You know the day is going to be an interesting one when Fish Heads pops into your brain upon starting the day. What possessed people to record something like this? I think Dr. Demento was the one who delivered it to the masses. This has to be one of the more effective songs to displace [... read more ...]
In the early 80′s, Bob & Doug McKenzie recruited Geddy Lee to sing on their “hit single” Take Off from the album Great White North. This was a staple on radio stations for a short while, but was soon forgotten and is now rarely heard. (Unlike their rendition of Twelve Days of Christmas which still [... read more ...]
Tracing the “Kelly” surname back from my particular branch of the family tree will lead you to St. Joseph’s Catholic Cemetery near Bancroft, Nebraska. This is where my great-great grandfather is buried, along with several other family members. Images for all headstones at this cemetery can be found on the NebraskaGravestones.org website. Michael [... read more ...]
Two of my grandparents are buried at Evergreen Memorial Park in Omaha, Nebraska. John W. Obteshka ( b. 1916 d. 1991 ) Dorothy Mae Street ( b. 1911 d. 2006 ) Evergreen Memorial Park is located at 2300 S. 78th Street, Omaha, NE, 68124. From Google Maps: View Larger Map
Four different family members are buried at Westlawn-Hillcrest Memorial Park in Omaha, Nebraska. It is interesting to note that the birth year for William Street is listed on his headstone as being 1878, which is two years earlier than indicated on other source documents. David Theodore Boese ( b. 1901 d. 1990 ) [... read more ...]
One of my uncles is buried at the Baltimore Pike Cemetery in Cincinnati, Ohio. Robert W. Kelly ( b. 1931 d. 1999 ) Baltimore Pike Cemetery is located at 3200 Costello Avenue, Cincinnati, OH, 45211. From Google Maps: View Larger Map
All holidays trigger nostalgic memories for me, but this is especially true when it comes to Halloween. Couldn’t tell you why, but sitting down to watch the original Halloween slasher movie — which is still a “must” every year at this time — will essentially transport me back to an autumn-in-the-late-70′s frame of mind. I [... read more ...]
I remember seeing “Meatballs” at a drive-in theater during the late 70′s. Apparently film critics didn’t appreciate the incredible underlying complexity of this masterpiece in the same way I did. But then again, eleven-year-old boys were able to see artistic merit in anything that involved hot-dog eating contests and characters with “very active glands”. Dedicated [... read more ...]
Another staple from MTV in the early eighties, and indeed another tune that gets stuck in my head easily.
This video from 1982 popped into my head and I have no idea what triggered it. In fact, I don’t even think they play this song on the 80′s radio station anymore. Press “play” on the video below and see if you don’t have the same reaction to it that I did. I immediately recognized [... read more ...]
Some songs are timeless. And then we have “Electric Avenue” by Eddy Grant. No doubt about it, this song is wholeheartedly stuck in 1984. Of course, it does have some charm, as it has been stuck in my head ever since I first heard/saw it on MTV. A must have for any 80′s music collection.
I am one of those people who find the iPad to be more of a novelty than a real productivity tool. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy having one and use it on a daily basis. But my use is generally restricted to three activities: (A) reading email; (B) checking facebook; and (C) reading electronic [... read more ...]
I know it’s not a stretch to remember this one, as almost everyone over the age of 30 can sing it in its entirety. Nonetheless, it doesn’t exactly get a lot of airplay these days. I would guess that a lot of people have this recording somewhere in their collection. Not everyone will admit it, [... read more ...]
If you were a kid in the 70′s, chances are a lot of your “real” education came from the School House Rock television spots. Conjunctions, adjectives, adverbs… all of those definitions were firmly planted in our heads because of Saturday-morning TV. Do you remember how a bill becomes a law? I’ll bet you do! So [... read more ...]
UPDATE (February 10, 2011) — I have posted a followup article ( Facebook Share Button Revisited ) that provides links to an alternative solution for this problem, and also discusses the fact that facebook is apparently “discouraging” further use of the share button. The share button provided by facebook is an excellent tool [... read more ...]
While taking a lengthy roadtrip at the beginning of the year, I spent a lot of time listening to “Sirius 70s at 7″ and this song caused a major flashback for me. I hadn’t heard it since I was about eight years old, but was still able to remember the majority of it. Cheesy as [... read more ...]
Off the 1978 album of the same name, the song hit #4 in June 1978. The song was nominated for Song of the Year, but lost out to Billy Joel’s “Just The Way You Are”. Chuck plays a brass instrument that resembles a trumpet, but is actually called a “flugelhorn”.
This is a photograph of my great-great grandfather Michael Kelly with (I assume) his first three children. My best guess is that it was taken in the late 1890′s. Handwritten notes on the back of the photograph list four names: Grandfather Kelly “Mike”, Aunt Nell, Dad Kelly (J.R.), Aunt Jane (standing). From everything I have [... read more ...]
This is my great-grandfather’s security badge from the early 1940′s. He worked at the Jubilee Manufacturing Company, which was apparently a defense contractor in Omaha, Nebraska. The badge consists of a round piece of metal with a “safety pin” fastener on the back. The image is considerably larger than the actual badge, which only measures [... read more ...]
This is the WW1 draft registration card for William Alexander Obteshka (exempt because he was not a US citizen). This document was apparently filled out on 5 Jun 1917. William Street claims that he was born 3 Jul 1889. His age at the time of registration was 28 years. He claims to be [... read more ...]
These census documents contain information about the Obteshka household in Omaha, Nebraska, during the early part of the 20th century. The handwriting on these forms is sometimes difficult to read. January 1920 – Omaha City, Douglas, Nebraska According to the 1920 census, William Obteshka (30), Parska (26), Alex (4), and John (3) lived [... read more ...]
My grandfather’s “Certificate of Delayed Birth Registration”, apparently filed in June 1948 when he was about 46 years old. His birth is declared to be October 27, 1901, having taken place in South Omaha, Douglas County, Nebraska. His father’s name is listed as Henry Boese (known to have used the last name Base upon arrival [... read more ...]
Deciphering the information about my great grandparents in this branch of the tree is proving to be quite the challenge. My understanding from family members is that my great grandfather’s surname was “Boese” when he immigrated from Germany. When they came to the US, they changed their name to “Base” (which is pronounced the same [... read more ...]
My grandmother’s birth certificate, documenting her birth on October 30, 1902 in Madison Township, Fremont County, Iowa. Her father is listed as Willis E. Ackley, and her mother is listed as Mary Coppage. Document courtesy of Virginia Hansen. The original source documents are provided below. Most browsers will let you “right-click” on these [... read more ...]
These census documents provide information about the household in which my maternal grandmother was raised. The fist document is from the US Census in 1920. The second document is from the Iowa State Census in 1925. April 1920 – Madison Township, Fremont, Iowa The United States census from April 1920 shows Willis Ackley [... read more ...]
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