Who hasn't questioned, "Who were my great-grandparents?" "Where did they live?" "What did they do?" My daughters asked these questions and more. At their requests I began to write a family history, including successes and failures. No pirates were found lurking, but I located two murders. Families do not live in a vacuum. I included in-laws, friends, neighbors and strangers who touched our lives. As stories and traditions molded the family, so did the times in which we lived. The story of our family is part of the history of our town, state and nation. This saga is a microcosm of the nation, rising out of Depression, wining a global war, in a unity of spirit, soaring to the happy heights of togetherness. A zenith, alas, that this nation probably will never achieve again. Inescapably, this book is also the story of my life.