A Travel Journal Entry by Uncle Reuben 1947

I transcribed the entry, above, from Great Uncle Reuben's travel journal for my class during The Uncle Reuben Project this year. It took my 2nd graders a little while to realize he was referring to bears. I wondered about the reference of Bruiser so I googled it along with words such as "Chicago," which is where they were living at the time. I believe he called the bear Bruiser because the Chicago Cubs had a mascot that was a bear named Bruiser at that time. Uncle Reuben had a sense of humor!

This is a follow-up post to my series on Uncle Reuben.I have also written about the project on Scholastic.com. Top Teaching/Shari Edwards

Uncle Reuben and His Canoe

Recently, I visited my aunt and uncle on their farm near McPherson, Kansas. I love going there because they are lots of fun AND my uncle is the family genealogist for his generation. Every time I visit I find another treasure!
As I was looking through yet another group of photos for the first time, I spotted Uncle Reuben! I have lots of pictures of him but this one was special because it showed him WITH "the famous" canoe! The picture isn't in the best shape but it is a visual connection between Reuben and the canoe.

This picture is absolutely going to be a part of The Uncle Reuben Project for Year 3! What a find!