FAMILY AND ANCESTRY

Grandma Annie and Grandpa Ben Fonke
Well this blog is all about my family and there are ALOT of questions. I'll just copy the questions in bold print and then answer. Here Goes:
1) What was our mothers name? Fathers name? grandparents name? What did you call them? My mom was Mary Edna Fonke and we called her mom. My dads name was Henry Clifford Thorsten, but everyone called him Bud or Buddy. We all called him dad. My maternal grandparents were Anna (Pauline) Fonke and Bernard August Fonke and we called them Grandma Annie and Grandpa Ben. My paternal grandparents were Antone (I think) and Martina (I think) Thorsten. We called them Grandma Tina and Grandpa Tony.They lived in Minnesota so we didn't see them often. But I remember them with great fondness.
2)Do you have brothers and sisters? What are their names?How old were you when they were born? Do you remember the first time you saw them?
I have two brothers and two sisters. Anne, Linda, Ray, and Mike. Anne was 4 yrs. old, Linda 2 yrs old when I was born. Ray and Mike are younger than me. I remember when Mike was born and my grandpa took us up to Depaul Hospital, where Mike was born, and my mom held Michael to the window for all of us to see him.
3) What about your Aunts and Uncles? What did they look like? Did they play an important part in your growing up? Did the family get together much casually or did you have to travel and dress up to spend time together?

Uncle Martin and Aunt Edith's house. Sorento Illinois
I remember Uncle Martin and Aunt Edith (my grammas brother) giving us hayrides out at his house in Sorento Ill. He lived in the house my mom was born in. They had a mean little chihuahua named Petie. Then there was Aunt Jean in Minnesota...we loved loved going there. That was my moms sister. They lived on a farm and you know that was right up my alley. ANIMALS!! We had 3 cousins, George, John, and Mary.They were Jeans kids. We went there every year.I have sooo many wonderful memories of Jean and Georges house and our vacations there.Uncle George used to cuss his cows out all the time. I think it was when it was time for them to be milked and he would try to get them lined up to come in. I MEAN HE CUSSED THEM!! I also believe Uncle George kept whiskey bottles hidden in the barn and would have a few nips while milking the cows. There was one cow named Friendly who only had three teets so she couldn't be hooked up to the milking machine. You had to hand milk her.Anyway, there were times Uncle George would hang out in the barn and then come in the house swaying just a tad, singing the old tune "Waltzing Matilda" THAT'S how we knew about the whiskey. He was a nice man. Very good to all 5 of us kids. Oh, how we loved Minnesota and the farm . 5 little city kids got to experience farm life and I think that's wonderful.
Okay, will have to stop here and continue this at a later date.