We stopped in Sierpc and went to its open air museum to learn something more about the life in rural Poland in the 19th century. It was the time when Sharon’s grandmother left his farmhouse and moved to the United States. Seeing wooden mills, cottages, huts and churches helped us to understand what life he had lived. The villages were full of rustic charm but it was definitely not easy to farm and depend on good harvest.
Then we went to nearby village to meet Sharon’s living relatives. Finding them was on Sharon’s bucket list when she contacted me for the first time. The meet-up took place at a local cemetery so Sharon and her daughter could see their ancestors’ graves. The graves are still taken care for by the family members that live nearby. Sharon’s relatives were really happy to meet their American cousins and they talked for hours over dinner about the family matters.