Another hobby. As if I do not have enough already. For about ten years I was looking into genealogy. For my family and for my hubbies family. Very interesting and very time consuming.

You can look days and days and days and not find anything. I did most of mine from the Internet. Walking around cemeteries and chatting with family members. Living in BC, Canada and most of my relatives living back east. Made for allot of emails and letters going back and forth. Sometimes you hit on something and have to keep running with it or you loose it. Then there are times you find something you thought you would never find and stay up half the night seeing if you can add something to that little tidbit you just found. Another time you post a name and a whole slew of family you never knew was there is right in front of you from another person working on a family of theirs. It was interesting to do, but alas it is something 5hay has gone to the wayside with me now. I once in awhile get something from some distant family member on updates to their current family, but I am not really researching any more. I know if I wanted to I would find so much more. For me right now. Nine binders full of family info and memorabilia is enough for me to go with. It sits on my shelf . I bring it out once in awhile, but really don’t go any further with it.

Mind you I have found out so much interesting things. My great grandparents came from a country that really does not exist anymore. Poland/Germany area. They traveled to England and had to have passage on a boat going to Canada in order to go to England. I have them on a ship manifest headed for Montreal and Ottawa. They settled in Pembroke area on a farm there. I made a tour to Pembroke one year when I was in Ontario once. I found the farm. Much bigger enterprise then when it was owned by my great grandfather. When they came over on ship they traveled with other family members that I and allot of other of my recent family did not know about either. Something I found out through researching. It seems another Mielke brother and family and another sister and family also joined them on their adventure to newer country. I have a little on them but not much. Then also a year or so before another part of the family had came to Canada and settled in the same area. The von Kregar. Also now pronounced Krueger were in the area already. This is two brothers of my great grandmother who married a Mielke. I have a little on this family as well.

Seems I have relatives all over Ottawa valley are. Now my grandfather Mielke. Married a young lady from Pettawa area. Their last name when they came to the new country was Kupsch. This is now pronounced Koops. The Koops family came to this area roughly about the same time. The farm is not there anymore. The land was taken over by the airforce back that is there now. Anyways there was two farms there. Side by side. Owned by two brothers named Kupsch who had married two Milnicol sisters. The thing was they were family and lived side by side, but did not talk to each other. All that I could get out of family on it was that they did not speak and where a very strange funny couple of families. From the sounds of it went down one generation as well with my grandmother not talking to this sister or brother for some reason or another. Just plain strange but I guess that’s the way it was.

Well to get back to why I am writing this today. It goes along with being in distant family and talking to distant family about family tree. A few years back I contacted one of my dads cousins. He still lives in the Ottawa valley area. A very delightful gent to talk to. Along with his wife. They are both in their 70s now, but still love to talk about family things. I would chat with them many a time over the internet and letters. So great to hear about family and the little stories that got passed down through generations from another side of the family that I did not know. I had met him once or twice. Would not remember him if I met him on the street today. I would say I was only about five years old when they came down to visit my parents on our farm in Perth county of Ontario. He always told me about how he enjoyed my parents hospitality when they came to visit. The great times they had.

This gent is Bill Koops and his lovely wife Marion. They just celebrated their birthdays here this past month. It seems the Marion’s is on the same day as my hubbies birthday and Bills is the same day as my sons. Bill is a son of my grandmothers brother. So a cousin of my father.

Now I am going to bring Red hatting into this story. You see last year around this time. Yep August it would be. I was in the Ottawa area. Canada was celebrating its 150th birthday. So about 500 red hat ladies converged on Ottawa for a convention and celebrated right along with Canada. I was in the among those 500 ladies having the time of my life. There was about 50 of us sitting in a resteraunt enjoying lunch. All of a sudden there was a lady in amongst us saying at the top of her lungs. Is there a Brenda Lowe in this group. Hmm! I turned around knowing full well no one would know me in this area except another red hatter. I got up and looked at her. Certainly didn’t know her. So she sheepishly said to me. I know that you don’t know me but I am taking a chance. My name is Deb and I am Bill koops daughter. Oh my gosh what a surprise. She said she had to get up the courage to do this, but thought might work out okay. Well it did.

Deb had an idea. It being that Bills birthday was tomorrow that they could drive him into Ottawa for a nice supper for his birthday. That in someway he could get to meet up with me. Oh that sounded so marvellous. We made plans and the next day had our goodbye breakfast with the red hatters and then I met Deb in the hallway. We walked out together to where Bill was sitting. He sure a heck was not sure why he was sitting in a hotel lobby and being in Ottawa to boot. I walked up behind him and put my arms around his neck. I said I here it is your birthday today and I came out to give you a hug. Well Bill being gracious and not knowing who I was smiled nicely and said thank you for the birthday wish. Looked at Marion and Deb and wondered why I was giving him a hug. I said I am your birthday present for a couple of hours. He really looked at me them. What the heck is going on. Then I said you don’t know me. But I bet you will. My name is Brenda Lowe. It is such a pleasure to meet you. He thought for a minute and then jumped up. Well this calls for a better hug then that. Well he knew who I was.

After that meeting we went over to the timmies in the hotel. Sat there and chatted for about three hours. About what my family was doing and how everyone was. He never let go of my hand. I just loved that moment. It will be a memory that stays with me for a long time. Red hatting can bring family together. I just love it. They finally had to leave. More hugs where going around. And a few pictures taken. I don’t think you could have wiped the smile off of Bills face for the rest of the day. Deb said that he and Marion smiled and talked about that moment all the way home.

I have not heard much from them this year, but they have celebrated another milestone wedding anniversary this year. I saw the pictures on Facebook.

I thank Deb so much for having the courage to stand up in front of us Red hatters and ask if a certain person was in this group. I love you for that. Sending you a virtual hug if you are reading this. The reason I am writing this is because those beautiful pictures came up on my memory on Facebook a day or two ago. Made me smile that I could meet two of the most lovely people I have talked to so many times with on the Internet. Hope all is well with everyone