My maternal grandfather, James William Halvangis (1920-1973), drove truck for a living in the city of Detroit, Michigan. He was a member of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Local Union No. 299. When he died, his Teamster Brothers presented our family with this Holy Bible.
The Bible itself sits in a sturdy and handsome wooden box. As long as I can remember it was either displayed in my mother’s china cabinet or stored with our family photo albums and mementos.
A message of sympathy from the Local 299 is firmly affixed in the inside cover, below Jesus’s outstretched hands.
Until just today I had never noticed the stamp on the back of the wooden case. It says it is “Union Made” by the “United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America”.
I never got to meet my grandfather. But I have learned a lot about his life in the last several years since researching our family’s story. Here is a video I put together a while back which, hopefully, captures a bit of his spirit.
Thanks for taking a look at the Family History Artifact of the Day Challenge! Every day in May I will be posting a family artifact or heirloom. I hope you’ll join!
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In May of 2020 I challenged myself and others to write every day for a month about a family heirloom or artifact. Here are 10 lessons I learned from this genealogy writing experience.