Why I Can't Grow Roses . . .

Three Bucks in My Backyard

It's Mother's Day 2012!  I'm happily recovering at home from the National Genealogical Society Conference that was held in Cincinnati this year.  I stayed in a downtown hotel with my cousin, Barbara Pharo, and had the opportunity to meet several of the bloggers I follow in person.  It was a great week!

At 4:30, I decided it was time for a glass of wine. Imagine my surprise when I looked out my kitchen window and saw three bucks staring back at me!  Over the years, I've tried to grow roses, only to come out and see that they have been nicely nibbled by the deer that frequent our neighborhood, but not typically so early in the day.

They patiently waited for me to switch out lenses so I could capture them close up.  It's hard to be mad at them when they are standing there so majestically checking them out.  Unfortunately, I opened the storm door to get a picture that did not include the screen. At that point, our little poodle Zippy, decided to take them on. Here is a picture of one of them trying to make a hasty exit.

Departing

Zippy meets Andrew

Needless to say, it's a good thing that the deer ran away as Zippy ran out of the door to take them on.  He does look ferocious, doesn't he? Happy Mother's Day to all.

Vonderheide Wyoming Home

Home of August and Anna Vonderheide (1920-1925)
Village of Wyoming, Hamilton County, Ohio

I've always been fascinated by this house.  Research has shown that my great-grandfather, August Vonderheide, moved into it sometime in 1920.  It is the residence listed in the phone book as their home from 1920-25.  It makes sense that they would have wanted to move into a bigger home at this time because it coincides with the marriages and the starting of new families, all of whom initially lived there.

My grandmother and grandfather, Virginia Vonderheide and Roy Ryan, celebrate their wedding day there on September 1, 1921.  Virginia's brother, Val, also moved in with his wife, Clara Wheeler about that time. My mother, Virginia, and Val's daughter, Dolly, were born while living in that home.

I've always cherished my grandparent's wedding pictures. I recently upgraded my photo-editing software to Photoshop Elements 10 and decided to try my hand at layering these treasurers over the one picture I have of the home.  Here are the results:

Roy Ryan and Virginia Vonderheide Courting

Wedding Guests:  Top Row: Ray Ryan, Virginia VDH, Roy Ryan, August VDH, Anna VDH, Rose Gross Ryan, Clara, Emma Woermann, Victor Becker, Ed Woermann, Julius Gross, Henry and Joe VDH  Bottom Row: Florence Ryan, Josie Turner, Aunt Sophie, Ceal VDH, Emma Huff and Woermann Children

Wedding Day:  Virginia and Roy, September 7, 1921

Of course, their marriage led to the inevitable birth of my mother, Virginia, on July 17, 1922.  Here she is pictured on the porch with her father and grandparents.

Anna, Virginia (baby), Roy, August 

I'd love to show you what the house looks like in 2012.  The address of this home is 416 Springfield Pike, Wyoming, Ohio (a suburb of Cincinnati with many large, stately, restored homes). However, in the 1960s, this property was combined with a couple of others and torn down. Replacing it is a very sterile, uninteresting building that houses the Wyoming Board of Education.

Current home of the Wyoming Board of Education

I want to acknowledge my Vonderheide cousins who had a copy of the house in their collection and made it available to me.

Update:  A reader suggested that I combine pictures 2, 4 and 5.  What a great suggestion!  From right to left I now have my grandparents courting, getting married, and their first-born child, my mother.  Love it!