Photo: Quack, Quack

Michelle LeMaster, Gloria LeMaster & the duck, circa 1983.

Another photo cousin Mike WALSH had - in this one, my sister, Michelle, is showing off the duck that my cousin, Kellie WRIGHT had made.  That's me in the picture without a head.  The high school wrestling shirt I'm wearing places this in the 1983-84 time frame.  My cousin, Jim WRIGHT's head is barely visible behind my mom.


We had ducks and geese at our house growing up.  Because we lived out in the country, people would bring us the ducks they would buy for Easter, etc. when they realized they were not so clean and easy to take care of.  

Family Recipe Friday: Spanish Rice

My mom contributed another recipe this week: Spanish Rice.

"One of Bonnie Wright's favorite recipes that I serve to my family.   It's a good way to stretch a pound of hamburger.   Jason and Weldon like this recipe.   It's similar to a stuffed pepper except you don't get as much green pepper to eat.   I serve it with corn and/or cornbread and simple dessert."

    1/2-1 pound ground beef                                        
    1 medium onions, chopped                                       
    1/2 green pepper, chopped                                      
    1/4 cup oils                                                   
    1 1/2 cups minute rice, uncooked                               
    1 8-ounce can tomato sauce                                     
    1 8-ounce can water                                            
    2 tablespoons sugar                                            
    Chili powder to taste                                          
    1/2 teaspoon salt                                              
    1/4 teaspoon pepper                   
                         
Cook ground beef, onion, and green pepper in oil until meat is not longer pink.  Add rice and cook until brown.   Drain grease if necessary.   Add remaining ingredients.   Cover and simmer 5 minutes.

Family Recipe Friday – is an opportunity to share your family recipes with fellow bloggers and foodies alike. Whether it’s an old-fashioned recipe passed down through generations, a recipe uncovered through your family history research, or a discovered recipe that embraces your ancestral heritage share them on Family Recipe Friday. This series was suggested by Lynn Palermo of The Armchair Genealogist.

Fearless Females: Unexpected Death

March 11 — Did you have any female ancestors who died young or from tragic or unexpected circumstances? Describe and how did this affect the family?

Ellen (King) Wright, standing, third from right

Ellen (KING) WRIGHT, my maternal 2nd-great grandmother, died on Christmas Eve in 1913 at the age of 45.  The official cause of death was mitral regurgitation.  Her obituary states :

From: Alexandria, IN Times-Tribune, December 26, 1913

Mrs. John Wright, age 45 years, passed away after several years illness of heart trouble.  Mrs. Wright had been a sufferer from heart trouble for years and six weeks ago the case developed into a leakage of the heart.   She is survived by a husband and two sons, Virgil and Chester, age 17 and 18.  James King and Ben King, residing at Orestes, are brothers of the deceased, and Mrs. Mary Young of Orestes, is a sister.  The funeral will occur from the country home four miles southwest of the city tommorrow morning at 10:30 o'clock and burial will be made in the Odd Fellows cemetery.

 The story I've been told was that my great-grandfather, Virgil, didn't like to celebrate Christmas as an adult because of the memories of the death of his mother.  I can understand why.


In writing this post, I realized that I don't really have a good picture of her.  The picture above is a gathering of the King side of the family, I believe.


Once again, in honor of National Women’s History Month, Lisa Alzo of The Accidental Genealogist blog presents Fearless Females: 31 Blogging Prompts to Celebrate Women’s History Month.