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Kim-Bee BearsI am German on my dad's side and my moms side is either Swedish or Swiss... her maiden name is Judy but over there it is Tshudi.... She has a really neat family outline somewhere.... I dont know if I have any famous relatives...
Shelli the Barbaraian 
*Kim slides off her chair and is now hiding under her desk*
Shelli the Barbaraian
Yes, that's me. Be afraid. Be very afraid.
And while you're cowering under your desk there, Kim my love, remind yourself that these bloodlines were diluted by several hundred years of time (and a roughly equal number of relatives!) before they landed inside of me!
Kim-Bee BearsThat is what you say LOL *still shaking underneath the desk* LOL
But seriously, that is a really neat bloodline! I wonder who i trace back to.... I would love to find out!
Wild Thyme OriginalsOn some side of my family we can go WAY back to the late 1500's... mostly English, and a whole bunch of them came here several expeditions after the Mayflower.
On my Mom's maternal side we have DEEP Kentucky roots...I have a great-great-great-(I don't know how many more) grandfather named George White Freeman, he and his brother were on the Union side of the Civil War... but since they lived in Kentucky, well they couldn't quite make up their minds.... they were in charge of taking a group of defeated Southern soldiers up to where they were supposed to be held till the end of the war... but they changed their minds halfway there and let them all go! I have several Revolutionary War ancestors... so I joined DAR back in high school.... the funny thing is, since my husband is full blooded Coptic Egyptian... our daughter qualifies for DAR! I think she'll find that pretty cool when she's older... that she is a Daughter of the American Revolution AND 1/2 Egyptian!
Beary truly yours,
Kim Basta
Wild Thyme Originals
Apple Dumpling DesignsShelli the Barbaraian
Now you've got me picturing Shelli with those big ol metal helmets that look like a bowl with horns sticking out the side with shield and a staff!!!
And what, praytell, is so wrong with THAT????
Apple Dumpling DesignsOMG...I think I'm going to wet my pants laughing...it is SOOOOOOOO you Shelli!!! 
Past Time BearsPriceless, Shelli!!
DoodlebearsShelli Thanks so much for the picture...you know it really suits you...I must get one of those...do Marks and Spencer sell them I wonder. UUUUUUMMMMMMMM!!!!!!
Jane
Ruby Mountain BearsJane your Golly is very Handsome!!!!!He has such a unique expression so innocent!
Hey, I am a Native American too! Registered and Certified and everything. My mom is Choctaw and Cherokee, I am registered Choctaw.
Talk about some funny looks when we go to the Indian Clinic. My father is Swedish and Irish. I am still fairly dark, but my Husband is All white boy. blue eyed fair skinned.
I have one daughter who is Blonde with Green Eyes, but dark complexion. Beautiful but you should see the looks she gets at the Indian Colony Clinic here. Very funny. Its kind of reverse racism because we are not dark enough. :lol:
Kathy
Bears-a-Bruin!LOL Shelli! That helmet really suits you....eeek! (Bit of trivia - did you know that viking helmets never really had horns?!)
I'm fascinated by family history and have done a bit of digging myself. My Uncle started me off. He told me that we were descended from Anne Hyde, Queen of England. I scoffed a bit at that because it's the sort of thing most people would like to hear! And I haven't traced the family line that far yet. But I did find out that the Hyde family (my maiden name) has a rich history in our local area, and there's a farm just a a few miles away where two Anne Hyde's lived (one was nearly Queen, and the other was Queen of England in the early 1700's). So who knows???? It might be true!
Past Time BearsWow, Helena . . . descendant of a queen! One of my husband's ancestors was briefly engaged to a former US president. That's as close as we come to notoriety!! Hey, Kathy welcome to the Native American club . . . you DO have a lot of NA blood!! I'm too far removed to show many traits, but do have dark brown eyes, a whisper of high cheekbones, and am not real light skinned. Think I work out to be 1/16 Comanche.
Childhood TreasuresOur bear group THE GRIZZLY GANG did a workshop on gollys. We were given the pattern and the rest was up to us. Some did big ones and others did larger ones. I made a smaller one, about 5". I'm running out of cabinet space and I still have so many ideas. I'll send you a picture if I ever figure out how to do it.
Ann
When I was wee it was explained to me that Golly started out as jolly and wog was westernised oriental gentleman.My english teacher backed this up so it may be true.It really isn't that rude really is it???No worse that scot or mick etc.I also love posh being port out starboard home.The upper classes not wanting a tan!!!
I notice this thread deviated a bit.I am part italian and irish as well as scottish.I seemingly look scottish and was chosen to be in the scotsman holding the new pound coin.The other girls at work were not pleased.The photographer said I was a real celt.I took it as a compliment.
Back to gollies.Mine was put out when they became poliically incorrect.Poor golly but then racism of any kind is just plain nasty.I am glad they are acceptable now. I love them and want one badly.I made one once but it looked like an extra from Night of the living dead.
Diane xxx
ToadBriarHave any of you golly makers gotten comments by people who were offended?
I see both sides of things too often. I see they are made with love & the original
storybook golly was a hero. Later on the Blyton books made gollies into more
offensive characters. I appreciate keeping the good spirit in spite of the bad bits.
But I also would not have the cheek to tell someone their emotions were 'wrong'
if they felt that gollies were reminding them of, or being nostalgic for, what were
bad times for their families & people. I don't have that background - & I don't have the
background of growing up in England where Golly was a nursery character either! So I
find it all interesting, because they are pretty to look at, AND the history & direction is
fascinating, & I wonder what Golly's future looks like. It's not as if the current gollies are
inspired by minstrel shows, ya know?
My background is English, French, Scotch, Dutch. I am genetic wonder-bread (nonUS-ians,
that's the cheapest spongiest chemical-preservative-filled white bread there is). No exotic
surprises lurking in the branches of my family tree, sadly. Related to Ralph Waldo Emerson
on my mom's side. Apparently there's a Prison with my surname on the Isle of Wight. I do
wonder about that!
