The Thesis of Henrietta (yes, that Henrietta)

Sister Kathleen found Grandma Ryall's master's thesis, on Google Books.  Is that cool or what?

If you want to read it, click here.


Do you suppose this could be a photograph of Grandpa?  Seems doubtful to me (wasn't he in France at this time?) but that nose looks sharp enough.

Note (added later): We have found no evidence that Grandma actually got a master's. This paper may have been a thesis paper, but we don't believe anymore that it was her master's thesis.

Blog Roll Call

It has been suggested that the extended Ryall family has a number of blogs in its lists.  If you'd like me to post your blog here, please write me and let me know the URL.  I'd love to see the photo sites mentioned by cousins, so there's some self-interest in this request.

You may not have my email address, and I am reluctant to post it out here in the world.  Here instead is a "junk" account I own, which I do check but which -- if it gets spammed -- is easily jettisoned.  Try writing me at: bettschwere(at)yahoo.com.  

Photograph Call

(The three sisters.  I didn't get one of the four Ryall siblings.)

Some of us are back at home already; others are still traveling.  I will be updating the blog (I've got a bunch of topics to cover) but I'm aiming for one post a day for a while (if that much).

In the meantime, I need photos!  We had many cameras snapping, but I used mine mostly for those interviews (which will be forthcoming, I promise!).  Would you look through your photos and send me the best five.  Send photos of events (fireworks?) and people (candids or posed) and places (4020-7th? the gravesite? Other special places) or just plain good photos (I happen to know at least one great one of the moon on July 3rd). (And Lillie and I will have to figure out how to get me copies of the portraits she took.)

If you only have 4 to share, or have 7 - that's fine, too.

Also, I'm open to suggestions as to how to transmit the photos.  An email will only accept about 3MBs of attachments -- so you could send one email for each photo.  If you have a flickr account, I can download from there.

I can also set up a Dropbox (basically, a place in the etherweb where you secret your photos, and I come in later and pick them up, like a knothole in an ivy tree where lovers in cheap romances leave their billet doux). (Not that you might get any idea that I read cheap romances.)  But it would be easier (and less spam) to set up a Dropbox one-on-one (that is, not just a link from this blog, but through email with me) -- so let me know if you want that option.

See You All at the Hotel

Our carload is just about to leave the Twin Cities, en route to Kenosha, of course, stopping at -- among other places -- the Mars Cheese Castle along the way. I've always wanted to stop there, and now I have an excuse!

See you at Bombay Louie's tonight.

See you at the hotel, perhaps before then, but definitely after, for fireworks.

Sitting

(photos courtesy of Amazon.com, search for "lawn chair")

This thought comes a bit late in the day because many of us are already on the road, but having a few lawn chairs to sit on at the picnic would be nice.  There will be a table and benches, but when people stop eating, it's nice to have a movable, more comfortable, chair -- with a back-- to take where you might want to sit. For instance, to watch the soccer game I'm sure will happen.

That is, if someone brings a soccer ball.

I'll see if we have any to bring from the Cities. If you're still at home, and have room for a couple of chairs, could you bring them?  We wouldn't need many. There are lots of us who are still of an age to sit on the ground when they need to.

In the interests of nostalgic posterity...

I am planning to take a portrait photograph of everyone at the reunion, and ask each person the same two questions (probably at the picnic).  I don't know what the questions will be yet.  If you think of something (and this goes for those blog-followers who won't be at the reunion, too) please let me know.  I'd like the questions to be fun, but also illuminate who the person is, now, in July 2010.

Road Construction Warning

There is road construction on Wisconsin 142, northwest of Kenosha (apparently where it meets I-94 coming down from Milwaukee).  Your guess is as good as mine whether this will affect anyone driving in from the north or west - the webpage description of the work doesn't illuminate a lot for me.

Wisconsin Department of Transportation Road Construction