THE BOOKMARK by Ed Bruening, [email protected]

Forty years ago, the family patriarch, Wm. BRUENING, died in Chicago. My wife and I went to help grandma clean up the house. Upon leaving, she told me I could take along the small pile of 1940s POPULAR MECHANICS magazines saved by grandpa. Once home, I discovered a small bookmark in one that was a torn corner from an envelope with a school return address in Germany. It was from some family member that I had not heard of. Back then, I had no interest in family history and tossed the paper into a dresser drawer.

Last November, that scrap of paper again came to light. Now, with a high sustained interest in genealogy, I decided to do something daring. I wrote to the person about the last week in November. Weeks went by. Finally, a letter arrived. The person was still alive, and now 81 years old. It turned out that he had been seeking grandpa's descendants in vain as late as 1993, even having enlisted the help of the Chicago Police Department. He wrote to say that my letter was absolutely the very best Christmas present ever. I felt the same way. Since then we have begun an exchange of correspondence and family photos and even talked on the telephone.

My "new" second cousin also has an abiding interest in family history and was eager to swap charts and general information. Originally, I knew of just one American branch of the family and now I know of three. The date of the first known family member has now been pushed back more than 100 years.

That one little scrap of paper, probably more than 50 years old, did the trick!