Welcome! Please feel free to just wander around the homestead. You'll see the rooms that made up the house, each one with something different to offer - - -
You'll probably come across things you never expected to see! Grandma's home was chock full of neat stuff! Just like many of us who've visited the same place again and again, you might know pretty much what's available here. In that case, you might elect to try the search engine. [Too bad Grandma didn't have a search engine. She might have been able to find half the things she said were lost! I also think I could use one in my own home!]
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In a hurry? Forgotten what's in a certain room? Can't find the Bits & Pieces cabinet? Just don't feel like following the story line? Try our own
site map.The small
parlor with a wooden floor that creaks -- Grandma later covered the floor with a wall-to-wall brown carpet. Be sure to stop in this room and visit with our honored guests. . .perhaps you'll 'know' them.
Place names throughout the world (Bower[s] & Bauer only).
The small, blue vinyl-tiled
dining room -- Sunday dinners filled the house with talk and laughter. An upright piano sat across the room from the table but I don't remember ever hearing anyone play it.
Ancestral wall - Grandma had pictures of the family all over the house, but they primarily hung on the wall over and around the piano in the dining room. It must have made her feel good to have remembrances of family past and present in the same room where family would gather for meals. Here you'll find pictures of our own families, not present but past. WARNING: The ancestral wall is graphic-intense and may be slow-loading! Please allow all the pictures to come up so you won't miss even one.
The kitchen - the family gathering place; a kitchen of familial warmth, good food, and fabulous aromas!
Ancestral migrations in the United States [Sorry, it's not open today. Somebody misplaced the key!]
The
children's room - for our precious, future generations; the children in this room are adoptees [past and current] from around the world. All children need lots of TLC, but these children need an extra special dose and here you'll get it. In this room one can find all sorts of adoptee help plus a forum meant only for those adoptees and birthparents dealing with the research of this site's surnames.
The dusty, musty attic - where many, many wonderful things were stored. You never knew what you'd find. You'll want to look in any boxes and trunks up there.
Okay, it's back downstairs again -- this time to the basement -- my all-time favorite part of the house. Since I need the exercise, I think I'll take the stairs again, but you can take the 'elevator' [link] below if you prefer.
The damp, musty smell of a
basement is an instant memory-trigger of my grandparents and the lowest level of their home. There, Grandma had a pantry filled with jams, jellies, and canned fruits and vegetables. Some of the jars were so dust laden I thought they must have taken up permanent residence on the shelves. A mother-in-law apartment was also in the basement. I really liked the coziness of the apartment, but preferred the area by the pantry and basement steps better -- that wonderful musty smell, you know.
Since the basement is a pretty decent size, it's a good place for our researchers to enter their queries. Got some family lines that need cleaning up after discovering you know more about those relatives than everyone else who may have written about them? Head for the laundry room! But don't forget to go into the basement; you'll also find a goodie down there, too.
The laundry room - a message board to enter ancestral line corrections that have been previously published ~ whether it be in books from the 1800's, on the IGI, or on the web. It makes no difference! If you absolutely know for sure that something in the Bower[s]/Bauer/Baur/Bowra lines is published and incorrect, here's where to make it known!
Join the Bower Family Mailing List - a mailing list dedicated to discussing and researching the Bower surname and ALL its variant spellings. Just add the word subscribe in the body of the message and send it off. Voila! You'll have joined one of the best and friendliest mailing lists on the Web!
. . . Now let me show you the
garage, a wooden one with a loft. We kids weren't allowed out there because grandpa's tools were laying around. The loft held a lot of boxes, but I never knew what was in them. He also stored his tractor out there.Which brings us to the backyard - In the far right, rear corner of the yard stood a grape trellis -- purple grapes they were -- the best in Michigan! One of my fondest childhood memories was when Grandpa lifted me up to reach those fat, juicy, purple grapes growing at the top. He was so tall! [...I thought then.] That single, loving action made me feel really special and caused me to never forget the trellis.
Grandma had a small vegetable garden in the left rear of the yard with flowers growing along each side wall. In all, the rear of the house was a splendiferous area! Since I have such wonderful memories of my grandparent's backyard, I have chosen this area of the page for correspondence. Somehow, even on a web page, the backyard is a good place to read or write a message.
If you'd like to add material to this site, think of anything you think should be added, or even enjoyed just being here, please let me know. The more material we gather, the better our chances are of finding our lost ancestors and each other.
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You haven't missed anything here, have you?
Be sure to check the our bulletin board to learn about new additions to the Homestead, updates on family members, or just general stuff -- no queries here, though -- just family chit chat. . . Awards this site has taken - Yes! We have received quite a few awards! Check 'em out!
Banners and logos - Would you like a symbol of the Homestead to put on your site when you set up a link? Try one of these.
Credit where credit is due - Want to know where the Homestead's terrific graphics came from? You'll find them on this page.
Thank you for stopping in to visit. It was so nice spending this time with you. I hope you'll return again soon.
Proud to be a member of
