Almost Wordless Wednesday: Alvin Scherwinski Helping His Mom

I owe Al Scherwinski an apology: for years he recounted stories of his mother taking advantage of his presence at the kitchen sink to wash every plate, cup and saucer in the kitchen cupboards. I was convinced he was embellishing just a little. However, from the look of the piled up plates on the counter - he might have been telling the truth.

You rock, Ida.

"Alvin Scherwinski Helping His Mom." Digital image. January 15, 1961. Original photograph

privately held by Cindy Bergeron Scherwinski (c) 2013

Russian Dill Pickles

Whenever I think of my mother-in-law, I picture her in the kitchen: stirring something in a pot or sitting at the kitchen table slicing vegetables or fruit. As the second oldest of 12 children, she was well prepared to raise her own family of 6 children. Growing up in Agenda Township in Ashland county, Wisconsin, she and her sister Agnes not only helped out at home but served as cooks at their father's lumber camp. Later, they worked in Grandpa John's restaurant in Butternut, WI.

I recall Ida telling how disappointed she and Agnes were when they couldn't continue their schooling as their father needed their help at the lumber camps. Ida was always self-conscious about her perceived lack of education and penmanship.

Ida's father, Johannes Hoefferle was born in Austria and her mother, born in Grundy county, Illinois, was a first generation American. John Hoefferle immigrated to northern Wisconsin with his siblings and married Rose Schaper in 1907. 

Ida's family Prussian heritage and that of her German husband insured that many of their children's comfort foods would lean towards pork, sauerkraut, pickles and fruit desserts. 

Late summer traditionally was a busy time for Ida; "putting" up jars of pickles, including pickled beets; jars of fruit to be used for pies during the winter months and choke cherry syrup. Of all the comfort foods that Al recalls from his childhood, the one he has missed the most are his mother's homemade pickles. It has been a number of years since I have done any preserving but the sight of pickling cucumbers and fresh picked dill at the local Farmers Market found me returning home with ingredients for a batch of Ida's Russian Dill pickles.

While I didn't realize it at the time, I have a family treasure of having Ida's handwritten instructions for her pickles. I don't recall how it came to be that we were given the recipes but they have laid in my recipe box for years until recently. I know that they were written during "pickle season" as I recall her saying that she would measure out the ingredients and write them down since she rarely measure anything on the dishes that were her family favorites. When I pulled the recipes out of the box I was dismayed to read the instructions "...with dill and a little alum and pickling spice in each jar." Ida was not known for her portion size - her idea of  a little was always generous to say the least. After searching other pickle recipes, I settled on a 1/2 tsp of pickling spice and an 1/8 tsp of alum. 

It seems that alum has gone out of favor with many pickle recipes and I debated on whether or not to use it but in the end decided Ida used it for a reason and was true to her recipe.

I made a small batch of the Russian Dills, in the event I needed to adjust the ingredients. It was a very long week's wait before we opened the first jar: Ida must have been guiding my hands as the sweet dill taste with the crisp crunch was exactly as he remembered.

We now have a number of jars of Russian Dills along with garlic dill and pickled green and yellow beans in our downstairs to carry us through the winter and I understand Ida's satisfaction of seeing the jars filled with the green and white spears resting on a head of dill with spices working their magic. Bread & Butter Refrigerator Pickles with red peppers are being enjoyed as well.

Another recipe handed down from Ida are Cherry Dill pickles; for the past two weeks chunks of cucumbers, dill and choke cherry leaves have been marinating in a brine of salt water. Later this week I'll follow her instructions for making the brine and pack the pickles in jars with additional dill and leaves. Let's hope they are as successful as the Russian Dills.

Copyright (c) 2011 Cindy Bergeron Scherwinski

Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories - Dec. 10 Gifts

What were your favorite gifts, both to receive and to give?

Are there specific gift-giving traditions among your family or ancestors?

I firmly believe the topic of Christmas traditions is something soon-to-be newlyweds need to discuss before they say I do. Christmas traditions is something my husband and I failed to discuss until we had celebrated our second wedding anniversary. We would have discovered how different our Christmas traditions were much sooner had it not been for the fact Uncle Sam decided our first Christmas as husband and wife would be spent with Al in sunny South Vietnam.

Al's family opened their gifts on Christmas Eve, my family on Christmas morning. Al, the youngest of six children was a 'late in life' child with his siblings living away from home during his childhood. I am the oldest of four girls therefore had siblings to feed into the Christmas frenzy. There couldn't have been a more different Christmas gifting experience.

Al's family opened gifts after church on Christmas Eve leaving him to get up Christmas morning and enjoy his train set in peace. Meanwhile at my house, by the time Christmas morning arrived we were seriously sleep deprived . The first Christmas Al and I spent with my family he experienced severe sensory overload. Frank Sinatra on the stereo, coffee and egg nog with a plate of cookies and breads while the decibel levels gradually increased the closer we got to gift unwrapping. I vividly recall my youngest sister jumping up and down on the couch singing to Sinatra. Throughout the years, memories of Al helping my Dad assemble a doll crib (which included having to drill  new holes for the railings) and a refrigerator with 'ice cube' maker that had to be assembled in the middle of night have become the wonderful laugh till you cry stories we never get tired of telling.

Bride dolls, ice skates, guitars and record albums (Glen Campbell and Jimi Hendrix are the two that immediately come to mind) are a few of the gifts I recall receiving but the one gift that stands out in my memory is my first 'real' Mom gift.

Long before anyone considered the implications and effects Styrofoam meat  trays would have on our environment, the boys youth group at our church used them to make a Christmas tree for Mom. Somewhere along the way a few of the glass decorations were broken and the tree topper is missing but I can still recall the look on Chris's face when he presented me with his gift and recall it was wrapped in green tissue paper decorated with gold and red star stickers.

But Mary treasured all [these words] and pondered them in her heart. Luke 2:19

Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories - Dec. 3 Tree Ornaments

Did your family have heirloom or cherished ornaments?

Did you ever string popcorn and cranberries?

Did your family or ancestors make Christmas ornaments?

Having reminisced about the Christmas tree and the memorable holiday delicacies, I'm glad we are getting around to putting some bling on our Christmas tree.

 I love unwrapping the ornaments and seeing them again after spending almost a year safely tucked away out of sight but still have the ability to bring a smile to my face when I welcome them to this years Christmas celebration.

I can recall only one time when my family attempted to engage in recreating a Little House on the Prairie Christmas and stringing popcorn and cranberries. It isn't as easy as you think. The popcorn has to have aged - making it undesirable for eating but perfect for stringing. As long as you have the correct gauge needle and you place the needle just so ... probably one of the reasons why we only did it once and as I recall, the (very short) string of popcorn and cranberries adorned the outside shrubs with the rationalization that the birds would enjoy having a Christmas treat.

When Al and I celebrated our first Christmas together I recall being more than a little disappointed at the lack of Christmas decorations for our tree. Like so many young married couples we didn't have the funds for a tree let alone ornaments but somehow we managed to afford a couple packages of gold garland and a few boxes of ornaments. As I recall, my parents gave us a couple strings of lights.

It was during this first Christmas that my mother gave us our first heirloom tree ornaments: two glass ornaments given to her by Mr. and Mrs. Olson, neighbors of my paternal grandparents. The Olson's, immigrants from Sweden by way of Chicago, were an elderly couple whose house my sister Lisa and I loved to visit whenever we could. Mr. Olson smoked a pipe and the smell permeated the entire house and it seemed as if they always had a litter of kittens, which was always a delight to two little girls.

I'm not sure how my mother ended up with some of the Olson's Christmas ornaments but they are my most treasured holiday decorations. They are placed high enough on the tree to be well out of the reach of those cocker tails which are in perpetual motion. You may have noticed on the ACCM December 2nd post, the ornaments on the Christmas tree with the adorable English cockers sitting underneath, are placed well above cocker head-level and for good reason.

Here is a Christmas ornament I made at sometime during my elementary school career; a toilet paper roll covered with heavy foil paper and my initials written on with gobs of Elmer's glue and sprinkled with glitter. I know I am going to sound like an old lady ... but they don't make glitter like that anymore.

This Santa ornament is as old as my wedding dress. Two weeks after our wedding in September 1971, Al was shipped overseas for a tour of duty in Vietnam. My mother purchased a small artificial tree, made a number of felt ornaments to withstand the time in transit and sent it on its merry way. It meant so much to him but unfortunately the Army would not allow Al to bring the tree and ornaments home. He gave the tree and the ornaments to one of the Vietnamese women on base, except for one and smuggled this Santa home.

I love the myriad of Christmas decorations and ornaments that my mother has painted and presented to us over the years. She is a gifted artist and I look forward to sharing my mother's talents during other ACCM posts.

Ornaments in the cherished category, without a doubt, are the ones made by my children during their childhood; made of felt and Popsicle sticks, gold and silver sprayed macaroni in various shapes and sizes, they are all treasures. Certainly many of these fall into the category of ones that "only a mother could love."

I think about another ornament I made as a child - two sections of an egg carton glued together and decorated with glass balls and, once again, my name written in Elmer's glue and red glitter. It has been many, many years since anyone has thought of me as a child but when my parents are trimming their Christmas tree, when that ornament is unpacked and placed on a branch,I know they are transported back to a time when their oldest daughter was a skinny little girl who could barely contain her excitement waiting for Christmas.

Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories 2010 - Dec. 1 The Christmas Tree

Christmas. The mere mention of the word brings to mind a flood of emotions and memories all of which are tied to the sights, smells and traditions unique to each of us and shared with family. Central to our Christmas decoration is the tree and for that, we owe a debt of gratitude to Prince Albert for popularizing Christmas tree decorations. In 1841, following the German custom of his homeland, Prince Albert set up a tree at Windsor Castle. The London News published a now-famous illustration of the Christmas Tree at Windsor Castle which set the standard for how a tree might be expected to look. It wasn't long before the standard of the Christmas Tree at Windsor Castle replaced the custom of the Kissing Bough: a mixed piece of greenery which included mistletoe, evergreens, candles, apples and cinnamon sticks.

In 1854 a huge Christmas tree was placed at the site of the 1851 Great Exhibition at the Crystal Palace, a personal triumph for Prince Albert, which help increase the demand for Christmas trees. But the association of the fir tree with Christianity began long before Prince Albert. Tradition says St. Boniface, who converted the German people to Christianity almost 1,000 years ago, came across a group of pagans worshiping the oak tree and in anger cut down the tree. In its place a fir tree is said to have sprung up from the roots of the oak which St. Boniface took as a sign of the Christian faith.

From Illustrated London Times, 1848

There is a long line of cultures what have treasured the evergreen and have included them in their celebrations. On the arrival of the winter solstice, ancient Egyptians brought green date palms into their homes; the Romans celebrated Saturnus, the god of agriculture, by decorating their homes with greens and lights; the Druids of Great Britain used evergreens during their winter solstice rituals and used holly and mistletoe as symbols of eternal life and placed evergreen boughs over their doors to keep away evil spirits.

During the American Revolutionary War, Hessian troops introduced the custom to the fledgling American population along with German immigrants in Pennsylvania and Ohio but the custom was slow to spread. Puritans banned Christmas in New England; schools in Boston stayed open on Christmas Day until 1871, students who stayed home were sometimes expelled.

So with a tip of the crown to Prince Albert, here are a few of my favorite Christmas tree photos and memories.

One of my earliest memories of Christmas, celebrated at 'the farm' in 1958 with my maternal grandparents, Harley and Alma Polar Space. I am in the middle clutching my bride doll, my sister Lisa on the right, age 10-months, and second cousin, Patty, on the left. I vividly recall not being able to get to sleep on Christmas Eve and my father bringing me downstairs with the hope I would go to sleep in my grandmother's room. Fat chance of that happening after I caught a glimpse of my doll, in all her wedding glory, front and center under the tree.

Christmas 1966 in Madison, WI. This began the Bergeron family tradition of having two trees: one in the living room and the other in the family room. This was the upstairs living room tree. That is me, sporting the Twiggy hair style showing off my guitar to my youngest sister Lori while adorable pixie bob Michelle looks on.

Christmas 1970 in Madison, the downstairs tree.

Christmas in Eau Claire at my parents house, circa 1990, the upstairs tree overlooking the wonderful mayhem of Christmas morning.

The one and only Christmas we spent 'up north' at our cabin, about 1991. Al, Chris and Jeff headed off with the four-wheelers to cut down the tree with Christmas snow falling. No lights or ornaments, I had brought up every one's stockings and garland but it is one of my fondest Christmas memories.

 Our millennium Christmas taken in our family room in Plover. All I've ever wanted for Christmas: cockers under the tree.

My fondest childhood Christmas memories are wrapped up with my paternal grandparents, Charles and Mildred Little Bergeron. Bubble lights in the front window and the Christmas tree in the corner. My grandmother had a set of village pieces that she set up on the buffet in the dining room. A precursor to Dept 56 pieces and one of traditions I continue with my own collection of Dickens Village pieces. But that is for another post.

"Every day, during the week the tree stood there, Francie put on her sweater and stocking cap and went in and sat under the tree. She sat there and enjoyed the smell of the dark greenness of it. Oh, the mystery of a great tree, a prisoner in a tin bucket in a tenement front room!"  Excerpt from "The Christmas Tree in Brooklyn. Betty Smith. 1943 

Wordless Wednesday: Happy Birthday Chris!

Happy Birthday Christopher John. It has been a blessing and a joy to answer to you as Mom.

Copyright (c) 2010 Cindy Bergeron Scherwinski

Sharing Memories: A Genealogy Journal Week #9 Birthday Parties

Lorine Massey at Olive Tree Genealogy has created a year-long Genealogy Journey in Genealogy Journal Writing. Having my grandmother's travel journals and a diary among my family papers and treasures, I can appreciate the different perspective someone will have years from now with a glimpse into my life in the early years of the "new millinieum" as opposed to my view of  "who would be interested"?


On the highlight reel of my life, birthday's rank high on the list of celebrations. During my childhood, the countdown to October 10th began somewhere around July 4th. By the time we were in the single digits, I could barely sleep at night. During this period of my life we called October 10, 11 and 12, Birthday Week. My birthday was the 10th, my father's on the 11th; not only was my maternal grandmother's birthday October 12th, but she and my grandfather were married on October 12th in 1922. My father's mother, Mildred Little Bergeron, was born on October 26, 1899, and his sister, Marian, was born on October 23rd.

The memory that immediately comes to mind when I recall childhood birthday memories is the one captured in the photograph above. Taken at our apartment on First Avenue in Antigo, Langlade, Wisconsin, are the three birthday cakes my mother use to make. On the far left is the birthday cake for my grandmother, Alma Polar Space. On the right, my father's birthday cake with his birthday gift wrapped in what was probably the beginning of the tradition of asking if the gift was 'plaid or plain'. My cake is in the middle ... how I looked forward to those wonderful doll cakes! I don't know if my mother, who is wonderfully creative, thought of this herself or discovered it in a magazine but the decorating is the result of her sense of color and design. As I got older, the dolls 'aged' as well. I recall a birthday party at my grandmother Bergeron's house with friends from Antigo's Sixth Ward School; the cake being a harbinger of the Barbie doll in a decorated cake dress Scarlett O'Hara only dreamed of.

I cannot imagine the time - and expense - of making and decorating three cakes, can you?

In the fifty plus years that have passed since this photo was taken, my life has been blessed with the addition of brother-in-laws, nieces and nephews as well as my being welcomed into the Scherwinski family. The addition of my beautiful daughter-in-law is a blessing that, like the three son's I gave birth to, cannot be measured in words.

Now, Birthday Week has been expanded from October - with the addition of two brother-in-law's sharing their October 11th birthday with my father and other family members who share our opal birth stone - to February Birthday Week's celebrations that includes my sister, Lisa, oldest son, Chris, nephew, Chad and enough other family members to cause a spike in the profits of the Hallmark card company.

This past October my Dad celebrated his 80th birthday. The celebration marked the first time in several years our entire family gathered together and while we blew out candles on a shared birthday cake, we all looked forward to the birthday tradition we've begun since the time of doll birthday cakes - the tradtional birthday pie.


Copyright (c) 2010 Cindy Bergeron Scherwinski

Military Monday: Al Scherwinski

Alvin John Scherwinski

Military Service: Inducted 3 Dec 1970, Minneapolis, MN; Honorably Discharged 1 Dec 1972, Fort Carson Colorado. Basic Training, Fort Campbell Kentucky; AIT, Fort Benning Georgia; Advanced AIT, Fort Gordon Georgia. Overseas: Vietnam, 27 Sep 1971 - 21 May 1972. National Defense Service Medal; 1 Overseas Bar; Vietnam Campaign Medal with 60 Device; Sharpshooter Badge with M16 Rifle Bar; Vietnam Service Medal with 1 Bronze Service Star. 31 E20 Radio Repair.

Copyright 2010 Cindy Bergeron Scherwinski

A proud wife in debt to her husband for service to his country

For The Record

Wise Geek describes an epiphany as "as a moment of self-realization or discovery that enlightens or reveals the person’s character." The site goes on to state that some compare an epiphany as a "Gestalt", an "Ah-ha" moment when things become clear. My friend Maureen and I call these "mascara moments" for the fact that they seem to drop down (or pop up) at the most unexpected moments - such as when you are concentrating on applying mascara. My latest mascara moment occurred on a 'hit and run' trip to the Langlade County court house.

It was during one of those rare three-day week-ends 'up north,' with the colors of early autumn splashed across the landscape and a clear blue sky. When I should have been out walking with my camera, instead I found myself on my way into town for groceries.


"If I take the back way into town, I can stop at the court house for a few minutes, hit the library if I uncover anything interesting and still get to the grocery store with the majority of day left for photography." I felt confident that I could stick to my plan of spending just a few minutes at the court house due to the fact my research folder was not in the same county. Not to mention that over age fifty brain fade lending me powerless to recall more than one research subject (pardon the pun) off the top of my head.


My intention was to check collateral lines (cluster genealogy) in search of additional information on former neighbors of my father's parents. The Olson's gave my mother several glass Christmas ornaments, two of which hold places of honor on our Christmas tree, high above the reach of cocker spaniel tails. Hoping to learn more about the Olson's, I reached for the marriage index which fell open to the section of grooms names in the 's' section. I was surprised to see the index page listing the marriage of mother's parents, Alma Loretta Polar and Harley Allen Space. A few pages later is the index marking the marriage record of my parents, Phyllis Jean Space and H. John Bergeron. My 'Ah-ha' epiphany mascara moment was the realization that contained within the marriage records of Langlade County were three generations of my family: my grandparents, my parents and my oldest son and daughter-in-law.








How many times have I advised family historians to research beyond their direct lines - look in surrounding counties - look for clues to other family members who may be living in the same area. My epiphany - my ah-ha moment - was the reminder of just how alive history is. This was not something that had occured in the past but it was history that was occuring at this very moment. I have many vivid memories of my grandparents, I am blessed to have both of my parents to share and make new memories with as well as with our son and daughter-in-law. Family history is not static but rather something to be looked at in wonder - it is not something that just happens a long time ago, it is happening right now and tomorrow will create today's history. My family history became something more real - it reminded me of the blessing we received during the evening celebration following Chris and Ashley's wedding.


Chris and Ashley chose to exchange vows on the lawn of our beloved 'up north.' A place my grandparents called home after relocating to the original forty acres after a fire destroyed their home and farm during the early 1940s. Where my mother spent part of her life, the place I was brought to after my birth in 1953 and where Al and I spent a portion of our honeymoon.


This was the first time many of their friends had been out on a moonless night, away from any ambient light. While many of them had been to an outdoor wedding, those had occured at a park, not in the middle of 240 acres. They were amazed to see so many stars and the Milky Way as it was meant to be seen - spread across the sky in a band of pale light. Around 11:00 a soft glow began in the northern sky and spread until the entire sky was alight with dancing and flickering northern lights. Nature's fireworks. Elusive, ever changing, unpredictable. I could be describing family research.

Copyright © 2008 by Cindy Bergeron Scherwinski