Walt’s great great grandmother was born on December 16, 1823. Catharina Maria was born to Johann and Maria Strüving Heil in Fladderlohausen, Lower Saxony, Germany. We don’t know much about her, but because three of her sons chose to come to the United States there are many descendants living here now.
Author: Michelle Page 18 of 35
Andra Kellogg was born on December 9, 1941 in Rapid City, South Dakota. Her parents were George and Hazel Durfee Kellogg. She was my (Michelle’s) aunt.
I love to bake and cookies are always good. Like many other things, it’s nice to put some up for later when you are mixing up a batch. For a lot of cookies, I just bake the whole batch and freeze some of them. For chocolate chip cookies, I like to freeze the dough and bake a few at a time so they are hot and fresh when it’s time to eat.

Last week, I talked about Erasmus and Maria Straub. His brother was Markus Straub, Walt’s 4th great-grandfather. Today, we are celebrating the anniversary of his daughter Ann Straub’s marriage to Andreas Sauter (Sauters). These are Walt’s 3rd great-grandparents.
Every game master does their preparations for a game in the style that suits them. I have run a few games and have developed a system that works well for me. Especially when I am taking my adventure on the road (not playing at home!), I want to be sure everything is organized and easy to follow. There’s nothing worse than realizing you forgot an important character sheet or your tokens.
Erasmus Straub was the brother of Walt’s 4th great grandfather. He was born in June of 1870 in Bieringen, Baden-Württemburg, Germany to Josephus Carl and Anna Maria Truffner Straub. We don’t know a lot of his story in Germany, but we do know he married Maria Sauter on the 25th of November, 1807 in Bieringen. They had 9 children, two of whom died in infancy. Maria died in 1824. Erasmus and his children immigrated to the United States in the 1840’s.
In the fall, I like to do warm desserts such as pies and cobblers and crisps. Since it is almost Thanksgiving, I wanted to make a small batch of cherry cobbler so that we could finish it off before I make mincemeat pie.
John H. Link, Senior, was born on November 18, 1885 to Isadore and Teresa Kempker Link in West Point, Iowa. His brother, William J. (W.J.), was Walt’s grandfather.
Good measuring tools are important for many different projects. Whether you are in the workshop, the studio, or the kitchen, being accurate can mean the difference between success or not the best results. Cooking is very forgiving, but I like to measure all the ingredients the first time I try a recipe. Having the right tools at hand can make it easier to enjoy the process.
I have been scanning in photos and adding to the family history. When I found this picture of two cousins, I spent some time finding out more about them. Kathryn Link is Walt’s great-aunt, and Helen Brockman Hummert was her cousin on the Kempker side of the family. I browsed through the pictures and found a couple more photos with them.
