1. Type up board meeting minutes
2. WC – Review what needs to be done and assign
3. Birthday cards and gifts
4. Call to have the kids stay with us
5. Order medicine
6. Planning/update calendars
7. July – Trip to New York – Cohen family reunion
8. Music in August with Ron and Bonnie after Steve’s daughter’s wedding
9. Aug – Bonnie Raitt
10. Aug 1st- Steve’s daughter’s wedding
11. July 19th – Trip to Scotland
12. Oct 17th – MHS Genealogy conference
13. Water House plants and greenhouse plants
14. Phone call to Aunt Sheil
15. phone call to Michael – community college
16. Dog Schedule haircut and bath
17. Give heartworm pill
18. Flea stuff
19. Get tag at Petco
20. File dog license information
21. Book stay for the weekends we’ll be away
22. July in NY
23. Aug 1st for Nicole’s wedding
24. Oct on Eastern Shore
25. Schedule Mammogram
26. Respond about doing newsletter

We decided to start a book club at Wyndham Commons. The first book we chose is The Zookeeper’s Wife A War Story by Diane Ackerman. This is a true story about a zookeeper and his family in Poland who end up helping Jews hide out during the war. Diane Ackerman’s attention to detail is amazing.

Here is a link to an interview with Diane Ackerman, http://www.powells.com/authors/dianeackerman.html.

Diane Ackerman’s website, http://dianeackerman.com/.

In Brief
A true story—as powerful as Schindler’s List—in which the keepers of the Warsaw Zoo saved hundreds of people from Nazi hands.

When Germany invaded Poland, Stuka bombers devastated Warsaw—and the city’s zoo along with it. With most of their animals dead, zookeepers Jan and Antonina Zabinski began smuggling Jews into empty cages. Another dozen “guests” hid inside the Zabinskis’ villa, emerging after dark for dinner, socializing, and, during rare moments of calm, piano concerts. Jan, active in the Polish resistance, kept ammunition buried in the elephant enclosure and stashed explosives in the animal hospital. Meanwhile, Antonina kept her unusual household afloat, caring for both its human and its animal inhabitants—otters, a badger, hyena pups, lynxes.

With her exuberant prose and exquisite sensitivity to the natural world, Diane Ackerman engages us viscerally in the lives of the zoo animals, their keepers, and their hidden visitors. She shows us how Antonina refused to give in to the penetrating fear of discovery, keeping alive an atmosphere of play and innocence even as Europe crumbled around her. (From the publisher.)

About the Author

• Birth—October 7, 1948
• Where—Waukegan, Illinois, USA
• Education—B.A., Penn State; M.A., M.F.A, Ph.D., Cornell
    University
• Awards—D. Lit. from Kenyon College; Guggenheim
   Fellowship; Orion Book Award; John Burroughs Nature
   Award; Lavan Poetry Prize; honored as a Literary Lion by
   New York Public Library.
• Currently—lives in Ithaca, New York

Diane Ackerman was born in Waukegan, Illinois. She received an M.A., M.F.A. and Ph.D. from Cornell University. Her works of nonfiction include, most recently,The Zookeeper’s Wife, narrative nonfiction about one of the most successful hideouts of World War II, a tale of people, animals, and subversive acts of compassion; An Alchemy of Mind, a poetics of the brain based on the latest neuroscience; Cultivating Delight: A Natural History of My Garden; Deep Play, which considers play, creativity, and our need for transcendence; A Slender Thread, about her work as a crisisline counselor; The Rarest of the Rare and The Moon by Whale Light, in which she explores the plight and fascination of endangered animals; A Natural History of Love; On Extended Wings, her memoir of flying; and the bestseller A Natural History of the Senses.

Her poetry has been published in leading literary journals, and in the books Origami Bridges: Poems of Psychoanalysis and Fire; I Praise My Destroyer; Jaguar of Sweet Laughter: New and Selected Poems; Lady Faustus; Reverse Thunder: A Dramatic Poem; Wife of Light; The Planets: A Cosmic Pastoral. She also writes nature books for children: Animal Sense; Monk Seal Hideaway; and Bats: Shadows in the Night.

Ms. Ackerman has received many prizes and awards, including a D. Lit. from Kenyon College, a Guggenheim Fellowship, Orion Book Award, John Burroughs Nature Award, and the Lavan Poetry Prize, as well as being honored as a Literary Lion by the New York Public Library.

She also has the rare distinction of having a molecule named after her— dianeackerone. She has taught at a variety of universities, including Columbia, the University of Richmond, and Cornell. Her essays about nature and human nature have appeared in The New York Times, Smithsonian, Parade, The New Yorker, National Geographic, and many other journals, where they have been the subject of much praise. She hosted a five-hour PBS television series inspired by A Natural History of the Senses. (From the author’s websit

Critics Say. . .
Nature is patient, people and animals fundamentally decent, and the writer, as she always does, outlives the killer—that is the message of The Zookeeper’s Wife. This is an absorbing book, diminished sometimes by the choppy way Ackerman balances Antonina’s account with the larger story of the Warsaw Holocaust. For me, the more interesting story is Antonina’s. She was not, as her husband once called her, “a housewife,” but the alpha female in a unique menagerie. I would gladly read another book, perhaps a novel, based again on Antonina’s writings. She was special, and as the remaining members of her generation die off, a voice like hers should not be allowed to fade into the silence.

D.T. Max – New York TimesAckerman (A Natural History of the Senses) tells the remarkable WWII story of Jan Zabinski, the director of the Warsaw Zoo, and his wife, Antonina, who, with courage and coolheaded ingenuity, sheltered 300 Jews as well as Polish resisters in their villa and in animal cages and sheds. Using Antonina’s diaries, other contemporary sources and her own research in Poland, Ackerman takes us into the Warsaw ghetto and the 1943 Jewish uprising and also describes the Poles’ revolt against the Nazi occupiers in 1944. She introduces us to such varied figures as Lutz Heck, the duplicitous head of the Berlin zoo; Rabbi Kalonymus Kalman Shapira, spiritual head of the ghetto; and the leaders of Zegota, the Polish organization that rescued Jews. Ackerman reveals other rescuers, like Dr. Mada Walter, who helped many Jews “pass,” giving “lessons on how to appear Aryan and not attract notice.” Ackerman’s writing is viscerally evocative, as in her description of the effects of the German bombing of the zoo area: “…the sky broke open and whistling fire hurtled down, cages exploded, moats rained upward, iron bars squealed as they wrenched apart.” This suspenseful beautifully crafted story deserves a wide readership. 8 pages of illus.
Publishers Weekly Wilda Williams – Library Journal
 

Barnes & Noble Editors

A lovely story about the Holocaust might seem like a grotesque oxymoron. But in The Zookeeper’s Wife, Diane Ackerman proves otherwise. Here is a true story—of human empathy and its opposite—that is simultaneously grave and exuberant, wise and playful. Ackerman has a wonderful tale to tell, and she tells it wonderfully.
Susie Linfield – Washington Post

The 1939 Nazi bombing of Warsaw left its beloved zoo in ruins with many of its animals killed or wounded. Worse was to come when Berlin zoo director Lutz Heck had surviving rare species shipped back to Germany as part of a Nazi breeding program and held a New Year’s Eve hunting party for German officers to finish off the remaining animals. Witnessing this horror was the zookeeper’s wife, who wondered, as she recalled later in her memoirs, how many humans would die in the same manner in the coming months. As Antonina Zabinski and her husband, Jan, soon learned, the Nazis had targeted Poland’s large Jewish population for extermination, and the couple, who were already supplying food to friends in the Warsaw Ghetto, pledged to help more Jews. And help they did. Ackerman’s (A Natural History of the Senses) moving and eloquent narrative reveals how the zookeepers, with the aid of the Polish underground, boldly smuggled some 300 Jews out of the Ghetto and hid them in their villa and the zoo’s empty cages. Based on Antonina’s own memoirs and newspaper interviews, as well as Ackerman’s own research in Poland, the result is an exciting and unforgettable portrait of courage and grace under fire. While some critics might feel she glosses over Polish anti-Semitism, Ackerman has done an invaluable service in bringing a little-known story of heroism and compassion to light. Highly recommended.

Diane Ackerman has a molecule named after her (dianeackerone), but perhaps her greatest claim to fame is that all her works are wondrously different. Whether she’s writing about “sacred play,” the natural history of love, or the alchemy of the mind, she manages to arrest and stimulate our senses. (And, yes, she’s written a book about the senses, too. And we haven’t even mentioned her verse or her children’s books.)

The Zookeeper’s Wife is a war story unlike any other. A narrative about a Warsaw animal keeper who saves hundreds of Jews from Nazi gas chambers draws inevitable comparisons with Schindler’s List, but Ackerman’s artful, almost lyrical book occupies a genre of her own invention. Her narrative interlaces stories of Jan and Antonina Zabinski’s improvised sanctuary with telling glimpses into the animal societies their hunted benefactors shared. Ultimately, this is a book about what it means to be human.

Discussion Questions

1. How does Diane Ackerman’s background as a naturalist and a poet inform her telling of this slice of history? Would a historian of World War II have told it differently, and, if so, what might have been left out?
2. Reviews have compared this book to Schindler’s List and Hotel Rwanda. How would you compare them?
3. Did this book give you a different impression of Poland during World War II than you had before?
4. Can you imagine yourself in the same circumstances as Jan and Antonina? What would you have done?
5. How would you describe Antonina’s relation to animals? To her husband? How does she navigate the various relationships in the book, given the extreme circumstances? Is her default position one of trust or distrust?
6. Do people have a “sixth sense” and how does it relate to “animal instinct”?
7. Some might judge Jan and Antonina guilty of anthropomorphizing animals and nature. Would you? Why or why not?
8. Can nature be savage or kind–or can only humans embody those qualities? As science and the study of animal behavior and communication teach us more and more about the commonalities between animals and humans, is there still any dividing line between the human and the animal world? If so, how would you describe it?
9. The Nazis had a passion for animals and the natural world. How could Nazi ideology embrace both a love of nature and the mass murder of human beings?
10. The drive to “rewrite the genetic code of the entire planet” is not distinct to Nazism. What similar efforts are alive today? Are there lessons in Jan and Antonina’s story for evaluating the benefits and dangers of trying to modify or improve upon nature? Do you see any connection between this story of more than sixty years ago and contemporary environmental issues?
11. Genetic engineering of foodstuffs is highly contentious. So are various reproductive technologies that are now common, such as selecting for–or against–various characteristics when choosing from sperm or egg banks. How would various characters in this book have approached these loaded issues?

The New York Times Book Review of The Zookeeper’s Wife

The Zookeeper’s Wife on NPR

Nazi Germany and Animal Rights

Virtual Jewish History tour of Warsaw

Jan and Antonina Zabinski in Haaretz.com

Mongie at home in Connecticutt.

This is a picture of my grandmother “Mongie” as I remember her. She is sitting in their backyard in Connecticutt. 

Mongie was my grandfather’s second wife but she’s the grandmother on my mother’s side that I remember while growing up. Tonight I was trying to find information about her and not having much success. Finally, I just googled her name, or rather as much of it that I knew. I found a whole web page about her and her family! http://www.marthachurchill.com/family/Crans-bio.htm.

Jeanette (left), Wilhelmina, and Peter Crans.

FROM LEFT: Peter Crans; his sister Jeanette Crans; his sister Wilhelmina Crans Curtis; Wilhelmina's baby, William Curtis; proud grandpa, Willem K. Crans, holding the baby; and proud grandma, Francoise Tjaden Crans.

Back row: Wm. Myrl McKindley, a fruit farmer who had just served in the Navy in WW I. Jeanette's sister, Wilhelmina Curtis, who was the Maid of Honor. Right: Peter Crans, the bride's brother, who served as Best Man. The little girl is Frances Curtis.

Ed and I took Michael and his girlfriend, Brittany, out to dinner at a nice Italian restaurant, Liberatore’s, in Owings Mills. This was for his eighteenth birthday, Tuesday being his real birthday. We made plans to do this on Satuday but I didn’t quite realize that when he said he was on his own that he really meant he was on his own for his birthday.

Michele had to organize and speak at a conference for work out in Deep Creek and Justin and the other kids drove up to spend some time through Tuesday. Michael had to work at home in Hanover, PA, so he couldn’t go with them.

Michael and Brittany came back and hung out with Ed and me until about 9 PM. I finally got Michael to update his Geni profile. While we chatted about genealogy, Brittany mentioned that one of her ancestors was Wyatt Earp! She didn’t quite realize how cool that was so we looked him up on Wikipedia. Then Michael wanted to know about his ancestor who signed the Declaration of Independence, George Read.

Its so cute to watch Crissy settle down at the door, watching for Ed to come home from work. She seems to know just about the time he’s should be there.

She’s actually very happy with a schedule. When its time for bed she goes right into her crate without any coaxing beyond me walking towards the bedroom. The bad side to this is her relatively new routine of growling and barking at Ed when he comes to bed!

Late this afternoon I found out that I would be one of the trainers for the new library system we’ll be getting. And it will be going live on December 9th. Of this year. yikes. We have roughly 800 people we have to train by then.

This week I assisted Joyce with the MailMerge training and the Resume Wizard training for staff. We had a pretty good turnout and both classes went really well. These pictures are from the Word Level II class that we did earlier this Spring but it shows what the classroom looks like.

Well, I talked to Mom today and she wanted me to email her more often. I’m terrible at sending chatty emails so I decided to chatty blog instead. Not sure if this will be better than emailing but let’s try.

I got the Wyndham Commons board meeting minutes finished today. It took about 3 hours! There’s so much to do. I think I’ll take my laptop to the next board meeting and just do the minutes as the meeting progresses. I’m a 2 fingered typist so I’m not sure if this will work well or not but its worth a try.

Then Ed and I went to the grocery store, bought a couple of plants for the patio (finally) and came home for hamburger dinner. Now we’re watching Nurse Jackie - I like the show but her values are really screwed up.

Ed and I started counting steps as part of an effort to lose weight. I made it to 7,332 so far today. This week’s goal will be 7000+ steps a day, working towards at least 10,000 steps a day.

Saturday we went to two parties: the first was Michael’s high school and 18th birthday party; the second was Morgan’s 2nd birthday party. They had a beautiful day for both parties.

Allison (Ellison/Ellyson/Allison/Eliason )Notes

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It’s been reported that James Allison married Mary “Miss Jane” Bradford in = st1 ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags” />Cecil County

JAMES ALLISON was born Abt. 1743 in Antrim, Ireland, and died 24 Jul 1820 in Washington County, PA. He married MARY “MISS JANE” BRADFORD Abt. 1769 in probably Cecil County Maryland, daughter of JAMES BRADFORD. She was born Abt. 1748, and died 22 Jan 1833 in Washington County, PA. Her brother was David Bradford, of Whiskey Rebellion fame.

Notes for *JAMES ALLISON:
Taken from the Washington County Genealogy Project Biography of Allison, Thomas
Posted By: Martha Cross Sargent
Date: September 24 2004

The Allison family is of Scotch extraction but before the birth of James Allison, had been driven, by religious persecutions, to the north of Ireland. When James Allison came first to America he located in Cecil County, Md., and it was there that he entered into the business negotiations with Thomas Moffat that resulted in his purchase of 560 acres of land, located in Washington County, Pa. He took possession October 26, 1773. The first patent for this land was issued in the name of James Allison, Moffat having but a squatter’s claim, and a part of this land is now owned by the estate of Jonathan Allison, late of Washington. James Allison found many hardships to contend with and the hostile Indians were so threatening that after many a night passed with rifle in hand, he retired from his property to a more protected position and did not return until the following year. In 1774, accompanied by 20 families, among these being the Bradfords, the McDowells, the Parks, Scotts, and others, whose names, with that of Allison, were linked with the subsequent development of the county, Mr. Allison returned and again settled on his land. A block-house was erected in which all lived together for one year, when one log cabin after another was built around the block-house which was kept as a place of retreat in case of attack. James Allison erected a frame house about 1798, which stood for years afterward. He was one of the foremost men of his day, was associate judge of the courts of Washington County during 1786-87-88, and in 1789, was a member of the Supreme Executive Council, at Philadelphia, and in that position cast his vote for the abolition of slavery, which was accomplished so many years later. For years he was a trustee of Jefferson College and was a very strong supporter of the movement that resulted in its union with Washington College. He was a member of the Presbyterian Church under Dr. John McMilan, in North Strabane Township, which was one of the first Presbyterian societies organized in the county and of this he was a ruling elder. He married Jane Bradford, a sister of David Bradford, who was prominently identified with the “Whiskey Insurrection” in Pennsylvania. They had eight children: William, James, John, George, Thomas, Mary, David and Rachel.
Burial: Washington County, PA (Camp Creek?)

Children of JAMES ALLISON and MARY BRADFORD are:
i. MARY ALLISON.
ii. RACHEL ALLISON, b. 13 Dec 1770, Cecil County MD; m. THOMAS B. CRAIGHEAD.
iii. WILLIAM ALLISON, b. 13 Dec 1770, Cecil County MD; d. 13 Dec 1770.
iv. JAMES ALLISON, b. 04 Oct 1772, Elkton, Cecil Co. MD.
v. GEORGE ALLISON, b. 11 Jan 1774, Washington Co. PA.
vi. WILLIAM ALLISON, b. 19 Mar 1776.
vii. THOMAS ALLISON, b. 15 Apr 1780, Washington Co. PA.
viii. JOHN ALLISON, b. 25 Jun 1781, Washington Co., PA, USA; d. 29 Dec 1852, Industry Twnshp, McDonough Co., IL.
ix. ANDREW ALLISON, b. Abt. 1795, Washington Co. PA; m. ELIZABETH MORRISON.

Brothers John and William emmigrated to McDonough County Illinois in 1834. John is my ggg grandfather. He married Jane Lutton, daughter of Robert and Ann McGiffian/McGiffin Lutton about 1813.

James Allison, Jr.

James Allison, Jr. (October 4, 1772–June 17, 1854) was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania.

James Allison, Jr. (father of John Allison) was born near Elkton, Maryland. He moved with his parents to Washington County, Pennsylvania, in 1774. At seventeen years of age he enrolled in the school of David Johnson of Beaver, Pennsylvania. He saw service in the Indian warfare at Yellow Creek. He studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1796 and commenced practice in Washington, Pennsylvania. He returned to Beaver in 1803 and continued the practice of law until 1822, when he was elected to Congress. He served as prosecuting attorney of Beaver County, Pennsylvania, from 1803 to 1809.

Allison was elected as a Jackson Republican to the Eighteenth and a Jacksonian to the Nineteenth Congresses and served until his resignation in 1825 before the assembling of the Nineteenth Congress. He resumed the practice of law until 1848, after which he discontinued active pursuits and lived in retirement until his death in Beaver in 1854. Interment in Old Cemetery.

Sources

• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• The Political Graveyard

We had a nice engagement party for a co-worker yesterday. A turnout of about 18 people and beautiful weather. I made a Broccoli Salad which turned out well. I doubled the recipe since we were having a large group of people.

Broccoli Salad

2 bunches of broccoli – do not use stalks; Cut up the broccoli
1/2 lb. bacon – Cook bacon and crumble in little pieces
Purple onion, diced in little pieces
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese

Dressing:
1 cup mayo
1/4 cup sugar
4 tbsp. white vinegar

Pour dressing over broccoli and chill for about 10 minutes

http://office.microsoft.com/en-gb/getstarted/CH101130561033.aspx