Do you see that handsome man up in the corner of the page? That's my grandfather, Eugene Victor Rhinehart. I met him once when I was a tiny infant, and I'm told he held me in his arms, but I never saw him again, and yet, he's one of my favorite people to have ever walked this green earth. It's funny how learning about someone you've never met can make you feel so close to them. I believe in a hereafter, and I'm so excited to sit down and talk to this wonderful man.
He had his problems in life - he battled alcoholism - but everyone loved him. I think he just loved the people in his life dearly. He was born June 22, 1920 in Cambridge, Guernsey, Ohio, and died January 21, 1980 in Newark, Licking, Ohio. He was part of the Civilian Conservation Corps, sent from Ohio to Vernal, Utah, where he met my beautiful grandmother, and where he learned his trade. During World War II, he served in the 1st Special Construction Battalion (Seabees) in Guadal Canal. He was a gifted machine operator and worked in construction all of his life.
Today I'm feeling very thankful for the many resources that allow me to collaborate with other genealogists. I've had the amazing opportunity, in the last couple of weeks, to connect with distant relations, either of myself or my husband, that have been extremely generous and helpful in furthering my research. I hope I've been helpful to them, as well.
One amazing woman, who I found on Jewishgen.org, compared notes with me - she'd kept up with the family, and had much more information than I did - and it turned out that she had a tape from 1985 from a wonderful 95-year-old aunt, who talked about her immigration experience, life in Romania, and all of her siblings and their descendants, as well as both humorous and heart-wrenching stories from her life. I don't have permission to post it, so you'll just have to feel jealous and take my word for it. She asked me if I knew of any services out there to get it transferred to CD, and it turned out I had a cousin that had the equipment. She sent me the tape, we transferred it, and I had the completely enjoyable experience of transcribing it.
Said newly found relative also sent me pictures in the mail, one of which is of the family, right before they were separated forever from a daughter who stayed behind in Romania with her husband, the parents and the rest of the siblings emigrating to America. I cried as I found that picture in the package - tracing the sad faces of people that now had faces to names.
Another relative I found on Ancestry.com, related by marriage, didn't have very much information to share, but I was able to send her everything I had for her niece, who she's been doing the research for. It so happens that she's traveling to Salt Lake for a genealogy research trip and we're doing lunch!
I've found family on Rootsweb boards, Geni.com (haven't used a lot yet, but I've had people nth cousins, thrice removed contact me), along with just reconnecting with family that I haven't talked to for a while.
There's nothing like feeling like you're the only descendant from a somewhat obscure couple and finding a cousin that is as passionate and loves family history as much as you do. I'm so thankful that technology has advanced to the point that, at the click of a mouse, I can connect to people and share and be shared with. It has me singing Kip Dynamite's famous love song, "I Love Technology."
I found a recipe for Romanian Apple Cake on allrecipes.com, but my husband's family has made a "Jewish Apple Cake" for years, and I thought it was cool that their Romanian heritage has a little to do with it.
Jewish Apple Cake
Preheat oven to 350*.
Mix & put aside:
3 apples sliced and peeled
2 t. cinnamon
¼ c. sugar
In large mixing bowl combine all in order:
4 eggs 1 T. baking powder
2 ¼ c. sugar 2 ½ t. vanilla
1 c. oil 3 c. flour
¼ t. salt 7 T. OJ
In a well-greased bundt cake pan, alternate cake mix with apples, begin and ending with batter. Keep apples from touching sides of pan. Bake for 1 ¼ - 1 ½ hours. Let cool for 10 min. or longer and invert onto serving plate.
