?; they all stick together in those ghettos; and what about the Mafia?

I wonder.

They would have been raked over very hot coals, but it's hard take today's media and project it onto a culture over 100 years ago. So many other things would be different. But it is an interesting premise; kind of like a Jules Verne Time Machine....."Today, another boat load of dirty, illiterate Italian immigrants landed on Ellis Island. There to greet them were hundreds of 1st generation Americans carrying signs that read, "Go home you Guinea Slobs" and "Don't Oil our Soil". Fights broke out and one man was thrown in the harbor water...."

I'm plowing through the records to find my dad's family. Found one of his friends. It' tedious.

I started looking thru as well but from what I understand you need to go by address and not name? AND when I pull up address I get a page 1 & page 2 with no name. It's a bit confusing but I haven't totally gotten into it yet. I plan to tho.



TIS

You find the street first and its enumeration districts. Then you go to the enumeration districts, click on the book, and go through the names page by page. Each book has about 25 pages.

Well, persistence paid off. I found my grandfather and grandmother, dad, and my uncle. Now I'll start looking for my mother's parents.

Oli,

I've been playing with that site a good part of the day. I found some relatives, but didn't see my grandparents on either side which seems odd. Unless there is an easier way, I went thru all the lists in the particular city.

Then, I thought I'd go to Ancestry.com because I hadn't visited that site in years. It turns out they too have access to the same census records.

I did some general searching in other areas and found my father's military records (which they have but you must buy if you want a copy). Anyway, I probably will play around with it so more because I enjoy this type of thing.

TIS

I know the street that my mother lived on in the Bronx The first book I pulled up was 48 pages, and I only got through 11 of it before I lost patience. I think my eyes are just too tired tonight, but I definitely want to try again!

Also, the questions (ie Occupation, etc)are on the top of the page (going sideways) LOL and you have to scroll up to find questions to the answers given on the line you're reading. Know what I mean? The manifests from Ellis Island were more or less the same.

I too will continue to search because all and all, I do find it fun. I got more info from my brother tonight as far as streets my grandparents/parents lived on back in 1940.

TIS

My mom would have been 14 back in 1940, so I think that her one sister was married, but her other sister was still home. I think her aunt and cousin also lived with them at that time, although he might have been married at that point, as he was a few years older than my mom.

Edit: I found my grandparents, my mom and aunt, and my great-aunt and my mom's cousin, who all lived in the same house. I emailed the link to my brother. My only problem was that I couldn't get it to print landscape so that my mom would be able to read it.

My 2nd cousin on my dad's side is making an extensive effort to document the family's history. She located us in the census also, so we are coordinating our family history efforts. We're making sure that the 2nd and 3rd family generations know their family's history, so we are disseminating it to them and trying to get them involved in the research.

Try this Ancestry.com link (upper right where it says 1940 census). It's much easier to scroll.

Btw, I don't know if Ancestry is only temporarily giving access or not BUT it's much easier to navigate. You may have to join which costs nothing.

TIS

http://search.ancestry.com/search/?o_xid=36196&o_lid=36196&o_sch=External+Paid+Media

Ancestry.com is a wonderful site if you're interested in researching your family's genealogy. They do charge a membership fee but I'd recommend it for someone who is doing this kind of research.

They are giving free access to many of the records for ten days (from April 1 - April 10).

I just found out that my Uncle on my mother's side through marriage was born in Belfast.

Do people exchange chocolate eggs for easter or is it a British thing??

Chocolate eggs with all kinds of fillings, chocolate bunnies, colored eggs and jelly beans are packed into Easter baskets here. My favorite chocolate eggs are the coconut filled. Churches around here make their own eggs that come in several varieties and they're sold in a lot of the local stores.

(CBS/AP) VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - Two Navy pilots ejected from a fighter jet Friday, sending the unmanned plane careening into a Virginia Beach apartment complex and tearing the roof off at least one building that was engulfed in flames, officials said.

Local officials reported three injuries, including the pilot, but no deaths. Bruce Nedelka, Virginia Beach EMS division chief, said several people were being treated for smoke inhalation. CBS affiliate WTKR reports that at least five people have been taken to the hospital for treatment.

The Navy said both people on board the jet ejected before it crashed around noon and were being taken to hospitals for observation.

Nedelka said that witnesses saw fuel being dumped from the jet before it went down, and that fuel was found on buildings and vehicles in the area. He said that maneuver likely prevented what could have been a massive fireball and fire.

Re: The 1940 census. I took a while, but I found my grandparents (dad's side). How do I get it to print? I tried and get nearly a blank page. I can't print from that page. Do I HAVE to download first and then print? Also, if I do download, I get a warning box asking me if I trust this site. Anyone know? I'd really like to print it but I'm wondering if it's only for on-line view.



TIS

TIS, the page has a download button. Print from it.

So it IS safe to download from? I will give it a shot.

Thanks Oli



TIS

Thanks for the census info. I've been searching my family history but it's hard to find stuff for free. I did most of it last summer and tried to piece the information together like a detective.

http://www.findagrave.com was kind of useful.

I had Easter dinner with my wife, kids, parents, grandmother, an uncle and aunt, brother, sister-in-law, niece and nephews, ranging in ages from 7 to 97. We were tightly squeezed around a table that couldn't contain the platters of food. Most of us sat on old folding chairs from my parents' basement (painted in pastels for the holiday). The younger ones were spilling drinks, and you couldn't hear yourself think with the talking and laughter from everyone.

I'm sure I'm going to miss these times some day.

Your grandmother still going strong, Klyd? Amazing. God bless her.