The Family Treehouse: Episode #24

Meet Julie Holmansky, one of Storied’s featured authors.

Julie’s Grampy Phil was a hobby genealogist in the days before the internet made finding records easy. He wrote countless letters to archives, libraries, historical societies, and anyone who shared his surname. His cluttered office held wooden shelves that bowed under the weight of binders filled with research and photo albums. While his meticulously crafted family tree was impressive, it was his pictures and stories that truly captured Julie’s imagination.

As a child, Julie would lie on her stomach for hours, flipping through photo albums. She was amazed to see pictures of her mom, aunt, uncles, and grandparents as children – a revelation for a young girl who assumed adults were simply born old. The photos of unknown ancestors particularly fascinated her, like her stunning great-grandmother Bernadette in stylish 1920s drop-waisted dresses, and the unique tin-type photographs from earlier eras.

Grampy Phil delighted in sharing stories about these ancestors. He told tales of Bootlegger Joe, who cleverly used his young sons and Grampy Phil as cover during Prohibition, knowing no one would suspect a man taking three boys fishing had a second gas tank full of moonshine. He spoke of his grandmother Georgie, whose legendary temper was passed down through generations of family women. His most dramatic tale was of granduncle Theophile’s tragic accident at the local paper mill, where he fell into a vat of acid – a story Grampy Phil would conclude by dramatically whispering “And all they found were three brass buttons!” while rattling a jar of brass buttons for effect.

During her college years, Julie began assisting with his research and found herself thoroughly engrossed in genealogy. Today, she remains passionate about every aspect of family history, from building family trees to researching historical events and discovering new connections. However, like her grandfather before her, she always returns to what first drew her in – the stories that bring ancestors to life in meaningful and relevant ways.