Linda Marcos
Where did you or your family come from? What is the story of your ancestors?I was Born in Elmhurst Queens Ny. My mother was born in Guatemala & my father, in Peru.
My mother had to cross the border alone when she was 18 to be able to live here in the states. My father was fortunate to have his father be a well known comic book illustrator, who got much travel privledges from his job. As far as my ancestors go, i don't know much at all. On my mothers side, i know her father died at the age of 80 when she was 10 [she is now 45]. Her father was a Spainiard who took part in some war if my memory serves correct.
On my dads side i can only recall one memory that would be relative to ancestory. A few years back on a trip to Peru, we stopped by a town called Chincha. In it we visited a big old house [perhaps of someone important during that time. I don't remember.] Apperantly many slaves worked on that property, Includeing blacksmiths. Our last name was written on an iron or metal tub. The blacksmiths who worked on that big decorative tub had written their last names on it. My grandpa who was with us told us he wouldn't doubt that that was a relative of ours who worked on it, since his family was known to have lived in that area during those times & were enslaved then.
Think of a space you know intimately. Describe your neighbors--those you knew and didn't know. What did you have in common? What were your differences?When i am told to think of a space i know of intimately i think about my first bed room in elmhurst queens & my current bed room in coram longlsland. With neighbors, my favorites will always be from my first home/apartment i lived in when i was younger. I have "baby memories" there. So many neighbors! Non or whom i'd known personally though. My sister [who is just a year older] & i would always stare out windows from our third floor view. Sometimes with benoculars & sometimes not. We knew peoples routines & personalities in a sense that way. From the front of our apartment was this family who owned an entire house the block across from us [perhaps the only ones]. That was the house with the Pre-teen girls [who seemed older back then] wearing ill fitting clotheing. We came to know them as the older pretty girls though, for some reason. They just always hung outside their house, chilling. Some strangers would join them,pass & talk...& come to think of it...I now think they sold drugs. The neighbors on either side where only seen some times when we where entering our building. A quick hello, some memories of needing their help when we or they got locked out. I was too young to remember but it was an asian couple who i remember the most. They looked so happy all the time. Behind us lived a combination of people. We could see what went on on every floor. One lady always sun tanning out side on the side of the building. We saw people having sex sometimes too...i think we thought a lady was cheating on her man. Their was this guy with a bikini calender who either always stared at women or played games. We couldn't have known for every story or peoples relation with one another back then. Our childish minds ran wild, & what i made up in my head from what i saw back then is all i can remember. A lot of times the person would not be visible because they moved away from the window & i would have to draw my own conclusion of that mini story.
The people who lived in our building we knew more personally. The first floor was an indian family. Their living space had a distinct smell, the mom always looked happily busy & exhausted from watching her two boys & one daughter. The husband was nice. They where all generally nice i think. My mom never let me hang out with her children though. The second floor was our land lady & her husband, "the Vazories". A very inlove couple in their 70's. Greek & jewish i think. My parents & them where especially close. I always came down to visit them. I got Mr.vazories to be less bitter since i was always lively & nice i guess. We then built a friendship. I'd come to visit. Mrs.Vazories would talk with my mom & cook her Greek dishes. Mr. Vazories would tell my sister & i stories & give us chocolate truffles when we left. These are all some of my fondest memories as a child.
Where are you going next and how long will it take you to get there? Describe what you expect or imagine it to be like. What are your greatest hopes for your next move?I don't know where i am going next & i don't know how long it will take. When i was younger [like 4-10ish] I had always imagined my future in college/ when i'd be 18. I am now in college, 18 years old & much of my life is not exaclty like what i thought it would've been. Most of my expectations as a child of course where more visiual than anything. Although my "future" [now present] isn't so much like what i had in my head, i sort of am where i wanted to be. It just doesn't look or feel like what i thought it would. I am studying fine arts. My love for art has always stood. This is what i wanted as a child, this is what i am doing now. It's hard to put all these future thoughts in words since much of my life consists of me day dreaming about different aspirations & situations in my possable future.
I like to keep things simple now. In the end i just want to be happy. But yes, right now, inevetably, i do have a vision of this definition of "happy"[it will change]. As i did when i was a child & all my life till now. I want to be "a great & happy artist & person"...this is imagined as a busy older Linda, who is already inlove, has stable friends, her own life, & a nice cataloge of art work. Unfortunately, i do think even if this ever does happen. By then, i will not appreciate it around me and i will create another vision of "happy". I hope this isn't the case though.
Who ever knows for sure though? Happy seems to not be a general feeling you reach at a point in your life...At least not to me right now. It seems like something ephemeral, always & yet rarely ever really happening. Easily missed too. However, some day when & if i know, that i really helped,moved or inspired someone in an emotional way with my art...it would be ultimately reaching the "i've made it" check point...the point where i know i will not be generally happy for ever after this, but at least i made it to this specific goal. [To have emotionally moved someone with my art]
Describe your first memory of a place.I can't remember if this is a dream or something i made up in my head when & if someone told me they remember something of me...but, I'd say my earliest memory is sitting in my crib. Stareing between the white bars in the dark with the door cracked open....I can't trust this memory though.
Carroll
Where did you or your family come from? What is the story of your ancestors?I was born at Stanford (CA) Children's Hospital, and my family has lived in the San Francisco Bay Area for 3 generations. Most of my family still lives there. Long ago my Mother's family moved from Denmark to Florida, and then came to California within a few years. My father's mother was born in the region of Germany that has switched from being part of Germany to being part of Poland, and back again, throughout history. Her family moved to the MidWest when she was a toddler, and she moved to San Francisco when she was a young woman seeking her first job as a nurse.
Think of a space you know intimately. Describe your neighbors--those you knew and didn't know. What did you have in common? What were your differences?When I was growing up in San Jose, we had a very close-knit neighborhood. The adults were all hard-working and white, but rather than being all Protestant, we were the only non-Catholic family on the block. Most of the families were of Italian descent, and their Grandparents visited all the time, so it wasn't that big a leap to start describing myself as being "Italian by osmosis".
Where are you going next and how long will it take you to get there? Describe what you expect or imagine it to be like. What are your greatest hopes for your next move?I moved to Iowa ten years ago, with my husband and young daughter, but my older sons all have strong ties to the West Coast. I don't expect to move again, but life can surprise you. I expect to stay here and eventually die here after a good long life. My greatest hopes are that my children will be happy and thrive, and I can see already that that means they will all live in different parts of the country.
Describe your first memory of a place.My first memory of a place would have to be of my Grandmother's house in Palo Alto, CA. It was built in the 1930s, I think, and had smaller rooms than some of the other houses I remember being in. Being that my Grandmother and Aunt were the only ones that lived there, it was not a 'kid-friendly' house at all, and seemed to be filled with breakable knick-knacks and fussy plants like African Violets that you had to be careful not to knock over or brush up against. THey were both involved in Eastern Star (a Masonic group), so there were always crafts-- corsages being made, fancy formal dresses being sewn, or table decorations with loads of lace and ribbon laying around.
Leisha Stelken (Stanek)
Where did you or your family come from? What is the story of your ancestors?My great grandfather came over on the boat from Czechlosavakia in the early 20th century and landed in a small town in southwest Wisconin. My grandparents, and father (baby of 13) are 100% Czech, making me 50,50. My mother's side of the family is pure German, and not much is known or talked about when it comes to that side of the family. When my grandfather died on my mother's side, I learned that he was a great competitive boxer in high school.
A little scandal has occured in my family. My father's brother and my mother's brother were great friends. In 1961, while the two of them were out having a good time, they crashed the car and both died. My mother was 1, my father 4 at the time. The car accident is not spoken of, and it seems to be a mystery as to who was driving. When my parents got married, I believe it was hard for the families to accept the union. I know to this day, my mother's mother holds a grudge against my father's family.
I am a decendent of hard working dairy farmers; my parents have recently turned Organic. I migrated from Wisconsin to Iowa when I turned 18, to pursue an education, and to get away / out of my small town, knowing that I didnt want to fall into the lifestyle of the farm, even though I highly respect their hard work.
Think of a space you know intimately. Describe your neighbors--those you knew and didn't know. What did you have in common? What were your differences?As a child, my mom ran a daycare. A space I knew intimatley was the space behind the furnace in the 'back room'. As children we were scared of that space, yet used it for hide and seek. As a small child, I could sqeeze myself behind the the furnace, my back against the cold block wall. It was dirty, and dark, only one basement window lit the space. Dad kept his tools down there, butched trophy deer on the other side of the wall my back was against.
I had lots and lots of neighbors when I was a child. We played with everyone, because there were three other daycares besides ours on the street. Twenty plus kids ran that Klondike Avenue. There were a couple of neighbors that we were afraid of as children. The old man and his wife across the street kept their lawn beautifully manicured, and if we were caught with one toe on, the old man screeched from his house. Sometimes the old wife would answer the door without her white hair on (when we were selling girl scout cookies), and that made us feel very uncomfortable. There was another older woman that lived on our side of the street, and she had a mentally challenged granddaughter named Kim. She yelled when she talked and walked kind of funny compared to the rest of the adults, so she mad us feel uneasy.
Where are you going next and how long will it take you to get there? Describe what you expect or imagine it to be like. What are your greatest hopes for your next move?I dont know where I am going next. I havent planned that far in the future as of now. I do know that in three to five years I will be moving into a new house, maybe it will be in a differnt town, maybe on the same side of the city that I am at now. I do expect the kitchen to be larger than my current kitchen is now. Petty, I know, but it's what I would like to have. Hopes? Hope to have better neighbors. Not that my neighbors arent nice, but I want the relationship with my neighbors now that small towns have.
Describe your first memory of a place.I believe I am in a walker, surrounded by the color green. I know that I am close to the floor, very close to the floor, but I am standing upright. The floor is not soft. I see the oven in front of me, and I sense that it is hot. Smoke starts billowing from the oven. I dont remember feeling panicked, but I remember the area around me starting to fade away. I think this is my earliest memory of place.
Cody Bouwman
Where did you or your family come from? What is the story of your ancestors?I will confess that I don't have a great deal of knowledge regarding my ancestory. My father lives on the same piece of farmland that his father did, from what he has told me in the past, my great grandparents came to this country only able to speak Dutch. My mother's maiden name is French, other than that my grandparents haven't really ever discussed with me my heritage. In a way I guess it is sad how quickly we forget those who came before. Perhaps I should have taken the time to better understand where I have come from, it's not like it would have been hard. I guess I spend most of my time looking ahead as opposed to back, never taking a glimpse at the trail blazed behind me.
Think of a space you know intimately. Describe your neighbors--those you knew and didn't know. What did you have in common? What were your differences?Growing up on a piece of farmland out in the middle of knowhere made developing a sense of community very difficult for me. My nearest neighbor lived about a quarter of a mile from my house. In spite of this my parents always seemed to know everyone, I never took the time to care about what the adults around me occupied there time with. I did know a few of my neighbors, a girl my same age who lived half a mile from me road the same bus as me to school, we still keep in touch to this day. I suppose it's always easier to know those who live around you when they are going through many of the same experiences.
Where are you going next and how long will it take you to get there? Describe what you expect or imagine it to be like. What are your greatest hopes for your next move?I don't have the slightest idea where I might find myself in life later on. I know I plan to leave my parents house within the next two years; but other than that its a mystery to we where I'm headed. I kind of prefer it be like that, there is no point in creating a fanciful image of where i'm headed if I'm uncertain of where i want to go. Wherever it is though, I can only hope that some sort of satisfaction will come into my life from living there.
Describe your first memory of a place.Last summer I made a temporary move, a vacation. I went with some friends to Rocky Mountain national park in Colorado. When I think about what it was like, I see walls of rock and earth all around me. The elevation and magnitude of the hills and mountains stick in my mind as the primary memory because I lived most of my life in such a flat area, able to see for miles. It was as if some tremendous creature had thrown the earth upward long ago and then went dormant, allowing the trees and lakes to form after the chaos had subsided. The water was so clear, again, a great contrast to the crick by my house which was the color of earth all the time, aptly named "mud crick". There was a crispness in the air, the kind I thrive in, where the air is cold but the sun is bright and the scent of the natural fawna wofts through the wind. I never felt tired when a hiked off the trails.
Raechal
Where did you or your family come from? What is the story of your ancestors?My mothers great grandparent's migrated from Turkey and Lebanon, I believe my father's great grandparents migrated from Germany.
Think of a space you know intimately. Describe your neighbors--those you knew and didn't know. What did you have in common? What were your differences?Think of a space I know intimately...work.. My co-mates are all friendly but they have their moments. We are servers. Some of them are married and have kids of their own, some are attending school like I am, others serve as their only way of making money. I could never serve my whole life. It gets annoying and people take advantage of you at times. Very few tip properly and that is one of hte biggest low points of serving.
Where are you going next and how long will it take you to get there? Describe what you expect or imagine it to be like. What are your greatest hopes for your next move?I am finishing school. I want to be an elementary education teacher, preferably i would like to teach kindergarten. While going to school I work at a restaurant. I look forward to working with students, helping them succeed. I love the looks on their faces when they have solved a problem on their own, I love being their role model. I hope to someday move out of Iowa. I don't know where but I feel like something bigger is out their waiting for me. My biggest dream is to perform in a broadway show. Singing is one of my biggest passions.
Describe your first memory of a place.My first memory of my dance studio was unforgetable. I remember being shy and timid about talking to the other girls. Keep in mind I was only 4 years old when I first started dancing that would continue on for a 14 year long journey. THe dance instructor was so nice and funny too. She had us pretend we were melting icecream cones. We did kicks from wall to wall. Stretched to soothing music and learned a fun routine.
Barry "Butch" Sigel
Think of a space you know intimately. Describe your neighbors--those you knew and didn't know. What did you have in common? What were your differences?Growing up, in a row house in Baltimore, all the adult neighbors were addressed as "Uncle" and "Aunt". It made you feel protected..at least until I became an adolescent. All the families were pretty much the same. Lower middle class Jews with about 2 kids each, the fathers back from military duty during WW2. I was the only kid who didn't go to public school. My time was spent in the religious institution across street from us, getting home several hours after my sister. To this day i have no idea why my father and mother thought that sending me there was a good idea. It fostered a self conscienceness in my young mind that took years of therapy to correct.
Where are you going next and how long will it take you to get there? Describe what you expect or imagine it to be like. What are your greatest hopes for your next move?No plans on going anywhere other than brief forays to warm 3rd.world countries.
Describe your first memory of a place.I guess my house on Cottage Ave. in Baltimore. Small rowhouse with 3 bedrooms upstairs. Being the lone son,I got the tiny one and Leslie had to share with our non-English speaking Grandmom. I spent a lot of time in the basement, building models and hanging out. We had a backyard and a porch in front. I was always aware of living in a house connected to other families.
Anonymous
Where did you or your family come from? What is the story of your ancestors?My family came from Germany. The story of my ancestors starts at the Ronneburg Castle in Germany. Many of my ancestors were looking for religious freedom. In 1842, Christian Metz led a group to the United States and they originally settled in New York. Many from that group, including my grandparents and Christian Metz, traveled to Iowa and settled to establish the Amana Colonies in the late 1800's.
Think of a space you know intimately. Describe your neighbors--those you knew and didn't know. What did you have in common? What were your differences?I knew all of my neighbors growing up, and all the neighbors knew me. I lived in such a small town, that literally everyone knew everyone. We had a lot in common - German heritage, Caucasian, and were members of the Amana Church. The big difference between me and my neighbors was our age.
Where are you going next and how long will it take you to get there? Describe what you expect or imagine it to be like. What are your greatest hopes for your next move?What I hope is next for me is graduating from Mt. Mercy in December 2010 with a BS in Elementary Education. I imagine my first full year of teaching will be very busy; it will also be my youngest son's senior year of high school. My greatest hopes for my career in teaching is that I would have many opportunities to make a difference in a child's life. I want to be the kind of teacher where none of the students can say I have a "favorite." I want all of my students to feel like they are equally valued and important to me.
Describe your first memory of a place.My first memory of my first date with my "now husband" was great. We had so much fun. We went out to dinner and then attended a Iowa Hawkeye Wrestling Meet. The Iowa Hawkeyes are ALWAYS rated in the top 5 for wrestling - it was a great match and a great date. I still have the original dinner receipt and wrestling ticket from nearly 26 years ago!
Cecile Goding
Where did you or your family come from? What is the story of your ancestors?My mother always said she was from Chicago. She left Chicago at the age of two, and has spent the rest of her life in small, Southern places like Effingham, South Carolina and Phenix City, Alabama. My father's family is from places in Georgia and South Carolina, some of which can no longer be found on maps. His family can be traced to a sea captain in the 1700's, who disembarked with his wife in Charleston, selling his ship and his cargo to buy a farm. I can only imagine what might have been his "cargo." Another ancestor is recorded as "dying an untimely death at Manassas." My grandmother used to play the piano for silent movies; my grandfather heard her before he saw her, a slim silhouette below the movie screen.
Think of a space you know intimately. Describe your neighbors--those you knew and didn't know. What did you have in common? What were your differences?In Saudi Arabia, my husband and I lived in a walled compound along with 14 other American families. It was not that unusual. Walls around family compounds are common in the Middle East, as in many other places. Outside our wall was a massive construction site: Riyadh in the late seventies. Our neighbors sometimes lived in tents; their goats picked at trash left by workers; their boys came to our doors to ask for water, which was so precious, unlike gasoline.The women wore three veils and were very hospitable. They taught my son to play a kind of jackstone game with desert pebbles. I always consider Riyadh our first home, as we were married only a couple of weeks before arriving in The Kingdom.
Where are you going next and how long will it take you to get there? Describe what you expect or imagine it to be like. What are your greatest hopes for your next move?My husband and I live in an old house; the woman who built the house lived there for 60 years. I expect I will leave the same way she did, on a stretcher.
Describe your first memory of a place.I remember a horse-shaped swing in Ocala, Florida. There was a young rattlesnake under the swing. My young aunt came out and chopped its head off with a hoe.
Kristine Kouba
Where did you or your family come from? What is the story of your ancestors?I came from Wyoming, Iowa
My ancestors were Czech
Think of a space you know intimately. Describe your neighbors--those you knew and didn't know. What did you have in common? What were your differences?I space I know intimately is my dorm room.
I knew my neighbor across the hall from last year. I knew my roommate from last year. The neighbor to my left is a transfer student - I don't know her very well.
We are all Sophomores and either 19 or 20 years old. The transfer student and I both like the movie Sex and the City.
My roommate and I are different because she was born in Arkansas and I was born in Iowa.
Where are you going next and how long will it take you to get there? Describe what you expect or imagine it to be like. What are your greatest hopes for your next move?I am going to supper next. It will take me two minutes to get to the caferteria. I hope there will be good food tonight. I imagine a large salad with tomatoes, cheese, and chicken. I also imagine some hot soup being served tonight. My greatest hopes are that I find enough good food to fill me up.
Describe your first memory of a place.I remember my Uncle Pete's house. He died and we went into the house to take a couple chairs. I remember the floor tiles being wet and some were coming up from the floor. The bathroom was small and in the toliet, there was no water. The living room had a musty smell and dead flies were on the floor. The stairs leading up to the attic were wooden. Three steps before the top, one step was broken. Upstairs, dead lady bugs and cobwebs were everywhere. There was an old twin sized bed with a saggy mattress and stains on the bedsheet. The floor creaked, the windows were dirty and old, and the curtains smelled.
Vicky Grube
Where did you or your family come from? What is the story of your ancestors?I thought we all lived in the midwest since the sun rose over Dixon Mounds ( native American burial mounds: all school children take annual field trips there)
My family came from Matoon Illinois although my mother tearfully admits as I break the news to her that I am leaving the cornfields for the mountains of North Carolina " You had family that crossed the Cumberland Gap!"
I know my Matoon grandfather Forest had a father named Oneota great uncles named Zollehoeffer and Oseola and a great aunt named Daisy.
I have a memory of my Great grandmother Laura in a Matoon hospital bed . She was 99 years old with soft pink skin and a dark brown braid resting over her shoulder. "Your great grandmother had dark hair her entire life and never dyed it" my mother tells me this over pumpkin pie and coffee. " She was always remodeling their home. She herself removed walls and added doorways."
Think of a space you know intimately. Describe your neighbors--those you knew and didn't know. What did you have in common? What were your differences?The space I know intimately is the kitchen. Through my kitchen window I can see mountains and a clothesline. My neighbors are only on one side of my kitchen. My kitcchen has a radio that I turn on every morning first thing. Because reception is so poor, I have rigged a broom to stand upright in the middle of the kitchen with the radio wire antennae wrapped around the tip of the broom handle. The broom stands erect kind of enchanted like something from The Sorcerers Apprentice unitl you notice the thin white wire like a tightrope walker's balance.
Where are you going next and how long will it take you to get there? Describe what you expect or imagine it to be like. What are your greatest hopes for your next move?I am walking across campus to the library. It will take me five minutes. I have to go down a very steep hill and I imgaine it will be cold since it was when I left the house today. I hope to move to a place that has a mixture of populations - it seems too homogenous here
Describe your first memory of a place.I remember my childhood bed. It had an ocean liner carved on teh headboard. I also remember sitting inside of a cardboard box in my front lawn when I was very young.-- like four years old- I had made it into my car and it felt very freeing.
Meghan Bean
Where did you or your family come from? What is the story of your ancestors?Most of my ancestors are from Ireland. My last name was originally McBean until one of my distant relatives living in Maine ranaway with his first cousin. They got married and dropped the "Mc" from their name.
Think of a space you know intimately. Describe your neighbors--those you knew and didn't know. What did you have in common? What were your differences?My neighbors surrounding my childhood home were very diverse. I remember my next door neighbor despised my family. She once overheard my mother saying she disliked the color of her house. From that point on we never spoke to her unless she was complaining.
Where are you going next and how long will it take you to get there? Describe what you expect or imagine it to be like. What are your greatest hopes for your next move?I am currently living in St. Louis for graduate school and I will be here for another year. I would like to move back to New York, but something tells me I will stop in Iowa before another big move. Everytime I go back to Iowa after being away it feels like a whole new place. I am always surprised that even at home one can feel like a tourist. My greatest hopes for my next move are to get slightly settled in somewhere. After being so mobile for the last few years it would be nice to get my feet on the ground. I am currently a visual arts student and I would like to find a place to advance my art career. This would involve living somewhere with a rich and progressive arts community.
Describe your first memory of a place.I remember visiting my grandmother's house and I always picture myself as an infant. I know I must have been older to remember this, but my parents were walking me up a big white porch. I distinctly remember a screen door with chipped blue paint surrounding the screen. I know there was a stark contrast between the sunny outside and the dark interior of the house. I remember being crammed in a corner around a recliner conversing about something like a new baby, or maybe the focus was elsewhere. The cream colored curtains filtered the light making it a warmer color than it already was. There were plants so long they grazed the floor. This space felt so loving anything could thrive. There was a mixture of hardwood floors and mismatched carpet still rough around the edges. The carpet looked beaten down after years of trampling. I mostly remember a green colored shag carpet with bits of sand and other paraphernalia in it. My memory of the space is so faded I can only remember certain details. I would soon become better acquainted with this place and refer to it as a second home.
David Van Allen
Where did you or your family come from? What is the story of your ancestors?I left Iowa City 20 or so years ago. I miss what it was, but it's changed since I've lived there, and now I don't care for it as much. I definitely outgrew some parts of it as the age of the students remains constant, but I get older. I live in CedarRapids now and have a terrific studio with lots of space in an old factory building. Iowa City didn't have any old factories. The two towns smell pretty much the same. Cedar Rapids used to smell badly, but the meat packing plant quit and the town smells a lot better. Occasionally, when the wind blows from the south, we all get a whiff of the city dump (Mount Trashmore). But that's in the process of being capped off, so it will soon be less of an (ole)factor. I miss the five o'clock whistle in Iowa City. It still blows. My Mom told us, as kids, to come home for dinner when we heard the five o'clock whistle.
Jessica Joens
Where did you or your family come from? What is the story of your ancestors?grew up in Iowa, but moved to Chicago for two years. When I moved back, I realized what it meant to be home. The smells, the familiarity, the traffic. It just felt right, like I was always meant to be here. I might move away again, but I know I'll always come back home.
Think of a space you know intimately. Describe your neighbors--those you knew and didn't know. What did you have in common? What were your differences?When I was little we had an old married couple that lived next door. I would hang out there all the time. It felt safe and I got attention that I didn't get at home with two parents working full time and three older brothers. The woman used to leave the curtains open while she did dishes. The thing was, she was in her 80's and would do dishes topless. She's almost 100 years old and healthy!
Where are you going next and how long will it take you to get there? Describe what you expect or imagine it to be like. What are your greatest hopes for your next move?I want to move to a New York or California and work in television. This is my first semester back in college, so I suspect it will take a while to accomplish that goal. I imagine when I do my first internship it will be scary beyond belief, but I have to do it. Not only to prove to myself, but to everyone, that I can be something more than what I am now.
Describe your first memory of a place.
My parents owned a restaurant/bar. I remember sitting at the bar with a whole bunch of old men, eating chicken strips and onion rings. The jukebox was playing Elvis and I was happy because I was eating and getting to be around my parents.
Alison Swanson
Where did you or your family come from? What is the story of your ancestors?The things I love about Iowa are the things that other people loathe. Primarily the smell of Quaker Oats and the cold, cold winters. Things like sweet corn and Lake McBride don't hurt, but the things that I miss are the smell (and the sight) of an ocean. I miss seeing people of different cultures walking around...even more than that, I miss cultural food!
Think of a space you know intimately. Describe your neighbors--those you knew and didn't know. What did you have in common? What were your differences?Freshman year in college meant dorm life. My neighbors and my roommate all had one thing in common: we were from Iowa. Most of those same people were majoring in Nursing. Other than that, we were different. Many girls who lived near me came from small towns and truthfully, the town I came from wasn't very big either. Still, I felt different from them because of my mind-set. Some girls thought that living in Cedar Rapids was like living in Chicago; they literally thought the city was that big. For me, Cedar Rapids is small, and I tend to dislike many of its inhabitants. So, that was a difference. Lots of my new neighbors liked country music, but I certainly don't. The differences greatly outnumbered the things we had in common.
Where are you going next and how long will it take you to get there? Describe what you expect or imagine it to be like. What are your greatest hopes for your next move?Ultimately, I want to have a fulfilling life. Until then I have to focus on graduating college, and somehow doing so with a respectible gradepoint average. After college, I'm applying for AmeriCorps and Teaching for America and hope to teach to those who are in need. After those three years go by, I hope to start a family by first getting married. Somewhere in the back of my mind I predict that I'll become a surrogate mother for my neice and nephew, who have already had a hard life. All I really know for sure is that at the end of the day, I want to help others find happiness. Since I still have 2-3 years until graduation, I've got to do things for me. Those things include studying abroad, taking road trips, and making lists for the future because that's what makes me happy.
Anonymous
Where did you or your family come from? What is the story of your ancestors?I love that the place I'm in now is my childhood home and there are memories all over the place. It's also interesting to look back on pictures to see how the house and my family have changed
Think of a space you know intimately. Describe your neighbors--those you knew and didn't know. What did you have in common? What were your differences?The neighbors behind us had a boy about my age and I used to go over to play with him. The neighbors next to us are an older couple and I would go over to see what the husband was building in the garage. I was probably more of a nusiance to them but I enjoyed it.
Where are you going next and how long will it take you to get there? Describe what you expect or imagine it to be like. What are your greatest hopes for your next move?My next move will be to my own apartment, perhaps with my boyfriend. I imagine that the move will be very difficult since this house is the only house I've ever known.
Anonymous
Where did you or your family come from? What is the story of your ancestors?Basically my entire family is from Iowa. When my mom was pregnant with me, her and my dad decided to move to California where some of his family was living. I was born in San Diego in 1989. Less than a year later my mom realized she missed her own family too much so they decided to move back to Cedar Rapids, where I lived until the summer after my freshman year of high school. I then moved to Iowa City for the remainder of high school, and then back to Cedar Rapids when I began school at Mount Mercy in 2007.
My mom's side of the family came from Norway, and some of my great-great-grandparents were immigrants from Norway. Most of them settled around the Decorah, Iowa area where some of my great-grandparents still reside today.
Where are you going next and how long will it take you to get there? Describe what you expect or imagine it to be like. What are your greatest hopes for your next move?By the time I finish school I hope to have moved back to Iowa City. I'm still trying to figure out job possibilities, but my dream job would be an editor of a magazine or some sort of job involving graphic design and page layout. Also, the summer of 2011, which is the year I graduate, I will be getting married. I think this is when my 'adult life' will begin to happen. I will have a college degree, be married, and be settled in to find a career.
Describe your first memory of a place.My first memory of a place is day care. It was near Green Square Park in Cedar Rapids, so we spent a lot of time at the park. I went with my cousin who was the same age as me, and the one thing I can remember is them making us play these games we thought were stupid at the time, but we were too young to say no.
Anonymous
Where did you or your family come from? What is the story of your ancestors?I grew up on a farm near a town of 400 people in eastern Iowa. My ancestors immigrated to the US from England, Ireland, Scotland, and Germany. Their main motivations were to escape poverty and military conscription in Europe, but a few ended up being drafted to serve in the Civil War.
Think of a space you know intimately. Describe your neighbors--those you knew and didn't know. What did you have in common? What were your differences?I lived in a small and cheap apartment. While everyone was friendly during the day, at night, one couple would have loud and seemingly violent arguments that left me wondering whether to call the police.
Butler
Where did you or your family come from? What is the story of your ancestors?The story of my Fathers (but not Mothers) is one of conquest, brutal theft of land, and genocide. It all started 30,000 years ago when my paternal ancestors were some of the first Cro-Magnon people to emerge out of Central Asia into what is now Europe. We cohabited the land for many centuries with the Neanderthal but greed and corruption got the best of us. Over the course of several millennia we competitively replaced the Neanderthal in their native land and began the systematic colonization of modern Europe, killing off an entire species of proto-humans in the process.
My people made the Pyrenees Mountains their home for untold generations after that. Current-day Southern France, Northern Spain, Andorra, and parts of Northern Portugal are what we called home for thousands of generations. Much later, during the Roman Empire, some of my family can be triangulated to the coasts of the Catalan-Balearic Sea in western Spain. We were no doubt conscripted to conquer land.
Another branch, which lived a bit further north in Southern France, were some of the first families to invade Ireland in the 12th century A.D., again, fueled by a lust for conquest and domination. Theobald Walter, who accompanied Prince John (the bad guy in the Robin Hood stories) into Ireland in 1185, was named Butler of Ireland. Theobald changed his surname to Butler to mark his service to the crown. This is the origin of my current family name and Kilkenny Castle in Southern Ireland became the seat of the Butler family for 500 years. To some it represents the spoils of war – to others, the domination of an indigenous population.
A group of Butlers moved from Ireland to the New World in the 17th century, becoming farmers and trappers – and no doubt slave owners - in the Appalachian Mountains of Kentucky before heading north, up the Big River, into Illinois near Carthage. Since the early 1800’s, the Butlers have lived on or around the Mississippi River. This is where I grew up: as the grandson of two Railroad men on the banks of the Mighty Mississippi. I hope our brutal legacy has come to a close at last.
In fact, one very small branch of our paternal family tree now ends with me, my brother, and one male cousin. Unless we produce sons, that twig of the tree ends with us. So far, I think we’ve decided to let that happen.
Think of a space you know intimately. Describe your neighbors--those you knew and didn't know. What did you have in common? What were your differences?I often think about an apartment I lived in for 4 years west of the river in Iowa City. It was tucked behind a large vein of trees that ran through town, near the river. If one explored the mini forest they’d find hidden staircases and secret paths leading up a steep hill behind our buildings.
Due to dramatic goings-on, I was a very different person moving out of than I was moving in. I attribute a lot of that transformation on the almost magical qualities of this area and dwelling. I knew and got to know some of my neighbors quite well. I always wondered if they went through the same transformation that I did.
Where are you going next and how long will it take you to get there? Describe what you expect or imagine it to be like. What are your greatest hopes for your next move?The story of physical migration is not my story. I have no amazing tales of walking across the desert to be reunited with family. I can’t tell you what it’s like to visit dozens of countries. I have no knowledge of the smell of local foods cooking half-way around the world. I live in an electronic landscape of anonymous identities, bewilderingly new cultural norms, strange digital religions, symbolic complexity, and vast – endless- information.
Where am I going next? 127.0.0.1
Describe your first memory of a place.I would have been 23 months old. Stepping out of the car with my mother and walking downtown with her to find a birthday present for my father. We bought him a coffee cup. It was a white Spirit of ’76 bicentennial mug. I remember the store but the strongest (and earliest) memory is the curb. Something about the transition between car and sidewalk made an indelible impression upon my young synaptic nerves and memory cells. Perhaps she said something to me that cemented that place and time into my brain forever, I don’t know.
Casey Lynne DeMato
Where did you or your family come from? What is the story of your ancestors?My Family from a few generations came from Ireland and and Germany, they came here like every other family. An extrodernary pilgramnage like every other ordinanry American family. They are Middle class, Harding people, just trying to live. Nothings really changed. My family Enjoys everything they can, and works hard to keep it.
Think of a space you know intimately. Describe your neighbors--those you knew and didn't know. What did you have in common? What were your differences?My house is full of people,I know every square inch of this place, somethings always in it. My house is more like a shell for living. that hold all of us in. With all the movement and people coming in and out and music playing, babies crying you would think this house was a living thing.
My family has lived here since I was young. We were they only kids on the block when we first moved here, and with time all those old people that used to give us candy, and wave from their front door window, all passed away. Now I dont help anyone put there trash out, and I just get angry when my neighbor parks their white acura in my parking spot.
Where are you going next and how long will it take you to get there? Describe what you expect or imagine it to be like. What are your greatest hopes for your next move?Im not sure where im going, so naturally i dont know how long it will take to get there. Im just waiting pretty much to move in with my boyfriend. With him is the only place I really feel safe, and really complete. Some say is nieve and silly, and childish, and that I have to grow up. My answer to that is, Go through what i went though, and you'll be wise enough to make your own decissions, and brave enough to see them through.
Describe your first memory of a place.My first memory of a place is probably my room i shared with my sister, and all the barbies we had stocked up in this small closet sized room. and the two twin beds oposite walls that were almost touching. Even though we had so many toys, our favorite thing to do was to jump from bed to bed untill ulmitatly we hit into each other, of fell on the floor.... such a stupid game, but honestly i would play it now if I could.
Kathryn Hagy
Where did you or your family come from? What is the story of your ancestors?I have come full circle, in a sense. My great-grandparents came from Germany and Denmark. The German side settled in Iowa, where my grandmother on my mother's side was born. Eventually, the family moved to Washington state, where both my parents were born and raised and where my siblings and I were predominantly raised. After stints in various Pacific Northwest and East coast locales, I moved to Iowa. I didn't find out until after I moved here, that my gradmother was born here.
Think of a space you know intimately. Describe your neighbors--those you knew and didn't know. What did you have in common? What were your differences?When I was between the ages of 5-7, we lived in Idaho. It was the first house where I memorized the address, and I still remember it because it rhymed: 325 Sunset Drive. We called the neighbor to our right the "Planet Lady" because her landscaped yard was covered with rocks and Irish moss, and to us, resembled the surface of another planet. I don't think she liked kids. We were always getting into trouble for running barefoot throught the moss and playing outer-space games in her yard. The retired man who lived to our left had a beautiful rose garden in his front yard. I think his name was Carl. My sisters and best friend Chris and I used to love running down the block in our underwear (back then, you could do things like that). Carl never complained or said anything about it when we came over to beg for candy and cookies. He didn't give out treats, but enjoyed playing his flute for us. Apparently, he had been a musician. I didn't find out until I was much older that Carl was totally blind. It gave new meaning to my memories of him tending his rose garden, playing the flute, and ignoring our scant clothing.
Describe your first memory of a place.My first memory is of our family trip to Mexico when I was 2 years old. My family claims I couldn't possibly remember this far back and they could be right. My dad documented our entire trip in slides and every year when I was growing up, we would have at least one family slide show (buttered popcorn included) on a projection screen. I've heard so many stories over the years about this trip that I can no longer separate the stories from my own memory.
We spent a month driving down the coast and through Mexico in a Scout and RV when my parents were between homes. They were building a new house, but it wasn't ready yet. My mom was pregnant with my sister and my older brothers were teenagers.
My brothers wanted to stop along the side of the road because they spotted a large dead lizard. It turned out to be a Gila Monster. Gila Monsters can get up to 2 feet long, which is pretty large for a lizard. My brothers picked it up by the tail and dangled it over my head. I kept trying to reach up to touch it but my parents wouldn't let me because they were afraid that even though the Monster was dead, it could still poison me.
Susan Kirchman
Where did you or your family come from? What is the story of your ancestors?My maternal Great grandfather was a banker in LA and started S&W foods. W was for his name, Wickersham. His daughter and her husband took a wagon filled with citrus trees from LA up to the San Juaquin Valley and planted them next to the Kings River where it flows out of the Sierras. It was a ranch that Wickersham had given them.
About ten years ago there was a "dispersment" from old Wickersham's estate. There were more than 30 recipients. Some of them got over $100,000. My grandmother's offspring got less because back when he set the whole thing up, she had gotten a ranch. Each of my mother's seven children got around $5,000 as I remember. It was a lot to me!
Think of a space you know intimately. Describe your neighbors--those you knew and didn't know. What did you have in common? What were your differences?When I was three we moved from CA to MI so that my Dad could help his ailing father with his business. We lived in a big four story house which was near the Catholic boarding school where my Dad had been sent to grow up with the nuns. My brothers and sisters and I all went to Catholic schools. I think there were ten or twelve Catholic schools in town. Either my cousins or us used to get the "prize" every year at the Notre Dame Breakfast for having the most kids. There was a sort-of hermit (we thought) guy who lived in a little tiny house next door. He would sometimes sit on his front porch and play a guitar and sing what we called "Oakie Songs".
Where are you going next and how long will it take you to get there? Describe what you expect or imagine it to be like. What are your greatest hopes for your next move?I left Iowa City in 1985 with an MFA in Photography and $50,000 in student loans. I taught in the College of Architecture at Texas A&M University for 20 years. I thought that I knew what college towns were like after living in Iowa City IA for 13 years. Trust me, some college towns are better than others. As soon as I got tenure, I moved to Austin TX and commuted 110 miles each way (I kept a room at A&M and stayed 3 days a week) for years. In 2005 I retired from A&M and opened a Fine Art Gallery in the Texas Hill Country. Last year I opened a 2nd location. I hope to keep doing this until I start drooling and forgetting my name. At that point I hope somebody will help me stick my head in the oven and breathe deeply til I sleep.
Describe your first memory of a place.It was my grandmothers house in MI, a huge Victorian with a little button on the floor under her place at the dining table, to summon the maid. We visited there rarely, even though we only lived a few blocks away. There were too many of us for her. Two of my sisters and I were invited to spend the night once. We slept in a room with a turret. We speculated about what the maids stairway in the back would be like.
Ricardo
Where did you or your family come from? What is the story of your ancestors?Well I know my birth family came from Colombia and that I have Incan blood in my roots. As for my adoptive family, my mother's side is fully Swedish, with some of her distant cousins still leaving in Sweden. My father's family is a mix of German and Irish.
Think of a space you know intimately. Describe your neighbors--those you knew and didn't know. What did you have in common? What were your differences?The one place I can instantly think of and picture is my hometown library. It was always so welcoming and the librarians took time to get to know everyone and talk to you.
My neighborhood was a close-knit community where we could have grill-outs and gathering atleast once every year. We could always count on one another whenever we needed help and turn to each other in times of need.
Where are you going next and how long will it take you to get there? Describe what you expect or imagine it to be like. What are your greatest hopes for your next move?I'm open-minded on where life takes me. I'm hoping someday I'll somehow end up back in Colombia. Though I know very well who I am inside, one of my life-long goals is to research my birth roots and get a better grasp on who I am on the outside.
Describe your first memory of a place.I always remember my grandmother's basement. I spent many years just playing around and exploring every nook and cranny in it. At times it scared me, yet my curiosity always got the best of me and just had to let my fear lead me.
Anonymous
Where did you or your family come from? What is the story of your ancestors?I was born and raised in Massachusetts, but now live in Cedar Rapids. My family is of Irish descent on my mother's side. She grew up in Buffalo, NY. My father's side is French Canadian--my grandfather, though born and raised in Lowell, MA, was brought up in a French speaking household.
Where are you going next and how long will it take you to get there? Describe what you expect or imagine it to be like. What are your greatest hopes for your next move?When my children have been raised and retirement approaches, I fully expect to move back to New England (though not necessarily Massachusetts.) My greatest hopes for my next move are that it'll be to a small house overlooking the ocean, on the coast of Maine or New Hampshire.
Describe your first memory of a place.My first memory of a place would be the house I lived in between the ages of 0-4, in Gardner, MA. Our next door neighbor had a driveway that sloped quite steeply (from a toddler's perspective) away from the street, so my parents would, with the neighbor's blessing, allow me to ride my Big Wheel in the driveway. I remember the house well--the tacky '70s decor, the small square footage, and my parents' cars...mom's huge boat of a car, a Plymouth Fury, and dad's Toyota wagon.
Matt Freedman
Where did you or your family come from? What is the story of your ancestors?Paternal grandparents from The Pale, Poland Russia early 20th century, Maternal history Polish, German, going back to early/mid 19th century. There were Kansas grass house homesteaders, Oregon carpenters, Massachusetts schmata dealers, Idaho grocers, one scholar.
Think of a space you know intimately. Describe your neighbors--those you knew and didn't know. What did you have in common? What were your differences?My neighbors are from Central and South America. We look after each other, but there are some big differences. We like the big old shade trees on our block, but the neighbors want brand new trees as a sign of respect from the city.
Where are you going next and how long will it take you to get there? Describe what you expect or imagine it to be like. What are your greatest hopes for your next move?We don't think we will be moving for a long time. Probably they will have to carry us out. On the other hand, maybe we trade it all in in ten or twenty years and move south for an easier life
Describe your first memory of a place.California, out in the country, fruit trees, a long driveway. A white house with a white wooden door. My head was about the height of the doorknob. I remember looking at that doorknob, measuring myself against it and thinking, "not bad for a three year old."
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Where did you or your family come from? What is the story of your ancestors?in my genes i've got a little bit of german
it only means i fall in love with a mer-man
in my genes i've got a little bit of scotch
i feel like that really brings it up just a notch
in my genes i've got a little bit of irish
the stick mounds i build always look quite pyre-ish
-nod
Think of a space you know intimately. Describe your neighbors--those you knew and didn't know. What did you have in common? What were your differences?i share a bedroom wall with a boy i've never seen or spoken to, but i've heard him singing "oh say can you see" in the middle of the night.
Where are you going next and how long will it take you to get there? Describe what you expect or imagine it to be like. What are your greatest hopes for your next move?my hometown has become part of my SOUL and moving has become a HUGE DEAL. i think when i move it has to be perfect. but the more i wait, the more difficult it becomes. and then i wonder if i am just hoping to move cause i feel like i should.
but! greatest hope=comfort in a new place/
Describe your first memory of a place.we moved when i was 3, i remember feeling proud that i was the first one to open the door.
Michael Una
What do you miss about the place you left --or love about the place you're in right now?My family came to Chicago by way of Ireland, mostly in the early 1900's. This was following the "potato famine" period in Ireland, which was not a natural famine at all but a mass starvation engineered by England to quell dissent among the occupied Irish. My great grandfather came to the US along with his brother to escape from the English forces, who were hunting for them following an incident wherein the brother bombed the local English barracks while the soldiers were asleep, killing eight men. Ireland experienced massive expatriation during this time, leading to dense Irish populations in Boston, New York, and Chicago. I was born in the city of Chicago proper, but my immediate family quickly moved out to the suburbs in the "white flight" pattern that affected most major cities during the 1980s. I'd attempt to link the two events but that would be rather disrespectful.
Think of a space you know intimately. Describe your neighbors--those you knew and didn't know. What did you have in common? What were your differences?I lived in a communal art space in Northeast Missouri for a time, in a sort of indoor shanty-town. My neighbors and compatriots there were all free-thinking radicals who (it turns out) disagreed fundamentally regarding just how to rebel against our percieved oppression. One thing we all had in common was a strict vegetarianism and ridiculous haircuts, but beyond that it kind of fell apart.
Where are you going next and how long will it take you to get there? Describe what you expect or imagine it to be like. What are your greatest hopes for your next move?I currently live in a condo apartment with a somewhat unbalanced upstairs neighbor who swears at my wife on the phone. He enjoys playing video games with lots of explosions immediately above our bed. I would like to move to a place where I occupy the top-most unit, so as to avoid these types of confrontations. Also, a neighborhood with fewer gang shootings would be nice- I don't feel personally threatened, but it does make me uneasy to share the sidewalk with ne'er-do-wells with nothing better to do.
Describe your first memory of a place.My parents had an apartment across the street from a large graveyard. The building had a huge front lawn and a garden on the side, where there grew some very tall sunflowers. The sunflowers had grown so tall and produced so many seeds that the heads were drooping down, and I could observe green ladybugs walking across tehs urface. There were also some yellow-and-black striped bumblebees that hung around this garden, and I remember wearing my own black-and-yellow striped sweater in an attempt to befriend them.
Anonymous
What do you miss about the place you left --or love about the place you're in right now?I'm a fourth-generation California. My great-great grandfather moved his family to Menlo Park so that he could help build Stanford University. Another set of great grandparents were immigrants to California from Germany (one got a girl in trouble and had to leave Germany and his future wife was looking for opportunities she'd never have). Another grandmother was born in Chicago but came west with her mother and minister grandfather who was going to new congregations. And finally I had a grandfather to came to California from Oklahoma when he joined the military and was stationed in San Diego.
Think of a space you know intimately. Describe your neighbors--those you knew and didn't know. What did you have in common? What were your differences?In my neighborhood in Iowa, half my neighbors are connected to the local college and half are not. All of us have children, of varying ages. Our block has been remarkably stable for 10 years, though the house next to us is now for sale. We don't all share the same political affiliation, at least according to the yard signs that go up during elections, but we all get along and help each other out.
Where are you going next and how long will it take you to get there? Describe what you expect or imagine it to be like. What are your greatest hopes for your next move?I have no idea where I'm going next, but I'd like to move somewhere near where someone else in my family lives. We are the only ones living in Iowa. My son is in Denver, my mom and step-daughter are in northern California, my dad, step-mom, aunt and cousins are in Washington state, and my daughter is in Vermont. If I can find an appropriate job in one of those places, and they hire me, that's where I'm going.
Describe your first memory of a place.I remember the house I lived in from ages 2 to 6. I remember the scratchy texture of the couch we had, and the dark bedroom where I slept when I was sick. I remember playing in the front yard and hiding behind the bushes when the garbage truck came by.
Tracey McGinn
What do you miss about the place you left --or love about the place you're in right now?I was born in Manchester, Iowa. The same as my mother and the same as her mother. We have a century farm there and the family has been located in this region of Iowa since it was pretty much settled. Our family is mainly irish/scottish/english descent and were known for raising horses.
Think of a space you know intimately. Describe your neighbors--those you knew and didn't know. What did you have in common? What were your differences?i live where I work and so I know the student housing at MCC very intimately as I spend pretty much the majority of the time in that space. I have my own apartment but share the building with 72 college students. I learn all their names within 3 days of move in, learn as much as I can but you really can't know all about everybody, and get to be privy to the rumor mill that runs rampant there. Students there come from all over including canada and puerto rico and kosovo and the one thing they have in common is that they have to learn to live together with people that they don't know and may not like. The differences are too numerous.
Where are you going next and how long will it take you to get there? Describe what you expect or imagine it to be like. What are your greatest hopes for your next move?i have been in the same location for 4 years, I tend to move around about every 5. Where I go next is something i am figuring out and usually I go where I get work. I would like to find that one place and that one person that keeps me in one spot but I seem to be a wanderer.
Describe your first memory of a place.My earliest memory of a place is being at my great grandmothers and building tents out of blankets and tv trays and also doing dishes with her in the kitchen, I got to rinse.