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Indiana's French Heritage

7/9/2017

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Yesterday, I held a Growing Little Leaves program at the Indiana Historical Society about French heritage and Indiana's historical French connections.

It is believed that the first Europeans to travel the land that is now Indiana were French fur traders and explorers in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. They established profitable trade relationships with the Native Americans, and it was not uncommon for the French traders to intermarry with the local tribes. In fact, the last principal chief of the unified Miami tribe, Francis La Fontaine (or 'Topeah' in his native tongue) had a French grandfather by the name of Peter LaFontaine.

After the British took control of the region in the 1760s, they renamed many of the settlements and landscape features, but the French influence remained in a few place names. Terre Haute is French for 'high land.' LaPorte is French for 'the door,' and is said to have been named so by French explorers due to the area's natural opening out of the dense tree cover of indigenous forests.  The city of Vincennes, in southwestern Indiana, was established in 1732 and is the oldest continually inhabited European settlement in Indiana. Small groups of French immigrants continued to arrive in Indiana in the 19th century, as well. According to U.S. Census data, in 1850, French immigrants were living in 66 Indiana counties, and many Indiana counties were also home to Canadian immigrants who traced their ancestry back to France.

For this program, we had several stations set up with crafts, games, and activities relating to French heritage and history in Indiana.

We had a history station, where I had this map of New France in 1750 (source), along with copies (and translations) of French fur trading contracts, the originals of which are located in the Indiana Historical Society's collections. I also had a world atlas out, so kids could find France on a map and see its proximity in the world with respect to North America.
Picture
Indiana's French Heritage // GrowingLittleLeaves.com
One of the stations included some kid-friendly French language books and coloring pages.
Indiana's French Heritage // GrowingLittleLeaves.com
At another station, I had red, white, and blue Legos for creating the French flag.
Indiana's French Heritage // GrowingLittleLeaves.com
I had found this cute little vintage Eiffel Tower paper cut-out template, and I had a station for making those. You can download this craft from Flickr at this link.
Indiana's French Heritage // GrowingLittleLeaves.com
As I did with the recent Italian heritage program, I created a memory game with French-English food words. Click on the image below, if you'd like to download for your use. My 6 year old daughter and I played several rounds and she enjoyed it.
Indiana's French Heritage // GrowingLittleLeaves.com
My daughter's favorite activity of the day was coloring and cutting a Paris paper city, which you can download for free at this link. 
Indiana's French Heritage // GrowingLittleLeaves.com
And, of course, I had copies of my 'My French Ancestor' worksheets for anyone with French ancestry. These can be downloaded from my Ancestor Worksheet page.
Indiana's French Ancestry // GrowingLittleLeaves.com
Unfortunately, this was the final Growing Little Leaves program at the Indiana Historical Society. Thanks to all who have supported and attended the programs. I do intend to keep sharing ideas on this blog and may explore other options for children's programming.

©2017, Emily Kowalski Schroeder
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In Grandma's Kitchen

3/6/2017

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In Grandma's Kitchen: A Growing Little Leaves Program // GrowingLittleLeaves.com
This past weekend, I held a Growing Little Leaves program at the Indiana Historical Society. The program was entitled, 'In Grandma's Kitchen,' and the activities were themed around food, traditions, and Italian heritage. The program coincided with IHS' opening of their new You Are There exhibit, 1943: Italian POWs at Atterbury. For those of  you unfamiliar with the You Are There exhibits, they are living history experiences in which you step back in time and interact with people and places of the past. This new exhibit showcases the experiences of Italian prisoners of war who were brought to Camp Atterbury, which is south of Indianapolis, during WWII. 

For this program, we set up tables with various activities for children and their families to explore. We had a small play kitchen set up for little ones, as well as 'recipe' color-and-cut worksheets. Children could color an Italian flag or play a memory matching game with both Italian and English food vocabulary words. There was also an area to learn about different pasta shapes and some historical photos and documents about the early 20th century Italian-American community in Indianapolis. We also had children's books about Italy and Italian-English dictionaries for anyone who wanted to read a little more.

In Grandma's Kitchen: A Growing Little Leaves Program // GrowingLittleLeaves.com
A Little Bit About Indy's Italian-Americans
In Grandma's Kitchen: A Growing Little Leaves Program // GrowingLittleLeaves.com
Italian Food Matching Game
In Grandma's Kitchen: A Growing Little Leaves Program // GrowingLittleLeaves.com
Learn Pasta Shapes
In Grandma's Kitchen: A Growing Little Leaves Program // GrowingLittleLeaves.com
Play Kitchen and Coloring Pages
In Grandma's Kitchen: A Growing Little Leaves Program // GrowingLittleLeaves.com
Video About Camp Atterbury and Handouts and Worksheets.
I uploading my 'In Grandma's Kitchen' handout and Italian Food Memory Game for anyone who would like to download them for their own personal use. Click on the images below for a PDF.
In Grandma's Kitchen: A Growing Little Leaves Program // GrowingLittleLeaves.com
In Grandma's Kitchen Recipe Worksheet (2 pages)
In Grandma's Kitchen: A Growing Little Leaves Program // GrowingLittleLeaves.com
Italian-English Food Match Game (6 pages)
©2017 Emily Kowalski Schroeder
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A RootsTech 2017 Review

2/13/2017

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Last week, I had the opportunity to spend a week in Salt Lake City, which included attending and presenting at my first RootsTech conference. 

I flew into Salt Lake City a couple of days early, so that I would have some time to research a bit in the Family History Library. I spent many hours in on the International Floor, pouring over microfilms of Polish and German records. I've already shown my kids this 1747 German marriage record for Gerd Herman Zumbusch (a name that later became Tumbusch) and Anna Maria Mersmans, their 6th great-grandparents. So exciting!
RootsTech Review: GrowingLittleLeaves.com
The conference itself was amazing. I've been to several national and regional genealogy conferences, but the energy and enthusiasm I felt at RootsTech was like nothing I had experienced before. I very much enjoyed hearing the family stories told by the keynote speakers, "Property Brothers" Jonathan and Drew Scott, LeVar Burton, and "Cake Boss" Buddy Valastro. The expo hall was immense, and, I will admit, a little overwhelming for a first-timer, but I soon found my way around and enjoyed looking at all the wonderful products and services offered by the vendors, usually at discounted prices!

Overall, I was generally pleased by the quality of the classes I attended. I listened to Janet Hovorka speak twice - She presented with her sister, Amy Slade, about the family history narrative as it relates to adoptees, and also with her father, Don Carpenter, about what to do with your family history treasure trove to ensure than it lasts for generations. Although I have no African blood myself, I enjoyed two African-American research talks by Nicka Smith and Shannon Christmas.  African-American genealogy is something I know little about, so I wanted to branch out and learn a little bit more about this aspect of genealogy.

On Friday, I, along with my fellow presenters Melissa Finlay (finlayfamily.org) and Nicole Dyer (familylocket.com), had the opportunity to chat in the Media Hub with Jana Greenhalgh, creator of The Genealogy Kids website and blog. It was so motivating and enlightening to talk with women who are drawn to the same mission in life as mothers and family historians - to develop practical ways in which to help kids learn about the lives of their ancestors and feel pride in their family history.

Saturday was Family Discovery Day, and it was wonderful seeing so many families with children in the halls, classrooms, and expo hall. That afternoon, Melissa, Nicole, and I presented our class, 'Kid Genealogists: Inspiring the Next Generation.'  It went so well, and we were pleased to see so many people interested in getting kids involved in genealogy. We hope that the success of the class will encourage both RootsTech and other genealogy conference/seminar organizers to include even more classes that focus on how to bring family history alive to children in meaningful and enjoyable ways.

If you were unable to attend our class, you can download the syllabus and get links to lots of other helpful blog posts and websites by visiting this link at The Family Locket blog:


http://familylocket.com/kid-genealogists-rootstech/
RootsTech 2017 Review: GrowingLittleLeaves.com
If you are a member of a genealogical and/or historical society and would like to see more programming geared towards engaging children in family history, be sure to let the appropriate leaders or committee members know. 

​@2017 Emily Kowalski Schroeder
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Digitization Project? Get Kids Involved!

1/14/2017

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How To Work With Local Youth Groups To Accomplish Digitization // GrowingLittleLeaves.com
A few years back, I volunteered with a local county digitization initiative and helped prepare county probate documents for scanning. We removed the documents from envelopes, unfolded and smoothed them flat, and removed any metal staples, pins, or thread (!) holding papers together. The experience was a lot more interesting and educational than I thought it would be! Some of these packets had not been opened in over a hundred years, and it was really beneficial to me as a family historian to see how these probate files were arranged and what types of documents were included, even though they were not at all connected to my own family.

How To Work With Local Youth Groups To Accomplish Digitization // GrowingLittleLeaves.com
How To Work With Local Youth Groups To Accomplish Digitization // GrowingLittleLeaves.com
As I thought back over that experience, I realized that kids, from upper elementary ages through teens, very easily could do this, too!  And, like me, they could learn a lot about the sources they are helping to digitize.

What Kids Can Learn From Digitization Projects:
*Kids learn about the documents and record sets they are digitizing through hands-on observation.

*Kids will understand that they are doing a service to the community and to family historians searching for information about their ancestors.

*Kids learn the value of using digitization to protect documents (and the information contained within them) from natural decomposition, fire, and water damage.

Would your local genealogical or historical society like to initiate digitization projects, but doesn't feel like it has the 'manpower' necessary to accomplish them? Would your group like to attract more young faces to its ranks and become more visible in your community? If the answer is yes, consider designing and implementing a digitization project in partnership with a local youth organization or school group.


Some school districts, scouting groups, and churches require or at least encourage kids to complete service hours,
and a project like this would be perfect for a teen who maybe doesn't want to volunteer in the local food pantry or church nursery. Perhaps even work WITH the churches and schools in your area to digitize some of their historical holdings that would surely be of use to family historians in your area. Our local high school has a history club and this type of project would be a perfect activity for them!

Don't think you have the technology to accomplish a digitization project? Check with your local library; many public libraries have both standard and oversized scanners, as well as laptops, available for patrons to use and sometimes even checkout. And library meeting rooms are great areas in which to meet and do the actual work of organizing and digitizing. (Just be sure to reserve those rooms far ahead of time so they are available.)

Not sure about how to make the digitized records accessible to your members and/or the community? Guess what - kids can help with that, too! For many teens, creating and editing webpages comes as second nature, and there are many easy-to-build-and-edit website services that would be a breeze for your society to maintain. The holding organization (library, courthouse, archive) may also help get the digitized database and images online.


Tips For Creating A Digitization Project in Cooperation With A Youth Organization:
*Decide what will be digitized and get permission to digitize from the holding organization, library or archive. 

*Identify and contact local youth groups you think might be interested in participating. Contact group leaders through phone or email and explain your vision.

*Plan an adult-only meeting with the leader(s) of interested youth groups sometime either at the end of the school year or during the summer before a school year begins. Determine what the leaders are looking for their kids to get out of the partnership. Decide on a project meeting location and meeting frequency (monthly, semi-monthly).

*Confirm that the meeting location and necessary technology are available and reserve those days and times as far ahead as possible. Recruit and sign up adult volunteer members from your group to assist and oversee during each meeting date.

*Attend one of the youth group's meetings and introduce your group and it's mission to the youth members. Clearly articulate the goals and purpose of the digitization project to the youth members. Explain to them what their jobs will be during the process.

*Consider an 'open house' style of project meetings in which participants can come and go within a designated time frame at their convenience. (It's not as chaotic as it sounds, once kids understand their tasks and the process behind the project, they will be able to jump right in at any time.)

​*Provide participants with (non-messy) light snacks or bite-sized candy. Participants will find their experience more enjoyable with food. 

*Be prepared to sign-off on service hours, if necessary. Create a sign-in sheet or perhaps a simple form that can be easily filled out at each meeting, so participants can return them to their group leaders. 
​

*Make it a yearly project, if possible. Youth organizations have a high-turnover rate; kids are continually 'graduating' out of groups and new members are always joining.

With good planning and an enthusiastic attitude, your society CAN successfully partner with local youth groups to accomplish great things towards preserving important pieces of your community's history.

©2017 Emily Kowalski Schroeder. All rights reserved.
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Creating A Family-Friendly Society

10/14/2015

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Are you a member of a historical or genealogical society that would like to attract more younger people and families to your ranks? Would your society like to become more visible within the community at large? If the answers are 'yes,' this blog post is all about some suggestions to help your society accomplish these goals.

The first step in attracting more families (parents and minor children) to your society is actually WANTING to do so. If not enough people within your group are on-board and willing to contribute their time and talent, then it will never happen. Form a committee within your society and then perhaps even sub-committees for specific tasks or events. Some of the suggestions I list below may take a considerable amount of crowd-sourcing from within your ranks, but I promise you the payoffs can be great!

Sponsoring Family-Friendly Events: Does your society periodically offer free Open Houses for prospective members? If not, consider doing so once or twice a year, and make it child-friendly in the process. If you are a member of a society with no physical location, most public libraries offer rooms that can be reserved for free with just a library card. Or better yet, have some members man a meet-and-greet table at a local Farmer's Market, Community Night Out or County Fair.

Now, HOW would you make an open house or meet-and-greet table child-friendly? What about featuring a 'Technology and Tools of the Past' theme? Probably just from digging around in their basements, your members could bring in old telephones, record players, typewriters, and even old computers for kids to look at, touch (yes, I said touch), and learn about. And, with supervision, kids could examine old household things like washtubs and washboards, old glass medicine and milk bottles, metal milk cans, maybe an old cast iron pressing iron or an old Kirby vacuum cleaner. Or perhaps dig up some old toys from your childhood or your kids' childhoods and have an 'old toy' table for kids to explore. (Remember that 'old' to today's kids is not necessarily that old at all - even stuff from the 70s and 80s is fascinating to young children today.) Find some things that would interest the kids for a few minutes, and at the same time, you can talk with their parents or grandparents about the goals and mission of your group.

Your society may already have members of local battle reenactment groups. What about holding an open house during which a mini-reenactment is featured? Or have some of your members dress up in period attire and tell visitors about what life is like on their local farm in the 1860s? Events like these are wonderful for public relations, especially if you were to bring the character actors to a farmer's market or county fair table, where there are already a lot of families passing through.

If the open houses and table meets go well, consider sponsoring regular family-oriented programs in your community. Research Colonial-American or Pioneer toys and games and invite kids from the community to come play and learn about them. Hold a square-dancing workshop for kids and their parents - maybe even in a local historical barn (how fun would that be!). Hold a Halloween storytelling session and share local ghost stories in front of a bonfire or even just have a trick-or-treating event at a local historical museum. Design the activities around your area's local history and cultural heritage. I suggest always making family programs FREE, which isn't difficult to accomplish if you crowd-source for materials and talent among members AND partner with other local groups. (see below)

Partner With Other Local Groups: Does your genealogical society maintain an open communication with your local historical society and vice versa? Has your society ever thought of reaching out to scouting groups or other local ethnic heritage groups and sponsor community events with them? Holding joint events is a win-win situation for both groups and for the community at-large. Get in on a cemetery clean-up with a local scouting troop. Co-sponsor a German Heritage Day with the German-American club in your area. Reach out to local high school history teachers and offer to send members into the classroom to talk about local history. If your local high school has a Junior ROTC program, contact them and plan a Veterans Day commemoration with them. Make a banner and walk in local parades (even better if you're in period costume!) Get your name and faces out in the community where young people and their parents can see you!


Offer Free Child Care during Member Meetings: Yes, you read that correctly. Lots of churches do this these days, so that parents can attend Bible studies and other meetings. It's not difficult to arrange. All you need are a couple of volunteers to watch the children, some toys to keep them busy, and a room that is separate, but nearby, to the main meeting room where the kids can play. Even my small-town library has adjoining rooms that can be reserved by anyone at no charge.

Today's families are busier than even, but that does not necessarily mean we have no interest in preserving local and family histories. SHOW us that we and our children are integral parts to your mission of preserving and educating the community about local history. Even just simple acts of family-oriented outreach will make a positive impression on parents and children who see you out-and-about in the community, and you will be building a legacy for the continuation of your society in the future.

"Children are like wet cement. Whatever falls on them makes an impression." - Dr. Haim Ginott
​
"Children are the living messages we send to a time we will not see." - Neil Postman

©2015, Emily Kowalski Schroeder

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A Cemetery Program for Children

6/20/2015

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Last weekend, Growing Little Leaves, in conjunction with the Indiana Historical Society, held its first children's educational cemetery program. The event took place at Indianapolis' Crown Hill Cemetery. About a dozen children, ranging in ages from four and a half years to young teenagers, along with their caretakers, participated in the two-hour program.

We started out by talking a little bit about what a cemetery is and what people do at a cemetery. Most of the kids HAD visited a cemetery before, which was great news, but for most of them, it was their first visit to Crown Hill. Then, we talked about what kinds of important information we can learn from gravestones, and how that information can be helpful in learning about a particular person or family. I explained that symbols on gravestones can also tell us a lot about a deceased person's life - perhaps what organizations s/he may have belonged to or what s/he may have done for a living.  

I designed some 'cemetery hunt' worksheets for the kids to get them looking more closely at the information on the gravestones, but before we started the search, we discussed cemetery safety and etiquette. I created a simple handout for them listing important rules when visiting a cemetery, and most of these rules can be applied when visiting any cemetery:
The hunt lasted about 15-20 minutes. We stayed in only one section of the cemetery, so that we could easily reconvene. After the search, we were given a tour by one of Crown Hill's knowledgeable guides. He told us a little more about the history of the cemetery, and gave the kids a short lesson on how to find particular graves using the section maps that the cemetery office has on file. He took us around to the graves of some of the more well-known people buried in that area of the cemetery, including author James Whitcomb Riley, where he read us one of his poems at his grave site.
A Cemetery Program for Children // GrowingLittleLeaves.com
After the guide's tour was over, we came back together as a group and I showed the kids a bunch of 4x6 inch photos of unique gravestones and symbols that I had taken throughout this and other cemeteries. We talked a little bit about religious, fraternal organization ('clubs' for grown-ups), ethnic, military, and occupational symbols and engravings. I showed them photos from modern-day stones depicting intricate portraits, landscapes, and symbols related to a person's likes, talents, and/or hobbies. I really hope the kids came out of the program with a better sense of just how much they can learn in a cemetery, and how valuable cemeteries are in learning about the history of a place and its people.

If you'd like to hear more details about our program, please feel free to contact me. A program like this could be done in ANY cemetery, and I'd love to see more genealogical and historical societies offer them for children in their areas. 


©2015, Emily Kowalski Schroeder
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Indiana Historical Society December Program

10/18/2014

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Indiana Historical Society December Program
As some of you may know, I've partnered with the Indiana Historical Society in Indianapolis and we are in the process of developing and implementing programs that aim to teach young children about family history concepts. We held a successful kids program in late July, and now, I am preparing for an upcoming program on December 7.

The December program, which is for adults only, will teach parents, grandparents, child educators, and caretakers how to introduce genealogy to young children. I will demonstrate some of the activities and methods I have written about on this blog, and I will briefly discuss why it is important to include children in family history education. I will also distribute some of my original, kid-friendly family history worksheets to all attendees for their own personal use.

So, if you are in the Indianapolis area, I encourage you to come and see me on December 7! For more information and to sign up, visit the IHS calendar link here.

©2014,  Emily Kowalski Schroeder

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Increase Membership With Children's Programming

8/22/2014

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Increase Membership With Children's Programming // GrowingLittleLeaves.com
There is currently much talk within the genealogical community surrounding the question, "How do we get younger people involved in genealogical and historical societies?"  In most circles, the term 'younger' pertains to anyone under the age of 50.  Some societies offer or are considering offering less expensive young adult or student membership rates.  Some local societies work with scout troops on cemetery or other historical restoration projects.  But is there anything else being done to make your society more inviting to a wider range of ages?

I am going to address the absence of the 30-45 year old demographic from genealogical and historical societies. I KNOW there are more than a few people in this demographic who have a genuine interest in history and discovering where they came from. However, we are a busy, busy lot. We are getting married and raising children. We are in the midst of our careers and still trying to advance to the next levels in our jobs, which often means long hours at the office and/or having to cope with a partner working long hours at the office. Any "free" time is usually spent scrounging up meals and carting the kids to school and various other extra-curricular activities.    

Does that mean, if I am a membership chair or programming director with a genealogical or historical society, that I should not even try to recruit people within this demographic?  Absolutely not, but successfully doing so may mean having to offer different types of programs that are completely new to your society.  It will mean designing programs around children.

When a child expresses a genuine interest in something, whether it be a sport, hobby, or academic subject, most caring, supportive parents at least attempt to understand and observe, if not participate in that activity with the child. And, in turn, parents learn from their children. The simple fact that my child loves something, and is curious and/or passionate about something - that is more than enough reason for me to educate myself about it.  Before I had my son, I couldn't have told you the difference between an excavator and a back hoe.  But, after looking through every construction vehicle-related book at our local library, I am now a bit of an expert in heavy road machinery. Likewise, you wouldn't believe how many dads out there know the name of every single Disney princess and what color dress she wears. Why? - because it is important to their daughters. 

Why shouldn't it be the same for family history? All it takes is one engaging story to spark a child's interest in genealogy.  They start to ask their parents more questions about the family and want to hear more stories. Maybe the parents will start to wonder, too, and will want to learn more. Then the parents may start asking questions of their parents and other family elders, building an informal family account before it is too late. Just imagine how beneficial it could be to the field of genealogy to spark the interest of these young parents, who are truly the connection between the future of their family and its past. 

So, how do you get the parents to BRING their children to a society program?  For starters, it MUST be held on a weekend.  I can tell you from experience that some weekday evenings are so busy with homework and sports and scout meetings that I feel like I might miss something important if I stop to breathe.  Weekends can be busy, too, but you have a much better chance of families attending a program if you schedule it on the weekend. Secondly, it obviously has to be geared towards children, preferably incorporating hands-on and/or storytelling methods of 'presentation.' (I don't even like using the word presentation when it comes to children. Interaction would be a better choice.)  Make it funny, make it engaging, make it short - kids don't have big attention spans.  And finally, it needs to be low-cost or free. I know so many societies struggle with finances and making ends meet, but trust me, regular low-cost children's programming will not only improve your society's image within the community-at-large, but it WILL pay off in an increase in membership.  

It may not happen immediately. There is a saying that people throw at new sleep-deprived parents: "The days are long, but the years are short."  It's not something you want to hear when baby won't go to sleep, but, now that my kids are ages four and six, I am beginning to understand how quickly kids grow up, and how soon they lose their dependence on their parents. Those parents who perhaps brought their kids to your programs a few years ago may find themselves with extra non-kid time sooner than they think.  And those programs they attended with their kids, though tucked back in their memories, may have awakened an interest in history and/or genealogy that they did not have before. They may look into joining a society, and it will happen years before they would have otherwise (if at all). 

I'm not going to guarantee all your current society members will agree with a new emphasis on children's programming. You will very likely encounter resistance from traditionalists who would like to see the group's resources go to more adult-based educational programming or research materials. But you must try to convince them to look towards the future, to have a view of the society beyond their years. 

©2014, copyright Emily Kowalski Schroeder. 

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    Emily Kowalski Schroeder

    Founder and Author of Growing Little Leaves

    Emily Kowalski Schroeder / Founder and Author of GrowingLittleLeaves.com

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