Where are you?
Karen, Christopher, Susan, Me, Wladek, Nate and Carol at the Book Launching of Poland; My Roots in Grandfather’s Village, Pawtuxet Park, Warwick, RI.
Somehow Nate Plaza found me and after a few emails, I suggested I write to my cousin Wladek in Poland to ask if the family names he was tracing were the correct spellings (often they are not, but a knowledgeable Pole usually knows the proper spelling). Wladek returned the message saying not only was the name spelled properly, but Nate’s family was related to his mother’s family! Back to Nate to ask where he was - New Hampshire. Ah, my son just moved to a job in Nashua, New Hampshire and they’re house is in Hudson. Oh, my! Nate lives in Hudson just about a mile from Christopher!
Of course we had to meet at Christopher and Karen’s house, visit Nate to meet his wife, and they came to my book signing when the book was finally printed. What fun. Everyone messages back and forth occasionally and the family trees are enhanced as pieces fall into place.
It was great fun to discover Cousin Richard from Montreal and have him come to RI for a visit with his sweet wife, Ju… but there was a bonus! When he read my book and realized we had these DNA connections, he contacted another cousin who had grown up with him in Canada but now lived in Italy! Now we have another cousin in Genova, Italy - Don Pilarz - and we’re in touch on Facebook regularly.
Don is an interesting guy who retired from the career he was schooled for, and now he works at what he loves. He began making guitars. No slouch either, take a listen to the music of his beautifully crafted instrument here - https://guitarmind.it/prodotto/don-pilarz-2014. As if that wasn’t enough, he has now embarked on the painstaking task of building violins. I’m waiting to hear one of his hand made instruments played by a performer on You Tube. They say there are at least 250 steps to constructing a violin and so many secrets to learn about creating the sound you’re looking for. Stay tuned for more on this talented cousin.
