"...in all of us there is a hunger, marrow deep, to know our heritage-
to know who we are and where we have come
from." Alex Haley
I
was privileged to know my grandparents. I spent hours with each
of them, listening as they described life in the early part of
the 20th century. They told me of their early joys and sorrows,
and about loved ones who had gone on before, those whom I had
never met.
Rose
Bertand Lang and Ariel Watson Billings in 1969
My
Grandma Lang told me about Calumet, Michigan, and the miners,
of being a young French-Canadian girl living in the "big
house" with her Irish husband and his large family. She
spoke of the Great Depression and taught me how to make Cornish
pasties. My Grandma Billings told me about her mother's tragic
life: after bearing 10
children in as many years (with only 2 who survived), she
died at 30. She spoke lovingly of her tough German-speaking
grandmother, Eliza Schmachtenberger, and her grandpa Hiram
Rushton and told me wonderful stories of her new life with
them upon the death of her mother.
Grandma
and Grandpa Lang were married 47 years when he died in 1967.
When my Grandfather Billings died in 1975, he and my Grandma
Ariel had celebrated 55 years together. Despite many years
with their men, both grandmothers often spoke of their love
for them. They often told me stories of how they met their
mates and fondly remembered anecdotes about their early years
of marriage.
My
grandfather Billings also told me stories. Along with the
wild tales about wrestling bears in his youth, he told me
again and again how he met his special girl and pulled her
hair in the picture show. He knew when he met her that she
was the one for him.
William & Ariel Billings with Rose & Tom Lang
at my parents' wedding, September 14, 1955
My
grandparents and their tales of the past helped me to understand
myself and my place in the world. I want to preserve the memories,
stories, and pictures of these special people and their parents
and grandparents for future generations who never met them. This
site allows me to display the many ancestors who are a part of
my heritage, for myself and for the new friends and family I have
met and continue to meet on my journey into the past.
