Holiday Break

Yes, I’m breaking a little earlier than usual; but who knows? I could be back earlier than usual!

Despite the longer holiday season, my schedule seems to be more packed than ever. However, I still enjoy it, especially since I take care to focus on the things that are most important to me.

One of my favorite activities before Christmas is attending Norwalk High School’s “Candlelight” concert. This is a tradition for the high school for over 75 years – since the mid-1930’s. There were only a couple of times during World War II that Candlelight was not held. Since then, it has been going strong.

Candlelight concert program. Author’s collection.

Over the years, hundreds of students in the music department have performed instrumental and vocal music, along with humorous skits and sometimes even dancing. The music ranges from secular to sacred and spans the common December holidays. What I particularly love, however, is the quality of performance every year, and the spirit of the season that the concert embodies.

Does your community have any unique holiday traditions?

Great-Great Aunt Ida Elizabeth Atwell: On the Move

Ida Elizabeth Atwell was the second living daughter of William Armstrong Atwell and Altie May Williams. She was born on January 20, 1890 in Providence, Providence County, RI. Like her sister Winifred Margaret, she completed four years of high school, then entered the working world. The 1910 Census showed her as a bookkeeper at an “installment co.”. From 1911 until 1914, she worked as a cashier.

On February 11, 1914, Ida married James Garfield Dilworth, a manager from Worcester, Worcester County, MA. I’m not sure how they met; perhaps his business worked with hers? In any case, this was the beginning of their lives together, travelling across the country.

Ida and James remained in Worcester at first for the birth of their first child, Richard A., on January 10, 1915. By 1919, the family had moved to Colorado, first to Denver, then to Aurora, Adams County (which is right next to Denver) in 1920. Here is where their second child, James Garfield, Jr., was born on October 30, 1920.

1923 found the Dilworth family back in Denver, but by 1930, they moved to their final state, California. They lived in various locations in the Los Angeles area throughout the 1930s and in 1940, always in a cute little house. I have to wonder if Ida’s sister Margaret Armstrong was instrumental in getting them to move to this area. Perhaps the sisters had plenty of get-togethers.

Just three short months after the 1940 Census, James died on July 21. Eventually, Ida made her way to San Diego. There she remained until her death on December 3, 1970.

Having lived so recently, I don’t know whether Ida’s sons ever got married or had children. I do know that Richard died on May 7, 1991 in Prescott, Yavapai County, AZ. James, Jr. died August 7, 1990 in Pacific County, WA. He is buried at Fern Hill Cemetery in Menlo, WA.

So why did the Dilworths move around so much? It’s hard to tell, as James, Sr. held down a variety of jobs, such as manufacturing, sales, insurance and real estate. Perhaps he was simply taking opportunities as they presented themselves.

The Dilworth’s moves spanned the continent! Courtesy Google Earth.

Honor Roll Project: Norwalk, CT – World War I (part 1)

In recognition of those who have served our country in the military, Heather Wilkinson Rojo of the Nutfield Genealogy blog started the Honor Roll Project. It’s an opportunity to publicly document the names on military memorials around the world, thus making them easily searchable on the internet for people who are looking for them!

This post is the beginning of several I’ll post over time regarding the World War I memorial on the green in Norwalk, CT. There are eight panels with hundreds of names on it. Here is a shot of the whole memorial:

WWI Memorial on the Norwalk Green. Author’s collection.

And below is the first panel and its transcription:

First panel of memorial. Author’s collection.

THIS MONUMENT IS ERECTED
AS A TRIBUTE OF HONOR TO THE
CITIZENS OF NORWALK, CONN.
WHO DEVOTED THEMSELVES TO THE CAUSE
OF FREEDOM IN THE SERVICE OF OUR COUNTRY
DURING THE GREAT WORLD WAR, 1917 – 1919
AND AS A MEMORIAL TO THE MEN
WHO MADE THE SUPREME SACRIFICE

ABBOTT FRED E	GROTTY WILLIAM	JAMES GEORGE L.	PARADISO ANTONIO
AMUNDSEN FRED W.	DAVENPORT CHARLES R.	LEONARD JAMES P.	RICCO GIOVANNI
BATES CHARLES	FERRIS FRANK H.	LARSEN ALBERT C.	SCHULTZ GILBERT O.
BENNETT EDWARD	GODFREY FRANK C.	LOUDEN CLARENCE A.	SHEEHAN FREDERICK
BIRDSALL CORTLAND V.	GOLDSTEIN PETER	LUEVINE SAMUEL	SHEEHAN MARCUS
BLAKE MORTIMER G.	GOODROW WILLIS	MOORE FREDERICK	SMITH RUSSELL I.
BLOOM CHARLES H.	HALLWATER KENNETH	MOSCARIELLO THOMAS	SMITH WALTER J.
BURWELL JOHN C.	HALL ROBERT S.	MULVOY ANTHONY J.	SNIFFEN CHARLES H.
CAFFREY THOMAS P.	HAYES ARTHUR	NICHOLS CLAYTON W.	TARLOV AIME
CANTONI JAMES G.	HOLSTON ANSLEY H.	O’BRIEN JEREMIAH F.	WEED DAVID JONATHAN
CIFATTE STEPHEN	HUNT FREDERICK	OWENS PATRICK	ZOELLER WILLIAM
COLEMAN JAMES E.

 

THE CANNON THAT SURMOUNTS THIS MONUMENT WAS USED BY THE FRENCH
ARMY DURING THE WORLD WAR. IT WAS CAPTURED BY THE GERMAN ARMY AND LATER
RECAPTURED BY THE FRENCH AND PRESENTED TO THE
CITY OF NORWALK, CONN. JULY 16, 1921. BY THE REPUBLIC OF FRANCE