Down the Rabbit Hoel

Stories of family, creativity, and diverse distractions.

Happy Birthday Great Uncle Joseph Mendenhall

Joseph Mendenhall was born on December 27, 1819 in Ohio. Joseph is Walt’s 3rd great uncle on the Hoel side of the family.

Happy holidays to our readers!

It’s been a busy few weeks from Thanksgiving to Christmas. We want to wish everyone a happy holidays, whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, the solstice or any other winter celebration.

Happy birthday Cecilia Fedler Menke!

Cecilia Fedler was born on December 13, 1919 in West Point, Iowa. She is connected on the Wellman side of the family.

Farewell, Tuesday! A Schedule Update

We’ve decided to stop posting new content every Tuesday, starting this week. We may still post on Tuesdays occasionally, as useful subject matter arises. Michelle will continue to post family history stuff every Friday, at least for now.

For the bold few that read my posts, I extend my heartfelt thanks!

Walt

Happy birthday Mary Harmeyer Mehmert!

Mary Harmeyer was born on December 6, 1904in West Point, Iowa. Mary is a distant cousin on the Wellman side of the family.

Let’s Make a Half Hitch Tool

When you tie your own flies you make a lot of knots. You need to keep the fly materials and thread from coming unwound from the hook and the most appropriate knot for the job is the half-hitch. But fishing flies are tiny, and you need to place the knots in exactly the right place as you tie the fly. It’s really hard to tie a tiny knot with your fingers and place it precisely. You need a half hitch tool. Let’s make one!

Happy Birthday great great grandpa Charles Todd Durfee!

Charles was born to Aaron Bradford Durfee and Sallie (Sarah) Todd on November 29, 1864 in Atchison County, Missouri, near Rock Port. He was my (Michelle’s) 2nd great grandfather.

Making a Yule Log Cake

There are many traditional recipes to holiday foods. I have talked about some of them in other posts, such as this one on Stollen and this one on cookies. A Yule log or Bûche De Noël is a common European holiday dessert.

Happy Anniversary Orville and Eleanor Hoel

Orville Ray Hoel married Eleanor Anna Johnson on November 22, 1937. Orville and Eleanor are Walt’s aunt and uncle.

Water Purification in the Backcountry

Backcountry streams may look crystal-pure, but they often harbor microorganisms that can make you sick. Whether you’re surviving a plane crash or out in the wilderness deliberately, you need water purification. There are a lot of water purification methods available. Today we’ll talk briefly about them, and see some examples.

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