Anna Bihun was only 15-years old when she left her family’s farm outside Ivano-Frankivsk in Western Ukraine for an arranged marriage in the United States. Accompanied by her Uncle John (Ivanko), Anna made her way safely to Johnstown, Pennsylvania in April of 1913 and, by May 1913, she and Mike Dimenko, an older gentleman who [...]
My Sunday started with a swig of tea, a stroll to our cabin window to check out the view, strawberry rhubarb yogurt, a handful of grapes , some lively morning conversation and a slow walk through the woods. How extraordinary, I thought. How soul-soothingly beautiful to turn our faces toward the sun in step with [...]
Did you ever ponder the similarities between families and jigsaw puzzles? The way you need every member to complete the picture and how each piece fits together perfectly once you look at it from all angles? No? Me neither. But, I have pondered the awesomeness of my two daughters in-law and I offer the following [...]
Christmas does not knock gently on our front door, it kicks it wide open like a tipsy old friend saying just a little too loudly, "Oh My God! I've missed you!!!" It comes at us like a bear hug in a crowded grocery store, the kind you see coming out of the corner of your [...]
It occurs to me, as my roll through this old life starts to pick up steam, that my sisters are two of the greatest gifts my parents ever gave me. A mutt-and-Jeff kind of twosome -- one feisty and fearless, the other mellow and a little more cautious -- Kathy and Jenny caboosed our family [...]