Help preserve the Pierz Journals!

John William Janson 1891-1979

This morning, Larry asked if I recognized these folks: I didn't.  But it turns out they're related ('course they are, or I wouldn't post em! ☺)

Remember the two Janson families who arrived in Minnesota in the spring of 1883?  One was Joseph Janson, his wife Franziska, and their first five kids.  They were our great grands.
The other was Johannes Janson, his wife Maria Anna Sauer with their first five kids.  Joe and John were cousins, so the relationship is a generation farther removed, but they're still "our" Jansons, from Horrenburg, Rhine Nekkar Kreis, Baden, Germany.


John and Maria had 14 kids in all, but 3 of them died from a flu epidemic in November 1883.  The surviving 11 grew up just fine.  Some had families, some didn't, and one became a nun.  Yup, the man in the pic up there was one of the 11, also named John.  The photo was taken in 1955--John with his wife Anna Weires, and two of their daughters, Hildegard and Roseanna.  Pretty cool, huh?

That's John William Janson  as a kid (left)--maybe his First Communion or Confirmation?--and as a World War I soldier (right). He would have been 27 in 1918.  He married Anna Weires in April 1920.

The photo below was taken in May, 1956.  By December that year, both Mike and Joe had died, so it was a pretty precious get together for them.  

OK!  I think we have this photo properly identified now, thanks to Monica the great granddaughter of Theresa, lower left, and to Bob, Sophie's grandson.   THANKS, MONICA ☺ and THANKS, BOB!

 These two pics are pretty faded, but it looks like John and Anna enjoyed their lives and their family.
Working up from the youngest kid shown, we have Albert, Roseanna, Edward, Hildegard, and possibly Bernard in back, next to John.  We figure this was about 1944, since Roseanna looks about 10.  We don't know who the grandma or grandpa is in the back there.  Anyone know?

Ok, what else do we know about John and Anna?  This is their eldest son, John Herbert Janson.  I remember meeting him when I was a kid, at weddings and funerals, I suppose.  He was born in 1924, so he was 9 years younger than mom.  I remember him only as "old" and "nice".

And look--here they are on the cover of a reunion booklet from 2004.  Anna died in 1969, and John in 1979.  Looks like they had a huge wonderful family, huh?



Thanks to Carrie Stave, Bev Janson, Larry and Ancestry.com--! 
☺

To all my relatives:

Stille Nacht

A virtual sing-along with my siblings, at Christmas.

Musical Christmas presents for you

OK, this isn't Christmas music, but I can't think of any other legit 

reason to share it with you.

I just LOVE it, every time I watch it, and you will, too--trust me ☺:

Larry grew up in Hawaii.  Maybe 5 years ago, he sent four CDs by this man, Israel Kamakawiwo'ole.  I think I can sing along with 99% of them now...☺

This sweet infectious tune is one you can sing along with.  It's as tho Iz is singing a harmony part, just waiting for you to sing lead. 

YAY, Lord, of course

Let's hear some harmony!

Silver Bells

Ahh, this song is so fulla images of lights, cities and silver bells--how else to illustrate it, especially if you have Windows Movie Maker right there??
Still, I love it ☺

A family Fav

Let's Sing Christmas

  I picked videos in our voice ranges to post the rest of this week.  Sing your part, ok? 

 Mom's probably listening....  

Words

Mom was a champion speller in grade school (loosing a spelling bee to Cecilia Kapsner and resenting it for the rest of her long life) and a stickler for proper usage.  She believed you could fairly judge a person by the way they used words.  How hard was it to use 'saw' instead of 'seen'? To her, poor usage was willful stupidity.
So, I'm affected with a good share of it, too, but rarely run into it; I had to find my own peeve, and it turns out to be words-you-understand-on-the-page-but-can't-pronounce-or-use-even-tho-you-might-want-to.
For instance:

DEMUR (disagree or object)
DEMURE (modest, reserved)
EKES (...out a living) Great for crossword puzzles, tho.
SCION (...of a family)
TUMULT
DAIS
MELEE (a riot)
PUTATIVE
LEIGH (name)
LOUGH (pronounced lock)
PICARESQUE  (pik-uh-RESK)
adjective:
1. Of or relating to humorous or satiric fiction describing, in a series of episodes, the adventures of a roguish hero.
2. Of or relating to rogues or scoundrels.
PICTURESQUE  like a picture
LASSO
CHOATE is a school in Connecticut, right?  but then, what's
INCHOATE?

I think of Garrison's monologue about reading the word Egyptian and sounding it out in his head as E-gip-tee-un.  I truly get that, don't you?