The Daisy Mine and a Connection to John W. Slack Discovered

A few days back I received a surprising email from Leslie Bergen of Thorold, Ontario, Canada. Leslie is located just outside St. Catherines about 15 minutes from Niagara Falls, New York. Leslie had been doing a Google search on John W. Slack and landed on my blog. Why she was searching for my great great grandfather completely floored me. Leslie had John W’s business stamp (shown above) in a small 1909 diary she purchased for $1 from an antiques store in Naples, New York about 30 years ago. She had been wondering for decades who the diary belonged to.

Deer Hunting in the Missouri Ozarks—A Slack Family Tradition

As far back as I can remember deer hunting has been a major part of the Slack family tradition in Southwest Missouri. The patriarch of the maternal side of my family, Ellsworth Woodrow Slack (b. 16 March 1914, d. 4 March 1996) shown above with a trophy buck taken in the late 1940’s or early 1950’s, was the undisputed pack leader when it came to the annual hunt based out of his humble little cabin in Taney County, Missouri. While my grandfather is no longer with us, the changing of the leaves and the first crisp breeze of fall still reminds me of his favorite time of the year, and the many deer hunting stories he loved telling anyone who would listen. Ellsworth loved fishing, but he lived for deer hunting.