Leaving a Legacy
Every generation that came before us has left behind stories and objects that remind us what they accomplished and teach us from their failures. Unfortunately, the youngest generations believe that they are too busy to talk to their elders. If you asked most young people about their grandparents childhood, or their great grandparents, they could probably only tell you names.
I was lucky enough to have a grandmother who was very involved and interested in genealogy, which kept my mother and myself intrigued. Leaving a legacy of her own, she spent years of her life collecting letters and documents from all branches of the family tree. She filled six, 5-inch binders full of documents detailing the lives of ancestors that I never got to meet. Luckily my maternal grandfather’s genealogy was traced back to 1628 in a published book. Even luckier, my mother is in possession of one of the few remaining copies. While the book doesn’t have the heartfelt letters and detailed activities of ancestors, it provides a great index of ancestors, with resident cities, birthdays, and death dates. I never really knew much about my fathers side past my grandmother, that is until I started with Ancestry.com . Where I was able to type in what little information I knew and they would filter through millions of records to find matches. I was able to trace my paternal grandmother’s family back to Italy, making me a 4th generation Italian-American. I’m still working on tracing my paternal grandfathers side, I know the Cramer name is of German origin, but it looks like there was a mix of German and Swiss ancestors.
Anyways leaving a legacy doesn’t have to be material, my dad’s mother passed away recently. At the funeral, many people spoke of her willingness to accept anyone into her home. Her famous saying was “The first time in this house you’re a guest, the second time you’re family.” Many times you would walk up to the house with the door hanging wide open and the aroma of whatever was on the stove would invite you in. While we miss her dearly and wait to see her again, we carry her legacy and wisdom with us. My step-dad’s father, who we called Pop, recently passed away also. I got to know Pop very well and spent much time with him. I first met him when I was a young child, I remember having to ask everyone, “What is he saying?” because Pop’s English accent was still very strong. He was a true English gentleman that loved to spend time with his grandchildren telling stories of his mischievous childhood and hi-jinks. Pop was a self-made immigrant from England that made his legacy in the field of construction. Starting out in Pennsylvania working in the steel industry he learned many things. Eventually starting a few of his own companies, he became a businessman. When his kids grew up and went to college, he was still going strong. Pop and his wife of many years, Nanan, moved to West Palm Beach, FL and he opened yet another construction business, being a builders rep or consultant. Basically he was the guy that oversaw the whole project, making sure everyone did what they were supposed to do. One of his first projects was an addition to the famed Mar-a-Lago, his customer and person that interviewed him was no other than President Donald J. Trump. Pop’s company grew to be one of the most reputable builders in West Palm Beach. He was commissioned to organize and oversee the building of houses for celebrities and CEO’s all over West Palm Beach. Pop finally retired in his 70’s and moved back to Pennsylvania to be closer to family. He taught me that if you believe in yourself and put in the hard work, you can accomplish anything you want. While Pop was a stern businessman, when it came to family it was all about love. Pop was married to Nanan for 56 years. I could tell by the way they joked and looked at each other that the love they found in their 20’s had not faded a bit. Pop’s legacy lives on in each of his children and grandchildren.
The point of all of my personal stories about my family is, there is no generic legacy, they are all unique. Maybe others would take different legacies from the same person. A legacy is no more than someones lesson or wisdom that they learned throughout their life. Our job as the next generation in line is to learn from our ancestors, talk to our elders, and leave a legacy for our kin.
In Memory of Sally Sibley Bergin
In Memory of Betty L. Cramer
In Memory of
Peter J. Gibson
