I bought an old steamer trunk from the Batavia Flea Market down at the county fair grounds back in June. I've started to clean it up, and I've found a baby picture. Does anyone know the Tyler family that used to live on Morton street? I don't rememer the name of the baby, but it's a picture of a 3-week-old, I don't want to throw it away, but I'm not sure where/who to send/give it to. Your help is greatly appreciated :)

On another note, while I've started to clean it up with Murphy's Oil Soap, and it's looking fantastic. Once I try to get some of the other marks and scuffs off of it, I'll post some pictures. It was built by a trunk company in Rochester and has shipping stickers on it from Ann Arbor. It's a pretty cool buy for $10!

Today is my youngest son's 38th birthday.  My baby is all grown up!

From Genesee Community College:

Genesee Community College and the American Red Cross have partnered together to provide Family Care Giving Classes at the Lakeville campus center located at 5999 Big Tree Road. The classes will provide instruction to families caring for loved ones of any age. Four classes will be offered on various Saturday mornings, starting Saturday March 14, from 9:00 am - 12:00 pm. The cost for all four classes is $25.

The first class, scheduled for March 14, will focus on Home Safety and Healthy Eating. The second class, on March 28, will focus on General Care. The April 4 class will concentrate on Personal Care, and the last class in the series will take place on April 25 and will discuss Caring for the Caregiver, Legal and Financial Issues and Alzheimer's.

"These classes are an excellent way to serve our community members who may be caring for a loved one and have many questions," Serena Cooke, Campus Associate at the Lakeville campus center said. "With the growing number of elderly parents being cared for by their children, due to personal choice or economic reasons, training and support needs to be available for these families."

The Lakeville campus center is located at 5999 Big Tree Road (Route 20A) in Lakeville. Class sizes are limited, and registration is required. Please call the Lakeville Campus Center for further information or to register at 585-346-5070.

I am looking for Robert Vincent Mills

Any information about him would be greatly appreciated.  I am looking for him or his family.  He lived in Batavia in or about 1955.  He had an apartment.  He was born before 1928.  It is important that we find him.  Thank you for any help given.

Whether your child is still crawling, still drooling, scampering, talking, coloring or crooning, Richmond Memorial Library has an autumn reading program that will suit them. Story time sessions are designed for "pre-walkers" through five-year-olds and up.

"The best way to prepare your child for school is to introduce books at an early age," says Children's Librarian Sandra Gillard.

Take your pick from:

• Baby Bounce: Tuesdays at 9:30am (pre-walkers)
• Toddler Time: Tuesdays at 10:30am (walkers: up to 36 months)
• Moms & Moppets: Wednesdays at 10:00am (1-3 years)
• Preschool Party: Thursdays at 10:00am (3-5 years)
• Pajama Primetime: Thursdays at 6:30pm (all ages)

Registration for all story time sessions begins on September 2. Sessions begin the week of September 15. All activities are free and open to the public. Folks are encouraged to register early as space is limited.

Call the library at (585) 343-9550 ext. 4 for more information. Or stop by the Children's Room during library hours (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday: 9:00am to 9:00pm; Friday and Saturday: 9:00am to 5:00pm.

When all is said and done, there is not one single thing that is more important than working with and taking care of our children.  In the past this was always handled, and rightly so, by the parents....however in today's world...this has also changed.  Parents are the single most influential aspect in a young person's life...that is if there is an active and engaged parenting unit in the child's life.  Parents are also the most influential even if they are bad at parenting.  That is the crux of the matter.  Good or bad....parents influence. 

You may notice that I have used the word parent, not father or mother...although that is the most significant and familiar defintion of the term.  Parent's can take many other forms as well.  Today we have grandparent's who fill this role along with aunts, uncles, older siblings and completely unrelated people.  Today we have to look at the word parent as the person who has the single most influence on the young child and hope that that influence is positive and nurturing in nature.  The very definition of parent has changed in the 21st Century.  We are on the cusp of having a redefining element in what actually is "parenting". 

This is one reason why politicians these days try to explain the importance of the "traditional" family.  What they do not see is that this definition as well has changed.  If "family" does not reflect what they percieve as the "former norm" of two parents and 2.5 children, then it must be a bad thing.  Since the basic defintion of family has changed and many are now not the norm, it is imperative that we STOP making those children, parents and caretakes feel that they are lesser in many ways.  Always reciting the nauseating "family values" politics without acknowledging the change and its importance in lowering the importance of the non-traditional family reduces the importance of exactly what these non-traditional parents are accomplishing.

Can you  imagine a child realizing that they are in a lesser family unit because a politician, teacher or religious leader steps up and tells them that the optimum family is a Mom, Dad and 2.5 children.  The child will realize that they are being told that they are in a much lesser form of family when in fact, they may be in a wonderfully stable environment.  So what is more important?  Having the old norm of family permeate the child and his thinking or redefining the word and realizing that there are non-traditional settings that are great families.  I have actually met a child that was told that he would be better in school if he had two parents to concentrate on his educational needs.

Now that statement may be true. There is not a doubt that the two parent family (again notice the removal of terms father and mother) is in fact the optimum ideal...but that does not diminish the grandmother that has the successful opportunity to raise her loving grandchildren because that is thier family of choice or need.  It also does not  explain why in non-traditional families, there is also a great emphasis placed on character education and nurturing.  There are plenty of examples of two parent traditional families who have not been successful in providing the stable, nurturing and loving environment that is needed for raising our children.   There are phenominal examples of non-traditional families that excel.  

You may be wondering where all this has come from.  I do like to write about a ton of topics, but this comes from a direct conversation that I have had with another person in the field of education.  It is pure, plain and simple....if we tell the child that they are coming from a lesser value of family, the child - as a member of that family - will also think that they are lesser.  It is time to redefine what the word "family" means.  It is time to take a clear look at who the "parents" are with each child and it is time to stop thinking that just because a child has a mom and a dad he is from a stable nurturing environment.  It is time to think of the child instead or our antiquated definitiions of words.

Thanks for listening.

Posted on a genealogy site:

I am searching for my birth family. I was born July 3 1979 in Batavia, New York. I was born at Genesee United Memorial Hospital in Batavia. I was a ward of the state until adopted at 3 months old. I am a 28 year old female with blonde hair and blue eyes. I grew up in Batavia and now live in Buffalo. I have many health problems. I had cervical cancer, I have Von Willebrand's (a bleeding disorder) and more. I am searching for my birth family - anyone who might still be around.

If you can help,  contact Megan at the link above.