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52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History – Commercials

May 27, 2011 By Leave a Comment

You Can Trust Your Car to the Man Who Wears the Star—the Big Bright Texaco Star!

This ad campaign had personal meaning to me as a child because my dad worked for Texaco when the ad launched in 1961. He retired in 1981 after 30 years working in an office at the Port Arthur refinery. Learn more about the history of Texaco on Wikipedia.


Fast Tube by Casper

Texaco Bracelet

Texaco bracelet.

About 52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy and History

For the third year, Amy Coffin of the We Tree Genealogy Blog has created 52 weeks of prompts for genealogy bloggers. The theme for 2011 is 52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy and History. These are shared on the Geneabloggers.com web site, hosted by Thomas MacEntee.

Week 21: Commercials. Do you remember any commercial jingles from your childhood? Share them here.

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52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History – Pets

May 1, 2011 By Leave a Comment

To say I have always LOVED animals (big and small) is an understatement. My very first pet was a tiny white poodle named Beau Jacques.

Annette and her poodle Beau Jacques

Me with my poodle Beau Jacques

A Horse Named Starshine

By high school, I had graduated from small pets to one big one — a paint horse named Starshine. I was able to board her close to my neighborhood, so I often rode her home to bathe her in the front yard.

My horse Starshine in 1971

Sitting on my horse Starshine in 1971

Kitty Goes to College

In college, I missed having animals. Senior year, I adopted a cute little black and white kitten. He lived in the dorm and went to classes with me. He was even in my senior yearbook photo.

Annette and Zapata

My senior yearbook photo in college.

Today – Never a Dull Moment

Today, my house is full of life with cats and one big dog. They all get along, most of the time

Katie kitty with a white sock

Katie and her Sock

Katie is the newest member of our family. Here she is with her favorite sock. She carries it around like a toy, so it’s no longer a white sock. It’s a gray sock.

About 52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy and History

For the third year, Amy Coffin of the We Tree Genealogy Blog has created 52 weeks of prompts for genealogy bloggers. The theme for 2011 is 52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy and History. These are shared on the Geneabloggers.com web site, hosted by Thomas MacEntee.

Week 17: Pets. Did you have any pets as a child? If so, what types and what were their names. Do you have pets now? Describe them as well. If you did not have pets, you can discuss those of neighbors or other family members.

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52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History – Restaurants

May 1, 2011 By Leave a Comment

There weren’t a lot of restaurants in the small Southeast Texas town where I grew up, but the ones that we had were wonderful places to eat with delicious food.

First on my list was Colichia’s Italian Village in Port Arthur. It was located in a house and the owners lived in the back of the house, with the restaurant in the front. I loved the spaghetti and was fascinated by the plastic grapes hanging from the ceiling. My favorite seafood restaurant was The Schooner in Nederland. They had the best red snapper. As I understand it, both restaurants are still operating.

Food on the Road

My parents and I did a lot of traveling each summer. I always looked forward to eating in new and “exotic” places, especially at the different World’s Fairs, where there was always food from all over the world.

In 1964, we traveled to New York City to go to the World’s Fair. I was only 10 years old at the time, so I don’t remember much about the fair. I do, however, remember catching a trout at the Wisconsin exhibit. There was a restaurant in the exhibit that cooked the trout for me. Yum!

Me holding a trout I caught at the 1964 World's Fair

Me holding a trout I caught at the 1964 World's Fair in New York

Annette eating the trout at the 1964 World's Fair

Eating the trout I caught at the 1964 World's Fair

About 52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy and History

For the third year, Amy Coffin of the We Tree Genealogy Blog has created 52 weeks of prompts for genealogy bloggers. The theme for 2011 is 52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy and History. These are shared on the Geneabloggers.com web site, hosted by Thomas MacEntee.

Week 16. Restaurants. What was your favorite local restaurant as a child? Where was it located, and what was your favorite meal? Did you know the staff personally? What is your favorite restaurant now?

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52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History – Sports

April 26, 2011 By 1 Comment

Football, basketball, boxing and baseball. My dad, Carl Armstrong, was good at every sport.

Newspaper Articles and Photos

1930s through 1941

Dad never talked much about the details of his athletic career, so I am just now piecing together the information from his news clippings. From what I can tell, he played all sports at Cartersville High School. In 1936, at age 16, he started playing baseball with his older brother Johnny on the Atco Village baseball team.

From the late 1930s until 1941, Dad played for the following teams, among others:

  • G-Men in Gainsville, Florida;
  • Tommies in Thomasville, South Carolina;
  • Wahoos in Miami, Florida;
  • Pioneers in Americas, Georgia; and
  • Z-Cubs in Zanesville, Ohio.

The War Years

With the attack on the morning of December 7, 1941, Dad’s life took an unexpected turn, much like the lives of many young American men. Dad enlisted in the Army Air Force on December 11, 1941. He spent the war years in the states as a drill sergeant, playing baseball and basketball. From his scrapbook, I’ve discovered that he was stationed in San Marcos, at Tyndall Air Force Base and Keesler Air Force Base. He was discharged on December 10, 1945, from Maxwell Field in Alabama.

San Marcos Navigation School, 1944. (Carl Armstrong - back row, 2nd from left)

After the War

After the war, Dad continued to play baseball for the following teams:

  • Smokers, Tampa, Florida
  • Fliers, Pensacola, Florida
  • Seaporters, Helena, Arkansas
  • Tigers, Augusta, Georgia
  • Clippers, Port Chester, New York
  • Lakers, Lake Charles, Louisiana

Baseball Card

As a member of the Tampa Smokers in 1946, Dad played baseball in Cuba. Here’s his baseball card:

Carl Armstrong - 1946 Propagandas Monteil Los Reyes del Deporte

Carl Armstrong - Cuban Baseball Card - 1946 Propagandas Monteil Los Reyes del Deporte

More Information

About 52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy and History

For the third year, Amy Coffin of the We Tree Genealogy Blog has created 52 weeks of prompts for genealogy bloggers. The theme for 2011 is 52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy and History. These are shared on the Geneabloggers.com web site, hosted by Thomas MacEntee.

Week 15: Sports. Did you have a favorite sports team as a child? If so, which one and why. Did your parents follow the same teams? Do you still support the same teams?

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52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History – Movies

March 27, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Movies are wonderful — they take us to exotic and faraway places, introduce us to fascinating people (both real and fictional), and tell us stories from the past, present and future. I love movies and have discovered that so did the people in my family tree!

West of the Water Tower

This 1923 or 1924 photo of a movie theatre showing West of the Water Tower came from my grandparents' photo albums. My guess is that it was taken in front of the theatre in Vinton, Louisiana.

West of the Water Tower (1923)

Source: Janiss Garza, Rovi, New York Times. Adrian Plummer (Ernest Torrence) is a narrow-minded preacher; Charles Chew, the richest man in the town (George Fawcett), is a confirmed atheist. So when Plummer’s son Guy (Broadway star Glenn Hughes) and Chew’s daughter Bee (May McAvoy) fall in love, neither family is happy about the union. Cod Dugan (Riley Hatch), who runs the local poolroom, fed up with Plummer’s lectures, decides to get back at the preacher. He takes the young couple to a squire in another town who marries them. However, Dugan never bothers to pick up the marriage certificate. When Bee is about to have a baby and the couple can’t prove they are married, scandal rocks the town. Bee goes away to have the child, but Guy stays behind and braves the taunts, even when his father is forced to resign his pulpit. Guy is instrumental in getting a highway built through town, and when the squire tracks him down with the marriage certificate, all is forgiven.

More Information about West of the Water Tower on IMDb.com

About 52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy and History

For the third year, Amy Coffin of the We Tree Genealogy Blog has created 52 weeks of prompts for genealogy bloggers. The theme for 2011 is 52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy and History. These are shared on the Geneabloggers.com web site, hosted by Thomas MacEntee.

Week 12: Movies. Did (or do you still) see many movies? Describe your favorites. Where did you see these films? Is the theater still there, or is there something else in its place?

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