SNGF -- Five "Fun" or "Different" Facts

Calling all Genea-Musings Fans: 

It's Saturday Night again - 

Time for some more Genealogy Fun!!

Here is our assignment from Randy Seaver of Genea-Musings, suggested by Jacquie Schattner: 

1)  We all find "fun" or "different" information about ourselves, our relatives, and our ancestors in our genealogy and family history pursuits.  What are five "fun" or "different" facts in your life or your ancestor's lives?

Here's mine:
1) I have been a railfan all my life. As a child, three railroad lines passed through our town of Pittsburg, California: Southern Pacific, Santa Fe, and the Sacramento Northern (part of the Western Pacific). I loved it when the train stopped us at a crossing. We kids would count the box cars as they passed by. Fast forward to adulthood, I got to work on a railroad. Not a big railroad like the SP and Santa Fe, but I was a train operator for the Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BARTD) for fifteen years and then trained train operators for seventeen before retiring. It was a fun job!

2) My mother-in-law, Thelma Nilsen Gorrell, spent fifty years singing in the choir of the St. Stephens Presbyterian Church in North Highlands, California. She sang as an alto. One day, she could no longer hear the sound correctly and had to quit the choir. She loved classical music and listened to record albums or the local classical stations. We have some of those albums today.

3) My great-grandmother, Anna Marie Gleeson Sullivan, applied for a homestead in Davison County, Dakota Territory as a single woman. Before her five years were up, she purchased the 160 acres for $200 ($1.25 per acre). She even filed an intent to naturalize. I never found the final naturalization, but she would have gained citizenship through the marriage to her husband, John H. Sullivan.

4) My father, William J. Hork, worked most of his life in produce sales. He worked for Safeway, LoRay, Mission Bell, Bon Appetit, and finally Safeway where he retired. His produce sections always looked tidy. At LoRay, he was a manager and buyer until Ralphs bought the stores. One time, between jobs, he ran a produce stand in Hayward, California. He retired in 1993.  

5) My husband’s grandmother, Matilda Davey Gorrell, was very active with the Christian Church, where she was a member of the Christian Endeavor Society, Loyal Gleaners, and the Woman’s Council. She often led the devotions at the meetings at the church. She was also very involved in the Women’s Christian Temperance Union and the Webb City (Missouri) Garden Club.

Nothing super exciting in the mentions above. We come from a boring family.

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