Holding a Family Lineage and Heritage: What does it take?

In past generations…way back in the day…families made it their business to hand down their lineage and heritage–whether planting tomatoes in manure-rich dirt, singing together in the car or around the piano, or recounting a treasure trove of family stories. My mother, as matriarch, was part of this tradition. Even now, five years after her…

Family Stories Our Way: In Poetry, Prose, and Music

My father and I have given several workshops on family stories. Last year we presented a workshop called “Family Stories in Poetry, Prose, and Music” at the Hayner Library in Alton, Illinois. With my father, these three always go together. I set up a structure for the workshop on how to write family stories. Pop…

Grannie Annie Anthology. Submit your family stories now!

Do You Have Grannie Annie Stories Ready to Share? There’s still time for students to discover a story from their family’s history, write and edit their story (and illustrate it if they wish), and submit their story to The Grannie Annie to be considered for publication in Grannie Annie, Vol. 6. Submission Deadline Stories and…

Family Stories in Prose & Poetry: Hayner Library Welcomes Thompson & Riehl

Father-daughter team Janet Riehl & Erwin A. Thompson present “Family Stories: Prose & Poetry” on April 25th at 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. in the Multipurpose Room at the Hayner Library in Alton Square Mall, 132 Alton Square. Family stories shape our lives. Erwin A. Thompson and Janet Grace Riehl reflect on the power of memory…