On my mother’s side, my granny’s parents were mostly German with a tiny bit of English. The Pohles—Granny’s family—came over from Germany in the late 1800’s and landed in the east coast. During the Great Depression, my granny’s grandparents, Archie (the lumberjack) and Olive, moved to San Diego where they became brewers. Her grandfather on the other side, named Edwin, operated a steam engine in San Diego, as well. Apparently, he entered that line of work because he was tall enough at age fifteen to be hired as an engine wiper in John Spreckles’s San Diego and Arizona Railroad. After becoming an engineer, Ed directed the train between Tijuana and Tecate and over the precipitous wooden trestles to avoid landslides on the track.

My mom’s father’s English ancestors, the Fords, landed in Massachusetts in 1850 and drifted west through Minnesota. His grandfather, Paul, was a civil engineer who helped dig the Panama Canal in the early 1900s. He sent some letters during this time, but unfortunately, I can’t find the letters. He eventually moved to Chelan, Washington and was entirely enchanted by the scenery. Paul was honorably discharged from the army after he contracted influenza during World War I. Later, he met his wife Mary Ford in South Dakota when he returned for his graduate degree. Mary Ford was adopted into a wealthy ranching family in North Dakota after her mother died. The Finrow line on my mom’s father’s side originated in Norway and his grandparents worked in a vegetable cannery in Minnesota before moving to Washington.

On the whole, I’m astonished that I went so long without knowing the history of my family. I know far more about my mom’s side because my mom has a case full of newspaper documents and photos describing her ancestry. I initially felt like my family's history would be a little boring because my ancestors immigrated so long ago (mid 1800's), but I was excited to learn that the story of my family is far more varied than I expected!