History will always be a fascination for me

 I started my day doing the usual -- quick breakfast of coffee and toast while I surfed the net, read the paper, and did the crossword online. Then it was off to work on a mini square. That was a tad harder than I thought it was going to be but my new paperback book that I ordered arrived so I am determined to hang in there and just do one design at a time.  The one on the left was my second attempt but it's not exactly 4" square like it's supposed to be. But oh well...

The maintenance guy came and replaced an outlet for me and after he left, I fixed a quick lunch and worked another crossword. (with paper and pencil)  The mailman brought me two books today. The 501 quilts book and a big ole fat crossword puzzle book with spiral binding and easy to read pages. Am excited to get busy on that.

My friend, Mary Gaboury (a Catholic) had asked me who my god parents were when I mentioned to her that I had been baptized in her church when I was still living with my mother. She said I could call the church and find out...so I did.  Mark Ortmeier (who must work in the office there) called and told me the info I wanted.  So interesting.  I got out my autobiography notes and looked them over.

My godparents were James Daubenberger (1880-1961) and Mary Daisy Askin (1895-1989). 

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I did look Daisy up on ancestry.com, though, and learned she lived at 355 E street (right around the corner from where Mary Gaboury lived).  She was listed as a charwoman in the 1940 census and as a clerk in a city directory.  I also found an article written by Tim Caldwell that stated:

Forty five years ago, in commemoration of the opening of Fort Worden as a Washington State Park, the August 30, 1973 Leader published a two-page spread titled, “Fort Worden’s Heyday Recalls Old Friends….and New Families.” Written by the late Daisy Askins, an extraordinary historian on local history, her reminiscences shed light on the lives of some of the soldiers and local women who met, married, remained, or returned to the area and whose descendents are a part of the community today.

What I found interesting was the timeline of dates. My folks divorced June 23, 1952 and I was given communion on June 25, 1952.  My mother married this soldier at Fort Worden (who was Catholic) and I'm sure that's why she decided I was going to be baptized.  We never went to church before that as far as I can remember.  She married this guy out in Irondale on August 22, 1952 and must have handed us over to my dad shortly after that because I have a bible from the Methodist Church dated 9-7-52.  My dad must have decided the first thing he was going to do was have me stop being a Catholic.  I'm sure his older sister (who lived there with my grandpa at the time) probably put her two cents in on that subject.  Maybe my dad's twin brother did too as both of them detested my mother and didn't spare any words in stating their opinion of her.  I remember arguing with my dad over this changing of my church as I enjoyed being a Catholic but he was having none of it.  

His mother was 7th day Adventist but dad never went to church the whole time us kids attended Sunday School growing up.  It wasn't until he got married on the day after Christmas in 1965 that religion became a part of his life. My step mom was a churchgoer so my dad became one too.  They attended several different churches through the years but eventually settled on being Lutherans.

And that's how I ended up spending my afternoon. Doing research on my childhood. I love any excuse to go on ancestry and dig around in old records.