"THANK YOU for taking an interest in my lifetime memories as set forth in THE SON OF JOE THE MOLDER.  I have arranged for the book to be made available on demand through the link below.  The book is for sale at 1¢ over cost--the publisher will not allow me to sell it without profit.  Upon reading it, if you are moved to acknowledge me in any way, please consider a gesture of support to the charity most associated with the Romeo family, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Northwestern PA, 5031 West Ridge Road, Erie, PA 16506-1249.

As Associates of the Sisters of St. Joseph, my mother Sarah and sister Theresa devoted decades of their lives to the corporal and spiritual works of mercy which define this world-wide organization.  And my sister Mary Rose will remain a Sister of St. Joseph for life.  Foremost in its goals are education, healthcare, senior care, neighborhood and community revitalization, spiritual formation, and involvement in policy discussions with the United Nations in matters of global peace and justice.

For more background on the Sisters of St. Joseph of Northwestern PA, or to make a tax-free contribution online, please visit www.ssjerie.org."

Charles' mother, Betty Marea Smith, was the oldest of seven children.  Her father, Rev. Charles Bergey Smith, was the third of ten children.

The book contains first-person accounts by Betty's father, her father's sister Emma, and memories from Betty and her sister Ruth of being the Preacher's kids.

Charles includes a chapter about the tragic death of Betty's youngest sister Reba in the 1954 Cleveland Hill School fire.  The story is a testament to the deep faith that held the family together in that dark period.

Finally, travel through 85 years of photographic history, the pictures Betty left for possterity.

In the early 1980s -- before the Internet, before e-mail, before mobile phones -- people wrote letters.

Charles and his siblings began a Round Robin-style of letter writing.  The rules were simple:  Sibling 1 sends a letter to Sibling 2.  Sibling 2 sends a letter to Sibling 3 and also includes Sibling 1's letter.  Sibling 3 sends a letter to Sibling 4 and includes the letters from Siblings 1 and 2.  The last Sibling sends a letter to Sibling 1, including the letters from all of the other Siblings.  Sibling 1 then removes the first letter, sends Sibling 2 a new letter, including the letters from all of the other Siblings.  Charles saw historical potential in keeping the letters and asked everyone to disregard the rule about taking out their previous letter; he would keep all of the letters after they were read by all.

Twenty-four years later, Charles and his sister digitally transcribed the letters and, after adding some pictures for posterity, put it all together into this book.

Charles spent the isolating months during the Pandemic composing and compiling his Memoirs.

There is an introduction to George and Betty, Charles' parents.  Their lives were never documented, yet they were instrumental in making Charles who he is.  There follows a "conversation" between Charles and his siblings about the Summers they spent at their vacation cottage.  Charles capsulizes his Junior Year abroad as an exchange student to Japan.  The final chapter re-prints the annual letters he began sending at age 22.  He made a tradition of sending a letter to friends and family, usually at year end, and typically beginning with the word "Tidings."

A personal history of Virginia Baird Rinkus.

How a museum artifact in the form of an American Revolutionary War drum triggered interest in that drum and the 15-year-old soldier who carried it. Andrew Ream, a humble young man from Reamstown, Pennsylvania, served as the Drummer Boy at the 1778 Battle of Monmouth New Jersey. Two of Andrew's fourth great-grandchildren explore how that drum came to be preserved over 350 miles away in Western Pennsylvania.