Sir Knight
Radical Ideas, (Extra)Ordinary People Wendy Erisman Radical Ideas, (Extra)Ordinary People Wendy Erisman

Sir Knight

I stumbled into exploring the world of Freemasonry somewhat by accident. My aunt mentioned that her grandfather had been a Knight Templer. I found this baffling because the only Knights Templar I knew of were the militant medieval order disbanded by the pope in 1312. Soon after, while researching one of my great-great-grandfathers, I learned that he was also a Knight Templar, which cemented my interest in learning about the organization.

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Jack Dempsey’s Rolex
(Extra)Ordinary People Wendy Erisman (Extra)Ordinary People Wendy Erisman

Jack Dempsey’s Rolex


When I was a child, my parents always received a cheesecake from Jack Dempsey’s Broadway Restaurant at Christmas. I didn’t really understand who Jack Dempsey was or why he sent us a cheesecake every year, but the cheesecake was delicious. As I got older, I came to understand that my grandfather had at one point served as Dempsey’s attorney, and my grandparents had become friends with Dempsey and his fourth wife Deanna. Sadly, however, Dempsey’s restaurant closed in 1974, marking the end of an era for my family.

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The Erisman Grocery Company
Journeys to the Unknown, Missing History Wendy Erisman Journeys to the Unknown, Missing History Wendy Erisman

The Erisman Grocery Company

Growing up in Ft. Worth, Texas, I was vaguely aware that my great-great-grandfather, Richard Y. Erisman, had once run a grocery store in the city. As a child, I supposed it was like the grocery stores I knew, where you navigated aisles of food and other products with a grocery cart and took your purchases to the cashier for checkout.

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