My family shares many different cultural backrounds. Many of my father's maternal relatives immigrated from Europe in the 1800's. One of his great-grandmothers came from France, and his other great-grandmother came from Ireland. Also from his maternal family, one of his great-grandfathers was from London, England. His other maternal great-grandfather was a Cherokee Indian from Oaklahoma. Not much is known about my dad's paternal family except that they came from Holland in 1872.

From my mother's maternal family her great-great-grandparents came from England. She also had a great-grandfather who came to America from Germany, he was an artist who painted ornamental pictures on church ceilings. My mother's paternal grandparents came from Poland. It is this Polish culture that I have been mainly exposed to. During both Christmas and Easter we eat Polish foods, mainly kielbasa.

The most interesting character in my family is my Granny Ann, my mothers paternal grandmother who came from Poland. It is interesting to hear some of the stories she would tell us about the early times and coming over to a new land.