Written 2014-05-26 Memorial Day and Grandmother Bertha Racz Memorial Day always brings back a flood of memories, of the men and women who sacrificed so much for our country. I think of Dad in his army uniform, his head tilted just a little to the right. My sister, Maureen Duncan, brought back other memories. She …
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Mother’s Day – Mother-Daughter Banquet
Written 2014-05-07, revised 2017-06-15 Mother’s Day – Mother-Daughter Banquet As Mother’s Day is approaching this coming Sunday, my thoughts are on my mother, Helen Racy Duncan. Mom was 78 years old when she died on October 20, 2004. It is hard to believe that it has been ten years since she left us. So many …
Dad Returning Home after World War II
Written 2014-04-26 Dad's Return Home after WW II Not all of the memories from this time are so depressing. But times were different and difficult then. Maybe that was what made the good times even better. Some of these memories are extremely short, no real details, but always bringing a smile to our faces when …
My Aunt Marie Duncan
Written on 2014-04-25 My Aunt Marie Duncan For so many back in the early 19oo's, disease and death were always there, sometimes overwhelming, as in the Spanish Influenza. At other times, it would swiftly attack, taking a loved one’s life in the blink of an eye. My Aunt Marie was such a case. My grandparents …
The Spanish Influenza – 1918 – 1919
Written on 2014-04-25 The Spanish Influenza - 1918-1919 My Grandma Duncan was born in 1896, Marie Hindley. I don’t remember her ever telling us much of her early life, except that she worked in a shoe store at one time and bragged that she only read one book her entire life. I will need to …
My Grandparents’ Apartment
Written on 2014-04-23 My Grandparents’ Apartment The row homes on both sides of Locust Street were one long, continuous building. Three apartments were in each section with one doorway which led directly to the stairwell, winding up to a little landing and the front doors of the apartments. The side with my grandparents’ home was …
The “Bluff” – Pittsburgh, PA
Written on 2014-04-22 So many of my early memories circle around my Grandmother Duncan’s apartment on “The Bluff.” I swear I can still draw an accurate layout, room by room, complete with cabinets, gas space heaters in the fireplaces and even the wallpaper on those high ceiling rooms. At the time that my grandparents lived …
Cheryl’s Memories, Through the Years
Written on 2014-04-17 I have long thought about writing a journal. This would not be a diary, capturing the day to day activities. Instead it would be moments and events in my life, wandering from the present to the past and back again. I will pick and choose what I wish to include and what …
Cheryl Lynn West 