Uncle Peg’s Chronicles
March 5, 2026
“A Little Vacation”
“These
were their settlements. And they kept good family records.”[1]
Don’t
forget to look for the title which is embedded in the chronicle.
FAMILY ALBUM
“Our
son, Philip received an achievement medal and citation from the Japanese
Military (not a usual accolade). We are so proud of him.” Shared by Celia
(Nolte) Anklesaria of the Charles R Holmes line.
Japan
Ground Self-Defense Force
February
26, 2026
Japan
Ground Self-Defense Force Achieve Medal 3rd Class
Awarded
to
Major
Philip Anklesaria
V-22
Pilot, Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 262
Since assigned to Marine
Tiltrotor Squadron 262 as a V-22 pilot in 2021, he has demonstrated exceptional
pilot skills, a wealth of knowledge of operation, deep understanding of Japan
and actively supported and cooperated to promote mutual understanding and
strengthening not only for Transport Aviation Group, but Japan and US
cooperation relationship. In
particular, bilateral airmobile operation with one company from Amphibious
Rapid Deployment Brigade cooperated with III Marine Expeditionary Force during
Iron Fist 25 in2025, we conducted consecutive landing operation into one
Landing zone, with 13 aircraft within a short time frame. Despite this
challenging situation, he provided active yet precise advice and proposals
based on his wisdom for operation of controller aircraft and air traffic
control, allowing Transportation Aviation Group to establish initial operation
capability and improve the interoperability. Both exercises were never met with
problems and accomplished safely. Moreover,
his three-time participation of bilateral exercises with Transport Aviation
Group has been the key piece to greatly improve our interoperability. For
these reasons, he is being awarded with the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force
Achievement Medal 3rd Class in recognition of his contributions and
achievements with our sincere gratitude and honoring his distinct service to
Transport Aviation Group. AOYAMA Yoshiji
Colonel
Commanding
Officer
Transport
Aviation Group
Japan
Ground Self-Defence Force
And I Quote:
See the description of the header photo.
1925
to 1928
Those are the years that our Holmes ancestors spent
renewing relationships that had somehow fallen by the wayside but with
organization, letter writing, and challenging travel – by hook or by crook –
they managed to come together again. They reacquainted and rediscovered their
family ties. And then, one by one, they died, and many of those ties died with
them.
2025 to 2028
I don’t have a family history lesson
for you this week, as I took a little vacation to the Halifax area in between
chronicles. The only genealogy I did was to maintain my vigilance as editor of
the NBGS Facebook group website. I have been in touch with Paula, who is
editing my journal article. I know she will have an issue for me to deal with.
I’m not sure what it is yet, but I think it might be the genealogy in the first
part. That genealogy is there to demonstrate the difference between Maud’s
early upbringing and Fenwick’s, but I don’t think I did it justice.
In Halifax, I saw history, both past
and in the making. My cousin on Dad’s side, Cynthia, took me into Halifax where
we walked the boardwalk, past little touristy shops and historical spots. We
didn’t go into Pier 21, due to time constraints, but we saw some statues
representing those who came to Nova Scotia in the 1920s, much later than our
family members. We went through the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, which
represented many eras of sail. The 1917 Halifax Explosion and the Titanic story
and items that floated to the surface were sobering and well done, in my
opinion. We went to the Maud Lewis exhibit in the art gallery, which was
lovely. They fixed up the real wee house (not a replica); it contains some of
her art on the furniture that she painted. In case you don’t know, Maud and her
husband were destitute; her art now fetches large sums of money.
As we walked to the Art Gallery, we
passed peaceful but loud protesters on the sidewalk opposite, protesting on
their lunch hour the massive budget cuts to the arts in Nova Scotia. This will
have ramifications in our literature and publication, small archives, heritage,
tourism and I’m sure, other areas. If the predictions come true, it will
probably happen also in New Brunswick soon. As you may know, museums and
archives often function on shoestring budgets, and rely on volunteers.
I think of the small museum in
Petitcodiac, and the library that they are still working on preparations for
it’s opening after several years. Will they survive cuts? I hope so.
I also had a couple of lovely visits
with my cousin on Mum’s side, Cindy Steeves, and her husband, Greg. We sat
around the table and told the same old stories and some new ones.
FAMILY HISTORY LESSON
I hope to
be back with some family history in the next chronicle. I am redoing a bit of
my article in preparation for my revision – not deleting much, but adding bits
in different colours that I anticipate will be more reader friendly.
This ends
week ten of our centennial virtual celebration of 1926 – 2026.
The Maud Lewis House
