You Had Me At Haluski – For my fellow Slavs …

Hamilton’s Mandy Gonzalez Blends Family History & Activism in ‘Fearless’ Music Video – Perhaps because my father also served in Vietnam, this song got to me. Family history portion begins about half-way into the video. And oh, yeah, Lin-Manuel Miranda and Mandy Gonzalez!

Wow, a soldier I researched a decade ago has been identified. Welcome home, S/Sgt. Michael Aiello.

Family welcomes home WWII veteran 73-years after his death – Lovely memorial service footage for S/Sgt. Michael Aiello, a soldier I researched about a decade ago. Thanks for sharing, Patrick M. Tavenner.

Ellis Island Reverie – Well done, anonymous park ranger.

Looking for History, Bill Sebring Finds a Daughter – Bachelor town historian accidentally finds a daughter.

Red Famine: Stalin’s War on Ukraine – Both sides of my family – Irish and Rusyn – have experienced famine, but you never hear about the so-called “Harvest of Despair,” the famine that killed (depending on which figures you accept) 4 to 10 million Ukrainians in the 1930s (most 1932-33). It’s like a quiet genocide. Here’s hoping this book makes it more widely known.

It’s All Relative: Adventures Up and Down the World’s Family Tree – I had a chance to read “It’s All Relative,” the new book that will be coming out shortly from A.J. Jacobs, and have a few thoughts to share.

Family reunited with heirloom hidden in mirror frame for years – Hadn’t occurred to me that framers sometimes trip across our forgotten family heirlooms. Lovely that this one troubled to track down the family!

Neighbors put out chairs for walking WWII veteran – If I lived here, I would totally put a chair out for Harvey.

Young man who married his 91-year-old great aunt fighting legal battle to claim her pension – This will create confusion for future genealogists

Glitter, Glamour, and Graveyards: Meet the Members of New Zealand’s Original ‘Coffin Club’

Watch the heart-warming final trailer for ‘Coco’ (VIDEO) – Yet another movie with an ancestral theme.

So I’m obviously biased, but this is a lovely and thought-provoking video about the importance of tradition in the modern world, and it’s set in Osturna, hometown to all Smolenyaks. Please watch to the end! Thanks so much to Michal Glevaňák for bringing it to my attention. Jan Timko wrote the song.

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