Winning Essays 2020 Family History Essay Challenge - proudly presents the - Healdsburg Museum
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proudly presents
the
2020
Family History Essay
Challenge
Winning Essays
The 2020 Family History Essay Challenge
is sponsored by the generous donations
of
The Wittke Family
and
Fred and Leota Gonzalez
in partnership with the
Healdsburg Museum & Historical Society
The Family History Essay Challenge Committee
Carol Adams
Maggie Bates
Camille Lehrmann
Carol Peterson
Phyllis Chiosso Liu
Holly Hoods, Executive Director/Curator
Lauren Carriere, Research Curator
Jane Bonham, Office Manager
Healdsburg Museum & Historical Society is a non-profit organization organized under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
Contributions to HM&HS are deductible in calculating income tax as provided by law. You have not received goods, services or
privileges in exchange for your donation. Retain this letter to substantiate your donation for tax purposes. Federal Tax ID
#94-2401543.
Holly Hoods, Executive Director/Curator
DIRECTORS - Eric Ziedrich, President
Jon Eisenberg, Vice President Mark Decker, Treasurer Jerry Eddinger Rich Passalacqua
Ronnie Devitt, Past President Bob Pennypacker, Asst. Tr. Rawleigh Fjeld Kay Robinson
Phyllis Chiosso Liu, Secretary Aleena Decker Lockie Gillies Susan Sheehy
221 Matheson Street, Healdsburg, CA 95448 (707) 431-3325 healdsburgmuseum.org
The Healdsburg Museum & Historical
Society
appreciates the contributions of the young
authors who took the time to explore the
history and tell the stories of their
families.
We would also like to thank the families
and teachers who encouraged their
students to accept our Challenge.
2020 Family History Essay Challenge Awards 3rd Grade 1st Andrew Chau Cook West Side Elementary School 2nd Fiona Walsh O’Sullivan West Side Elementary School 4th Grade 1st Aubrey Phipps-Parnay West Side Elementary School 2nd Gracelyn Watford Healdsburg Elementary School FMC 3rd Ava Philpott Windsor Christian Academy HM Isla LaFleur The Healdsburg School HM Sienna Kumec West Side Elementary School HM Tristen Chapin Windsor Christian Academy HM Cora Grey Harkey Healdsburg Elementary School FMC 5th Grade 1st Liliana Villano Healdsburg Elementary School FMC 2nd Savannah Chesley Healdsburg Elementary School FMC 3rd Jackson Puckett St. John The Baptist Catholic School HM Katelyn Filben Healdsburg Elementary School FMC 6th Grade 1st Siena Sbragia West Side Elementary School 2nd Sydney Holland West Side Elementary School 3rd Lily Grace Brauninger West Side Elementary School HM Hayley Davis West Side Elementary School HM Ali Gradek West Side Elementary School HM Bella Gee West Side Elementary School 7th Grade HM Grahame Highfield St. John the Baptist Catholic School HM Katianne Wickwire St. John the Baptist Catholic School HM Morgan Puckett St. John the Baptist Catholic School
1st Andrew Chau Cook 2nd Fiona Walsh O'Sullivan
Grad
1st Aubrey Phipps-Parnay ·
2nd Gracelynn Watford,
3rd Ava Philpott ·
Honorable Mentions
Isla LaFleur Sienna Kumec.
Tristan Chapin
Cora Grey HarkeyAubrey Phlpps-Pamay
April 5, 2020
THE MUCKY RIDE
My grandma Arlene was born on May 1, 1934. When she was twenty
three, her first job was as a 3rd/4th/S•/ 6111 grade teacher in Salinas, California. After
being a teacher for a year, she had enough money to travel to Europe and other
places around the world.
While Arlene was on a ship going from New York to England, she and her
friends, Pat and Audrey, met some young men who told them that they should
hitchhike to Scotland. (Hitchhiking is flagging down a car to get a ride.) The boat
landed in London and they headed north hitchhiking towards Scotland.
Eventually they had hitchhiked so far that there was rarely any traffic, which was
a problem. Finally, a cattle truck went by, so they flagged it down and the driver
told them that one person could sit in the front but the other two had to go on
top of the truck. They drew straws and Audrey got to sit in the front, while Pat
and Arlene climbed up to the top of the truck.
On the roof of the truck there was dried cow manure all over the metal
slats. The cattle truck driver also told them that every time a vehicle passed by,
they had to duck down, because it was illegal to carry passengers on a car roof.
The view was peaceful- rolling hills and many white sheep. Then it began to rain.
To add salt to the wound, the manure on the roof got wet and soggy and stuck to
them. They felt miserable. At one point, they found a stick and banged on the cab
door to get the drivers attention so he would stop. However, the two people
inside the cab were engaged in conversation and didn't hear. The cattle truck
drove all day and luckily the sun came out so they were able to dry off. Finally,
the driver dropped them off at a youth hostel. Pat and Arlene were a sight! They
had manure all over themselves and were still damp.
This story has been told many times with lots of laughter. If I was in my
grandma's shoes, I would have enjoyed the rooftop ride but not the mucky rain IGracelynn Watford
Grandfather-s Past
rm sure everyone has their family stories that they like to tell I have many as wen. My
Pop is a funny man and has spent his rate
joking around and pranking others. One of the
funniest stories I remember mv Pop telling me is ofthe hog and dog his family owned.
It was a aisp fall evening In Florida 1974. My Pop was 19 and stiH lived at home with his
Mother, Father, three sisters and three brothers. This evening was special because Pop invited
hts girlfriend, now wife and my Nanny, to dinner with his family.
While eating dinner, Pop got the perfect idea to prank his father. Pop knew how
precious his father's Chester White hog was. Every year they raised a new hog to butcher In the
winb!r to feed the family. If something happened to this hog, they would have very 6ttle food
.during the cold winter months.
Knowing this, Pop"s mind went to work. He spent a lot of time perfecting his pig squeal
with his hands and mouth and decided it was the perfect prank. He was going to give his father
a good scare.
Pop had the perfect opportunity to sneak out and do the pig squeal He went around to
the back of the house and let it rip I Pop's father jumped from his chair at the dinner table and
hollered, --rhat John Brown bulldog got a hold of my hog out theref" The chair tipped over and
his father grabbed the wood stick by the door and ran outside. He immediately saw Pop out
there with his hands up to his mouth making the squeal Pop's father realized lt was Pop and
relief filled his face. They both started laughlngl
OveraD, It was a very funny story and I loved to hear it. I am working on my own pig
squeal too. Pop has been coaching me. Maybe one day I will be able to prank my parents•Ava Philpott
Moppy is my grandmother and she grew up in Healdsburg. She had a completely
normal childhood until she turned 16 years old. Moppy's grandfather bought her a horse; a
beautiful palomino named Triger.
Moppy loved Trigger dearly and she boarded him in a nearby pasture because she liwd
in town. After school she would walk to the pasture, saddle up Trigger and ride hm to a nearby
arena, aaoss·Healdsburg Ave. After her ride she would ride him back to his pasture, remove
his saddle and bridle and walk home.
Sometimes Trigger would roll in the grass because It was sweaty and itchy under the
saddle. One time it was different. As he was rolling in the grass, he got his hoof caught in the
wire fence. As � pulled and kicked and pulled and kicked, he almost pulled his hoof off. It was
hours later when someone found him. Moppy's family called the vet who sewed him up but
the vet said "He might have a limp,• but Moppy didn't care.
Moppy kept Trigger in the barn, and he started healing up, but as it started getting well
the stitches mU$l have started to itch.
Trigger started biting and chewing at the stitches, he opened it back up and this time
the vet said •He has to be put down." Moppy aied and aied and cried. Moppy
locked herself in her room and said •rm never coming out):
But Moppy did.
That was over 50 years ago and it stiH makes Moppy sad to thing about Triger to this
day. _.,
Lbaby bottle and fed him weak eggnog as well as fruit, lettuce,
and chopped nuts and so he grew.
Goop found that he was just the right size to fit in a
pocket. He loved to take lots of toilet paper and stuff the
pocket with it. When Sarah's appendix was taken out at the Salem
Memorial Hospital, Jerry brought Goop in her pocket to help
cheer her up. Even though animals were not really allowed there,
Jerry brought Goop anyway. On the elevator Jerry told Goop not
to leave the pocket he was in. Jerry had forgotten that Goop had
never been on an elevator before and he stuck his head out. Two
hospital staff were in the elevator when Goop stuck his head
out. The staff laughed so hard that .they forgot to ask Jerry to
put Goop outside before she came in the children's ward. Goop
didn't just cheer Sarah up, he cheered up most of the staff and
the children. And that is one of the reasons why my great
grandma is so nice.
This is not the end of my great grandma's and Goop's book,
the story is way longer.
The story of Goop is one example of great grandma Jerry's
many accomplishments. She was an inspiration to her family and
to her many friends. I am proud to have great grandma Jerry in
my family and in my heart.
•Tristen Chapin
My great grandma, Marjatta Rytkonen, was born on October7, 1933 in F'mland. When
she was a little gtrt, Russia and Finland were at war. She had to walk to school every day, and to keep the
Russian soldiers from seeing here in the snow she had to wear a white sheet over her so she would
camouflage in with the snow. When a plane would fly overhead, she would have to hide when she
heard the sound of the engines. One day, while going through the woods. she ran into a Russian soldier
who was injured. She felt very sony for him even though he was the enemy. She went home and
brought him some food and then went back home to tell her mother what she did. Her mother told her
to never do that again because she was afraid she wouJd get hurt.
At one point during the war, all of the Finnish children were sent to Sweden for one year. The
Swecfish family really Hked her and wanted to adopt her. She also learned to speak Swedish while she
was there. She felt lonely from her family, so after one year, she moved back to Rnland.
In 1951, she moved to New York Oty. She rM!d with her cousin, Ina, who had immigrated from Finland
years earlier. She met and married John Lowe, and 1IJpther they had five children. They had a lovely life
in New York until eventually settling in Orange County in SOUthem California. My ..-eat grandma died
November 4, 2011, one year after I was born. I wish I could have met her, but now I know her story.1st Lilliana Villano
2nd Savannah Chelsey
3rd Jackson Puckett
Honorable Mention
Katelyn Filben.Savannah Chesley
4/2/20
Family History Essay
I am the 5th generation of our family, born and raised in
Healdsburg. My great-great-grandparents lived at 4060 Westside Rd
on a prune ranch. In the 19S0's-1960's, my Mimi, Diana Harmeson
Duggan, grew up flying in planes with my Great Grandpa Dave
Harmeson. All my Great Uncles had planes too. On my Grandma's
property they decided to dig up a few rows of prune trees and make a
landing strip for their planes. Some of my Mimi's favorite memories
as a child, was leaving at 4 a.m. and flying their plane to the ocean
before school to get abalone. She would come back so she had enough
time to shower and catch the bus to school She also flew to alot of
plac;es as well. Her favorites were, Bodega Bay, Sacramento to have
breakfast at the Nut Tree, Sonoma County airport, Reno, Tahoe,
Ukiah, and Arizona. ( My Mimi did not go to Arizona, but it is her
favorite story that my Uncle berry told her). She also flew around
Fitch Mountain and the Russian River and they flew so close to the
water they could see the fish. They would do lots of figure eights in
the air and that was my Mimi's favorite part. There where a lot of fun
and exiting times but some where not. My Uncle, Milton Young was
hired in Alaska to fly helicopters. One day when he was flying, a
giant storm started then he crashed, and sadly died. That is part of
my Family History.
..Katelyn Filben
3/30/20
Family Essay
In Minnesota, 1927, laid gangster, Thomas Filben's hideout. His
hideout on the outside looked like a family home but, on the inside a
lot of illegal activities happened. Thomas Filben's parents
immigrated from Ireland through Rhode Island to St.Paul. Thomas
Filben lived with 6 brothers, 2 sisters, his mother, and his father.
Thomas was the oldest of the 6 brothers and the youngest of the 6
brothers was my great grandpa Jack.
Thomas Filben lived on Mukooda Lake in the summer. He was a
banker for different gangs such as the Dillinger gang. At the time he
was into a lot of illegal gambling and money business. He was known
as the Slot Machine King. He owned all the slot machines and would
give them to illegal bars or speakeasies for a certain amount of
money. He knew a lot of people who didn't value their life. He was
arrested a couple of times, same as some of his brothers. He escaped
jail 2 times. John Dillinger, a gangster that Thomas helped, robbed 24
banks and 4 police stations.
Thomas also lived in the St. Francis Hotel in St. Paul A lot of
criminals lived there or visited there buying illegal things and selling
illegal things such as alcohol Thomas exchanged money for crystals,
diamonds, and gold. If a gangster robbed a shop and found some gold
or crystals they would take it to Thomas and he would give them
money for it.
The FBI gave St. Francis Hotel workers a job to see what they
were up to. The FBI did some interviews with a few of the girlfriends
of the Dillinger gang. The girlfriends said �ey were physically
abused or beaten up by their boyfriends. Also, they traveled to so
many different places constantly_and they WE!Je forced to use fake
names so their boyfriends didn't get caught. How would you feel if
you had all that done to you?
,. .1st Siena Sbragia 2nd Sydney Holland 3rd Lily Grace Brauniger Honorable Mention Hayley Davis A Ii Gradek' Bella Gee
4/1512020
Siena Sbragia
Bayonets at Night
Anton Osterholt, m"I great grandpa on my mom's side,
was born in 1901. He grew up in Germany, so all his
grandkids oaUed Mm Opa. During Worid \4ar I there was a
curfew. No one was allowed to be outside after dai,,::.
One evening Opa, a teenager at the time, 1A1as out
past curfew partying. As he was walking home, he saw
soldiers. He realized he had to hide before they saw h:m.
Opa ran into an old bar>n that was fuH of hay and old
furniture. He climbed a ladder to get to the loft, savJ two
mattresses, and ct"awied in between them. Sever�al minutes
later the soldiers entered the barn! They looted around
and saw nobody. Anton thought he was safe, but then the
soldiers climbed up the ladder tc check the loft. The
soldiers each had a bayonet. They used the bayonet to
poke in the hay and the mattresses. One time the blade
nicked Opa in the side. He was afraid he would be exposed
by the blood on the blade. Since he was lying in between
the mattresses, the blade was cleaned as it was pulled
out. Luckily he never was caught!
After the War, Opa immigrated to the United States
and went to San Francisco where he married another
German immigrant. They had four children before moving
to a chicken ranch in Cotati. My grandmbther was one of
those four children who, as an adult, married a man from
Healdsburg.Lily Grace Brauninger
4/6/20
A Girl, a Fig Newton, and a ,Bear
In early April I asked my parents for interesting stories from their lives. First I
Hstened to my father's stories but I thought they weren't very interesting. Next,
my mother told me a story I would never forget! It involved a girl, a Fig Newton,
and a bear.
In the summer of 1972 my mother and her family were driving down to San
Diego for vacation. Along the way they stopped at a fair. When they entered they
saw a women with a bear in an enclosed area. The woman turned out to be
animal activist and PAWS founder Pat Darby. Pat eventually asked if anyone
wanted to feed Sweet William, the bear, a cookie with their mouth. My mother
was five, the youngest to raise their hand; she stood out like an orange on an
apple tree and got picked! My mom was excited, however my grandparents were
nervous but decided to let her do it. Pat took my mother by the hand and my
mom met Sweet William face-to-face. Pat gave my mom a Fig Newton to put
halfway into her mouth. Pat jokingly told my mom to not eat it. Sweet William
was as gentle as a butterfly when he took the Fig Newton out of my mother's
mouth with his. The girl returned to her family, the Fig Newton was no more and
the bear lived up to his name, Sweet William.In addition to his first purple heart, my uncle 8al also received a second
purple heart. In fact, it was the ·hardest Purple Heart to earn," uncle Sal said
because he went through an enonnous amount of obstacles to receive it.
Uniquely, my great Uncle Sal was on an intense mission to "make contact with
the enemy" which meant they had to figure out how many enemies were in the
area. To accomplish this, there were four helicopters and each helicopter had a
pilot, co-pilot, two gunmen. and eight soldiers. My Great Uncle Sal said he was
the "Crew chief," and he was in charge of keeping the helicopter maintained. He
was also a gunman who protected his fellow soldiers, friends, in other words
Uncle Sal calls a gunman a '"gunner." The helicopters then dropped off the
soldiers and waited for a call to pick them up. Right before dark, uncle Sal who
was in the third helicopter received a can from the soldiers that they were
outnumberecU It was a race against time! S\Yiffly, the first helicopter went down
and got their eight soldiers. Suddenly, the second helicopter landed and picked
up their eight soldiers. Next, the third helicopter where uncle Sal was, landed and
then there was an intensely loud explosionm There were enemies everywhere
shooting at the soldiers while they were frantically trying to get into the helicopter
to safety. To protect them uncle Sal courageously manned the machine gun
while the Cobra Gunships called "Snakes• circled above simultaneously shooting
at ttie enemy. Many of the soldiers in helicopter number three including uncle Sal
were hurt from the explosion, but ·thankfully all of them made it safely into the
helicopter! My great Uncle Sal said in firm words, "Never leave a soldier behindl"
Shortly after, they were taken to the hospital. Sadly, one of the soldiers, his
friend, passed.
All in all, this tremendous story is important to me because I've realized all
the people in the anny and armed forces that fight for our country are so brave
and amazing! They have that wonderful courage that's inside of them; moreover,
they give up their lives if necessary to protect our country. That is a true soldier
and that's exactly who my Great Uncle Sal isl We take our freedom for granted,
and thanks to my Great Uncle Sal and others in the military we are safe and can
enjoy our freedomf My Great Uncle Sal valiantly fought for our country, and
because of his bravery, he rescued his fellow comrades and received one of the
highest rewards in the country. He earned not one, but two purple hearts!
'Jrould you sacrifice your llfe..for yoy cou.Pfn?Honorable Mention Grahame Highf ield Morgan Puckett
Katianne Wickwire
It was in 1970 when my great grandpa Glenn had bought a one acre
property in the woods of Albion, California. He had always dreamed of
making his own house. He would work everyday on the house even on
weekends and summers. He was a high school teacher during the time he
was building the house. It took him three years to finally finish the house.
The first time I visited the house in Albion I was about two months old. I
spent many years going to Albion with my family. I got to know my great
grandpa and spent many special times with him. We would go there for
special occasions like holidays and birthdays or just a nice get away.
Anytime I went I was lucky and got to be in the big room in the big house
with my parents. There were two other smaller cabins on the property as
well but he did not build those. I remember having big dinners with my
parents, grandparents and my great grandpa Glenn. My family would
gather and play games like "bees in the trees· and •zilich", watch movies,
have bonfires and make smores, and spend qualily time together. Some of
my favorite memories growing up were in Albion. My great grandpa
passed away in 2014 at the age of 97. After he passed we had to sell the
house. I am grateful for my great grandpa for building the house where I
made so many great memories.
l.
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