Troy L Partain, 1931-2013

     My Uncle, Troy Partain, passed away Wednesday night.  The following obituary appeared in the Gwinnett Daily Post today:

"STONE MOUNTAIN Troy Partain Troy L. Partain, age 82, of Stone Mountain (Gwinnett County), Ga., died Thursday evening, September 25, 2013. His funeral will be Saturday, September 28, 2013, at 2 pm in the Bill Head Funeral Home, Lilburn/Tucker Chapel, with Dr. Robert Woodall officiating. Burial will follow in Eternal Hills Memory Gardens, Snellville with Air Force Military Honors. Born in Anderson, SC., Troy was a retired trainer for General Motors and a 11 year veteran of the U. S. Air Force. He was a member of Lilburn First Baptist Church. Survived by his wife of 52 years, June Craft Partain of Stone Mountain, daughter and son-in-law, Carol and Bill Williams of Lexington, NC., son, James Partain of Stone Mountain, grandchildren, Joshua (Tiffany) Williams, Andrea Williams, Danielle Partain, Alex Partain, sister, Shirley Royston of Royston, Ga., and loving and faithful canine companion, Kasey. The family would like to extend a special thanks to Crossroads Hospice for their care to Troy. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to Crossroads Hospice, suite 500, 1957 Lakeside Pkw., Tucker, Ga., 30084. Condolences may be left at www.billheadfuneralhome.com. The family will receive friends Saturday from 12 noon until 2 pm at the Bill Head Funeral Home and Crematory, Lilburn/Tucker Chapel. 770-564-2726."

Walking in Their Footsteps

     I wrote the other day about my trip to Chickamauga and what I learned about what my ancestors experienced there.  I then created a video to summarize everything and, hopefully, make it entertaining.  For family: the two ancestors mentioned in the video are the paternal Great-Grandfathers of Betty Huyler Albea.

     Check out the video:

My Physical Self

Week 3 of the Book of Me, Written by You blog prompt series.

     At the very basic level, my physical self is determined by my genes. Sure, I can dye my hair or lose/gain weight, but the building blocks begin with my DNA.  One of the neat side benefits of 23andMe's DNA testing for genealogy, is the geneotype results (what my DNA says I should look like).   So how do my geneotype results compare to my phenotypes (what I actually look like)?

Hair Color:
- Genotype: "Typical odds of having red hair" and "Typical odds of having blond hair (vs. brown hair)."
- Phenotype: White-Blond as a baby, now a light or golden brown with blond sun-streaks. Sometimes a red tint in the sun.

Hair Curl:
- Genotype: "slightly curlier hair on average" and "Typical amount of hair curl."
- Phenotype: Shirley temple curls as a toddler, now only slightly wavy if left to dry on its own.

Eye Color:
- Genotype: "72% chance of blue eyes; 27% chance of green eyes; 1% chance of brown eyes."
- Phenotype: Light Blue, though they can appear green if I'm wearing green.

Freckling:
- Genotype: "Typical amount of freckling" and "Typical number of freckles and moles."
- Phenotype: Sparsely freckled all over. I assume that's "typical."

Height:
- Genotype: "Subjects averaged 0.3 - 0.7 centimeters taller than typical height" and "Subjects averaged 0.4 cm (0.16 in) taller than typical."
- Phenotype: I'm 5'4.5".  I consider myself just under average height and on the tall side of short.

Weight:
- Genotype: "Typical BMI" and "On average, BMI is 0.19 units lower than typical for adults (1-2 pounds, depending on height)" and "Decreasing calorie intake and increasing physical activity through walking is associated with weight loss."
- Phenotype: I was thin as a child, a little heavy before puberty, skinny after puberty and then got heavy  after starting college.  About a year ago I started county calories and walking for exercise and I've since lost 75 pounds.  Yay!

     So overall, it seems like my genes dictated my physical appearance when I was young, but things changed as I got older.  And of course, some things are more effected by the environment than my genes.  I have a scar on my right hand between my knuckles from a car accident and one on my right knee from a fall.  I had braces in 3rd grade, which attempted to straighten my teeth (but I didn't keep them long enough for them to really help).

150 Years After Chickamauga

     Two days later my calves are still killing me, but it was worth it.  My mom and I spent Thursday and Friday trekking across the fields and hills of the Chickamauga Battlefield during their 150th Anniversary event.  What an experience!

     We'd visited Chickamauga last spring, but didn't give ourselves enough time and didn't really get a good grasp of what occurred there.  This time, we spent a full two days exploring the park and I now have a much better understanding of the battle and what my ancestors would have experience.

     We started day one by watching the short video presentation at the visitor's center.  It provided a quick overview of the battle that helped get our day started.  We then went on a double decker tour bus ride, which helped us get our bearings on where the Confederate and Union forces were and how the battle proceeded.

     Armed with a better understanding of the battle, we then went in search of the monuments that honored our ancestors.   Chickamauga is covered with over 700 monuments and plaques.  To help visitors find specific ones, there is a map in the visitor's center.  We spent about an hour driving the park and visiting markers, though we weren't able to find all of them.

     Next, we took advantage of the ranger lead programs being offered during the anniversary event.  Every two hours, park visitors would meet at a designated point (detailed on a map) and then set out with park rangers for a talk on a certain aspect of the battle.  I'd say that between 300 and 500 people attended each talk.  We were split up between three or four rangers who each spoke on the same topic, but from a different perspective.

     I have to say that after the first talk I was a little intimidated.  It was very... military.  Lots of "Stewart moved to the right" and "Rosecrans ordered Harker left."  Um - who?  But after a while it became easier to keep up, especially once we had attended a few talks (which built on each other).  What also helped were the battle maps I had printed out from CivilWar.org.  I'd left them in the car the first day, but made sure to bring them the second day.  That way, when one of the rangers mentioned a general, I could consult my map.

     During each talk, the rangers would walk us for what seemed like miles!  But that was part of the experience.  During one talk, we walked the same path that Longstreet's Corps did - the same path my my ancestors walked during the battle.  I can't imagine doing all of that walking, and then having to march up numerous hills and then fight for your life.  Walking the battlefield, combined with the information provided by the rangers, was an experience that really helped me connect with my ancestors.

     Another part of the 150th Anniversary event, was the National Park Service's emphasis on social media.  Each ranger lead talk was recorded and photographed.  Some of the content immediately went on Facebook and YouTube, while more has been added over the last few days.  I've found a few photos of myself on the Chickamauga Facebook page.

     If you have the chance to attend a similar event, I highly recommend you take advantage of the opportunity.