Family Pastimes

Today is Opening Day of Major League Baseball's 2019 season.  Did your parents or grandparents have a favorite baseball team?  When we are writing about our ancestors, sometimes we get so focused on their paper trail that we forget about their hobbies and pastimes.  If we are lucky and they played sports that can be a part of their paper trail.

My Mother has always been a Dodger fan.  I asked her a few years ago about that and she told me that she and one of her friends used to listen to the games on the radio.  I remember her and my Dad's brother smack-talking about whose team was going to win the World Series.  Uncle Morris was a Yankees fan.  I never knew my Dad to support one team or another.  He didn't talk about sports much really.  I do have a letter he wrote home to his brother while he was in the Army, stationed in Korea around August 1953.

He writes,

"Wish I could be there watching the ball games with you.  Well it won't be too long before we will be watching them together.  We hear a ball game every day thru the week over here. They're brought to us by the AFRS. (Armed Forces Radio Service)"

This letter is part of the archived collection of my families papers(Thomas & Pearl Jakes Cooke Family) that I wrote about in an earlier post--Just a Small Portion of a Family's Paper Trail.

Also, think about some of the other sports or group activities.  My Uncle Morris played baseball and basketball in school and also was known for his skills as a bowler.  My mother played basketball in high school when girls just played half court.  My nieces and nephew all played in their school's band.  My brother, David and I were active in the Chorus/Choir at our high school. 

My daughter and I will be watching(via television) our favorite team today--the Atlanta Braves.  ⚾