In many cases individuals in this blog will be listed with initials; sometimes Grandpa used initials himself. In order to preserve privacy when it counts, only initials will be used. As I go along, I may decide we need more or less use of initials rather than full names. Bear with me as I get started. The transcription is going to leave out dates w/ "no news" as grandpa put it, and things that really are totally unrelated to the family story or give no insight into grandpa's incredible character. For every day of his life that is captured in the diaries, grandpa recorded the weather, the day of the week and the date. See above for the code to weather.
Items in brackets [ ] will be my own additions or explanatory remarks. Items which grandpa underlined will be in Italics. I normally underline booktitles, so they too are in Italics; magazines, booklets, articles are usually in quotation marks. I can't use underlines as the blog format turns them into hotlinks. Sometimes grandpa's use of underlining is important to convey his attitude about the statement, so watch for Italics, other than book titles, they will always be his.
Items with the label General Info will be posts such as this, how-to use the blog, my explanations of how I am doing it, things like that. Actual data from the diaries and family info will have their own labels.
The first post will be grandpa's own introductory pages which he filled out in 1965 to give a "beginning" to his story. Then I will skip to the years of World War II as a Christmas 2009, gift to my brother, Kert VanderMeulen, who earned his Masters degree in Military History in 2008 and is very interested in the WWII era. Then we'll see where to go next!
IF YOU GO TO THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE AND SUBSCRIBE TO THE POSTS, YOU'LL RECEIVE A QUICK EMAIL AUTOMATICALLY WHEN NEW CONTENT IS ADDED TO THE BLOG! NO SPAM, NO NONSENSE, JUST A QUICKIE NOTE TO LET YOU KNOW I'VE BEEN WORKING! This utility isn't working the way we thought it would. If you subscribe to posts, at the bottom of each page of text, please let me know if you actually DO receive notification of a new post...we're still trying to figure out this aspect of Blogspot. THANKS!~
This blog is a transcription of the diaries of my grandfather, Folkert Peter Vander Meulen (1893-1978). If you wish to contact me, please do so at leslieatkhs65dotcom. We love finding new cousins!
About this Vander Meulen family blog
My grandfather died in 1978, leaving me his diaries and genealogy notebooks. I have spent over 2 years reading & in many cases re-reading the diaries through, although I have read parts in the past, and trying to decide how to share them. The blog format emerged as the best way to share. I hope family members are enjoying seeing the lives of my grandparents through grandpa's eyes as well as seeing how they fit into the world around them. If you think you may be related to us PLEASE email, I am willing to share information and love to correspond. PLEASE feel free to add comments - use the comment utility at the end of each post for asking questions, requesting information, or just saying hello! Before you get started, please go to the LABELS on the right side-bar and to the General Information posts to understand how this transcription of the diaries is going to be formatted. 1/1/2011 - my first typing of 2011 - the diary transcription has taken on a new dimension since I began in December, '09. I've discovered many things in my possession which I can use to illustrate the diaries, to say nothing of the magic of the Internet to add details and photos of the people, places and events that filled grandma & grandpa's lives. As I've said often, I now have to live to be 100, and be healthy, so I can finish! World War II years are almost finished, then it's back to grandpa's chronological jottings. There will be something for everyone, so I hope you are all enjoying reading as much as I am enjoying posting. Gelukkig Nieuw Jaar 
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