Didn't know my maternal grandparents that well. They were third generation German immigrants. That is fairly common in Carroll County where I grew up. Until about 1950, there was a German speaking Lutheran Church in the county. My grandfather was a descendant of Balthasur and Cunnigunda who came to the USA about 1850. I know he grew up on a farm and eventually founded a grocery store, often selling eggs and crops from his brothers' farms.

My grandfather died when my own father was 13 years old. My father's mother continued the family business, a little grocery store, with my father's help. She died when I was three, so I have little memory of her. People who knew her spoke highly of her, saying she was a kind-hearted, generous person.

My father was an only child, so he inherited all of the family goods when his mother died. Her legacy, I'm sure, made it easier for my father to raise and provide for five kids.

My mother's parents were first generation Swedish immigrants. They moved to the USA before my mother was born. My grandfather was an Electrical Engineer and came to this country because he could find work here. My grandfather and grandmother lived until I reached my 20's. Grandfather was a very quiet man. The family said, "If Pop-pop speaks, you better listen, because it must be important." He often sat in his chair, smoking his pipe and reading the Encyclopedia Britannica during family gatherings. My Granny apparently ruled the roost and raised her three kids. She was the glue for the extended family and when she passed, family gatherings ebbed significantly and eventually disappeared.

No musicians in my family. My oldest sister and I acquired a love of performing (she in choirs and community choruses, I on stage). I don't know where that came from.

Roger in Baltimore