Potpourri: Arbaugh, Bartholomew, and Engelhardt Family Lore

Book excerpt: On the cover of Potpourri: Arbaugh, Bartholomew, and Engelhardt Family Lore/ is a photograph taken in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on February 22, 1932, including author William C. Arbaugh and his grandparents, Clara and William G. Arbaugh, with Nora Leone and Alonzo Harvey Arbaugh. In this volume celebrating the family history of the Arbaugh, Bartholomew, and Engelhardt families, Arbaugh captures times past. Fueled by the surprise discovery of a neatly tied bundle of letters, the family history revealed in them led to the preparation of this family memoir. Arbaughs sisters, Nora Dorothy and Mary Margaret, were soon engrossed along with their brother in letters revealing the heartfelt views of their mother, Clara Engelhardt, and their grandmother. These letters described her interest in William G. Arbaugh, a young college friend she fancied. The letters chronicled the strong bond between Clara and William, eventually leading to their marriage upon completion of their education. These letters and the others they discovered served to deepen their respect for them and furthered their understanding of their idealism and strong faith. Potpourri shares family lore, ranging from Germany and the Caribbean to Indiana and Illinois with a broad reach from life on small-scale family farm prior to common use of electricity to the age of atomic energy.