Welcome!

Hello Lovely Readers,

I have cleaned off a portion of my desk for typing my first post to you. Previously it was covered with letters, old train timetables, Christmas postcards and various envelopes (containing nothing). Let me go back and explain: Years ago, probably in my college years with grand ambitions of being a historian and archivist I expressed interest in inheriting my grandma's diaries, letters, and whatever family history she had. Of course, I was living in Boston and didn't have the space to keep the boxes she had; also it would be expensive to ship the boxes to Boston, so years went by, and I guess I forgot I was going to inherit these letters. Now I am living in Texas, and a few months, or so ago my sister handed me three boxes of letters and family mementos that I had wanted. Well being history lover and studying archiving in school my brain went to work...

My Grandma and me

I thought it would be cool to transcribe these letters and post them on a blog. I have one box ranging from the 1880s to the 1930s, and while I was going through that box I have found train timetables, and maps and reference guides of the Columbia Exposition of 1893. I also have several notes between my grandmother (Vena 1922-2011) and my grandfather (Kenneth 1921-2010), in their college years, and their times when he was Naval training (during WWII).

My Grandad- Kenneth Hiebsch

My Grandma- Vena Condit Hiebsch

I know this will probably be only interesting to my family, but I hope it can be useful as well to anyone who is interested in studying a little piece of history. I will share as much as I can, but if you have any questions or comments, please let me know. On the side of the blog, I will keep a list of websites I used to help me track down information so if you want to explore more that will be useful. Even though I have blogged in the past, I am still figuring out blogging, and social media so please forgive me for any bumps and trials along the way.

My Great Grandparents- Juanita Dodd Condit and Parda Magers Condit and their 1st sone Herman Fahy Condit

The Condit Family- Wanie, Troy, Juanita, Parda, Halsey, Winnie, and my grandma Vena in front.

I start this journey knowing very little about my family. I think my grandma was the family historian and when I was younger like most children I was wrapped up in playing dress-up and running around with my cousins. So I will be exploring my family history alongside you, my readers. A lot of the letters are to and from members of the Condit family. However, a few come from the Hiebsch/Hunter (my granddad side) so a lot of it will be overlapping ... I will always put labels at the bottom of the blogs, and you can use those labels as links to track another post from them or their family members (Over time these will develop). At the end of this project, I hope for two things: to know more about my family history and to share their stories with all of you.

The Hunter Family: Back- Charles, Laura, Clarice, John. Front - My great grandmother Lois, Mary, Jesse, and Mattie

Lois Hunter and Fred Charles Hiebsch

Right now I am setting a goal of transcribing and posting a letter twice a month. And while I have had a blog in the past, I still feel I am new at blogging and right now I have limited resources for documenting the letter, but I hope my skills and photography expand.

Before I start this blog, I want to thank some people my mom (who has done so much genealogical research on my family... she has already helped me piece together some of the puzzles), my aunt (who kept these boxes for me and who I snagged most of these photos from), and my grandma (who held all these letters and documents for years).


Hope you enjoy it, and I will keep you updated on my findings.


Your's always,
Blaire

The Condit Homestead outside of Liberal, KS