Goodnight and I watched the transition from daylight to eventide over the harbor at Port Washington, Wisconsin. As the sun set behind us, the Port Washington Light Station beacon sent its glow across the water.
We were facing east, watching the fishing boats come . . . home. It was another beautiful end to a perfect day.
We attended the Luxembourg fest of America in Belgium, Wisconsin. We enjoyed watching the parade, which included a traditional Hammelsmarsch - the marching of male sheep led by herders dressed in kiddles (work shirts).
Following the parade, we spent time in the park, eating lunch, listening to music, and then a brief chat with Fausto Gardini, author of Luxembourg On My Mind, Volumes 1 and 2 (and other books about Luxembourg).
We also visited the Luxembourg American Cultural Society (LACS), where I spent over two hours in the research room looking for information about my ancestors. Well, it didn’t take me two hours to find information about them, it took me two hours to absorb the new information I was able to gather. I found the name of the ship that my Luxembourg ancestors took to America, the names of my 4x great-grandparents, and the towns where they lived and worked in the Grand Duchy.
Another highlight for me was when a total stranger walked up to me and asked me if I was related to the ‘X’ family. I asked the woman why she would ask me that and her answer made me smile. She told me that I resembled a woman who lived next door to her as she grew up. That neighbor was one of my relatives. Not my maternal grandmother, who I strongly resemble, but my grandmother’s niece – who also got the same features. Oddly enough . . . as I drove to the festival this morning, I had been secretly hoping someone would walk up to me and say that they thought I looked familiar. That would mean I was in the right place and belonged there. It happened! I did belong there!
Enough family heritage for one day. Goodnight and I found a Mexican restaurant along the waterfront and enjoyed a leisurely dinner followed by a stroll to the ice-cream shop we’ve hit each evening since we arrived. Goodnight took her ice-cream to the harbor . . . where we were when I began this post.
