Giants Of The Earth Heritage Center

As part of renewing my Giants of the Earth membership, I arranged for DNA tests for my husband Leonard Splittstoesser and myself.

I was the first of my family to take the test, Once Johnathan Storlie explained that I would learn EVEN more about my paternal lineage if one of my six brothers took the test - and that I would learn STILL more if my father, then 99, would take the test, I proceeded to convince my brother and my father to take the test. That's how my 65 year old brother and my 100 year old father got involved

Throughout this process, I found Johnathan to be a very expert and patient interpreter of the meaning of the complex information, I arranged a special session for my brother and my husband, being that their results had just come back and they were clueless about what it all meant. They were asking questions that I couldn't answer. Unfortunately for Johnathan, a weekday was not an option since my brother could only come to Spring Grove on a Saturday. But Johnathan, fortunately, was willing to meet with us outside his normal hours.

We met one Saturday afternoon. DNA was never so interesting! I am thankful to Johnathan that he sacrificed some of his Saturday time to explain the DNA results to my husband Leonard, my brother John, and myself. My results were newly augmented because we now had my brother and my father's results.

Thanks to Giants of the Earth - and Johnathan Storlie - for making interpretation possible. The experience far exceeds ordering a test online and then being completely on your own to make sense of it.

Giants oral histories mean so much to our seniors. It is fun to learn about the actual history of our area through recorded oral histories. People aren't here forever but their memories and stories can be with recorded oral histories on film.

Our small town has been the envy of other small towns because we have so many people who work together to get things done. I think it helps that we have so many connections with one another, both in this generation and in generations past. Giants of the Earth Heritage Center is a great example of what a small town can do to remain vibrant.