Letter from Ephraim Cranston – Oregon Trail – 1850

Letter from Ephraim Cranston – Oregon Trail – 1850 This is a letter from an ancestor, Ephraim Cranston, son of John Cranston. Ephraim left Woodstock, Ohio in 1850 and captained a wagon train on the Oregon Trail. This letter was written at a place approximately 100 miles northwest of St. Joseph, MO. The letter was […]

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Cathy (Painter) Dodd and Susanne (Jett) Davies

Here is a wonderful photo of our two cousins – Cathy and Susanne. This photo was taken at the ranch (Kelly Place) that Wood and Helen Jett were renting back in the very early 1940’s. It is located north of the Painter ranch and the Willett Place – somewhere a little west of Ladner.

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Chris Cranston Celebrates the Family – July 6, 2021 in Hot Springs, South Dakota

On Tuesday, July 6, 2021, Chris Cranston visited the Evergreen Cemetery in Hot Springs, South Dakota to celebrate the lives of our family. They include: Bill Cranston (Chris’s Father) Doreen Cranston (Chris’s Mother) Bess Melby (Chris’s Grandmother) Ole Melby (Chris’s Step-Grandfather) Chris (Doc) Cranston (Chris’s Grandfather) Marian Painter (Chris’s Aunt) Preston Painter (Chris’s Uncle) Helen […]

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Obituary of Jean Melby- Mauer ~ 22 December 2019

Jean Elizabeth Melby-Mauer of Las Vegas passed away on Sunday, December 22nd. She was born to the late Sydney Melby and Ruth Kelly on September 10th, 1948 in Missoula, MT. Jean attended Whitman College and the University of Washington. She pursued graduate studies at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. She taught English as a […]

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1974 – Painter Photos – Crawford, Nebraska

These photos were taken in September 1974 when Dick was a senior in High School. The gathering was to go to the football game. The view is from the windmill at Preston and Marion’s ranch northeast of Crawford, NE. In one of the photos, you can see the north side of the ranch house.

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Tip Melby With Echo Staff

These are photos provided by Pat Melby of Echo editor Albert Saigo with advisor Sidney (Tip) Melby and Echo Staff with Tip. (Early 1940’s). Click HERE to this link and scroll down to read about Tip and Ruth’s time at the Relocation Center in Lyman, Wyoming.

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Oyster Stew – Christmas Eve

Apparently there was some sort of tradition in some of the Cranston clan families for having oyster stew on Christmas eve. Certainly I remember having it with Helen and Wood, and it looks like the same tradition was prevalent with the Painters and Melbys. So . . . . Here’s the recipe that I found […]

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Kick Ass Bread Recipes

For those of you who are bread bakers, here are a couple of recipes that are guaranteed “Kick Ass!” Recipes are in “.jpeg” format. Click on them to enlarge – then print.  Pumpernickel, Rye and/or White. Enjoy! White Bread Rye Bread Pumpernickel Bread

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Tip and Charlie Discuss Pranks

This video was taken about two months before Tip died – and, incidentally, about a month before Marcia died. It was taken over a luncheon at the Glen Oak Country Club in Glen Ellyn, Illinois by Georg Mauer. Also on the video is a bit of coverage of Andreas Mauer’s graduation – speech given by […]

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