A "forester"? Sure: "A person in charge of a forest or skilled in planting, managing, or caring for trees". That's me - I help care and preserve family trees!
Take one of our recent family video biography projects titled "New Lives in America". As some readers may know, it's about a pair of East Coast, mid-century Irish immigrants with a large and ever-growing, loving family. Loretta and Thomas have been living in America for over 50 years now. They have put down roots: friends, church, houses and homes, and pensions now too. And a thriving garden - between winters. And children - and grandchildren - lots of both.
They have so much history around New York and New Jersey. So much history so close to home. But also so much history so far from home. In Ireland. Far and away.
Loretta's family were Irish rebels
Back in Ireland, Loretta's family fought the English, then saw the Easter Proclamation become fully-fledged Irish independence in 1921. Over here, her son Tom has learned the bagpipes and now proudly plays the "Wearing of the Green" in St Patrick's Day parades.
"So if the color we must wear be England's cruel red
Let it remind us of the blood that Irishmen have shed
And pull the shamrock from your hat, and throw it on the sod
But never fear, 'twill take root there, though underfoot 'tis trod."
They have some stories, Loretta and Thomas. A lot behind and a lot in front of them.
"One glance history" - the family tree
History behind and history in front - in "New Lives in America" all converging around two people, Thomas and Loretta. It's hard to imagine a better way to show all that history than with a family tree. So - as part of the family video biography project - that's exactly what we made.
See all those green tiles on the left? They're all great grandparents. And that's Ireland.See all those green tiles on the right? They're all grand children, and that's America. Everybody converging around Thomas and Loretta.
There are some gaps. Despite some research, we couldn't fill in every tile. But that's really in the nature of family trees. You are going to have gaps. And who knows? Over time, the names will probably appear as other members of the family pick up the mantle and dig a little deeper.
Tom had his family tree printed into a poster and set it up for the family reunion. As well as the personal information, we incorporated birth and marriage documents and photographs. We used an historical map of Ireland as the background for the family tree (and triple checked every date!).
An immigrant story
Loretta became a citizen while she was still living in Brooklyn and working at the bank. She had been in the country for all of a year and a half. She became one more of nearly 8 million Irish people who, over the centuries, have made new lives in America.
Husband Thomas was another drop in that enormous human bucket. He became a citizen in 1955 while he was still serving in the US army. He had been in the country a bare 16 months.
How could they be so sure?
That's not a question easily answered, as I found out when I interviewed Thomas and Loretta for their family video biography earlier this year.
Someone who has never changed countries can never really understand the conflict that arises: The excitement of a new life mixed with the sadness of separation from family, friends and place.
The passing of the years, the making of new family and friends and the passing of the old helps ease the transition. But the tinge of conflict never fully goes away.
One thing is certain, leaving Ireland they both made better lives over here than would ever have been possible in Leitrim and Donegal.
Shades of Angela's Ashes?
Hard lives in Ireland, success in America? Frank McCourt and Angela's Ashes you may be thinking: Poor Irish childhoods, repressive Catholic schools, demon drink a perennial presence, more kids than you could possibly imagine cramped into tiny row houses. Death betimes.
Loretta winces when you mention Angela's Ashes. Too close to the bone? Too far from it? Overly dramatic? Made up from whole cloth? Loretta was raised on a farm, not in town. Her father was no drunk. Maybe she just doesn't see the parallels. But there is more to it than just that. She can be enigmatic, Loretta. Beauty and intrigue.
An ancient story
In historical terms, Loretta and Thomas they are pretty recent immigrants. Loretta even arrived on a plane - how modern can you get?
But Loretta and Thomas's story is also an ancient one. It's the story of hopeful people the world over trying to break the mold; trying to create new lives in a new land.
Thomas and Loretta's "New Lives in America" family video biography was conceived by son Tom. He has been interested in his Irish roots for some time, and even took his parents back there last year and filmed them in their villages and around their childhood haunts in Leitrim and Donegal. We were able to combine that with Tom's genealogical research, interviews, footage of Thomas and Loretta visiting old stomping grounds, as well as images, music and other material.
So, an ancient story with new avatars. "New Lives in America" is a family video biography like many others we have made. It is also unique. And the family tree tells the whole story at a glance.
Your Story Here family video biographies: Saving lives, one video at a time.
Jane Lehmann-Shafron is a video biographer who co-founded Your Story Here LLC Family Video Biography, a video production company that specializes in all genres of video biography. Based in Orange County CA, she was recently featured in national women's magazine "Woman's World" and her award-winning films have been featured in festivals in the United States and Canada. She can be contacted on 949-742-2755 or through her website.
Posts
nice....!
ReplyDelete