Annelies Clauson taught me the German language. She was a high school teacher of great renown in my home town, having singlehandedly created and run an exchange program that brought more than 1000 German and American kids into each other's homes, schools and lives. More
It was an awkward phone call. My future father-in-law was on the line with a question, "are you related to Wild Bill?" Er, ah. The question was not at all expected. "Yes," I answered. "He was my great-great-grandfather." The answer could
I've been the willing recipient of many shoeboxes of old photos collected through a couple lines of ancestors. The photos date back to the 19th century, some to the early days of photography. One very old album came through my maternal grandmother to me. I've been able to
A hundred years ago today the German army mobilized and World War ensued. A flurry of diplomatic efforts to stave off war had been futile. Expectations and motivations of the European powers were underestimated by every party. Misunderstanding was heaped upon misunderstanding, blunders upon blunders, and