Turns Out My Last Name Isn't My Real Last Name



That's right--my last name is really "Rainville."  Or should have been.

I discovered this a couple of days ago during one of my intermittent bouts of curiosity about my genealogy when I tried AGAIN to find my grandfather's parents.  I went to familysearch.org (free!) and looked around,  tried my grandfather's mother's maiden name, and there it all was.  Her married name, her husband's name, her son's name and birthday, all in Springfield, Massachusetts.

My very own grandfather, whom I knew as Charles Randal until he died when I was 16, was born Charles Rainville.  His father was also Charles Rainville, a French Canadian.

It's surreal.

My grandfather and me, ca. 1952

My friend Mabry,  a dedicated genealogical researcher, says that many French Canadians emigrated to upstate New York in the 1900's, where they found some bias against the French.  By the time my great-grandfather died in 1889, his name had morphed to "Ramville."  From there, it was just a few letters change to "Randal."

Wow.

Should I make a political statement and change it back?

* * * * *

Thanks for the tips and brand names of cooktops.

Today we went out and bought an electric cooktop.

Not gas, even though that's what I really wanted.

Following a tip from my sister, I googled "chemical sensitivity to gas stoves," and up came a slew of articles about gas stoves leaking formaldehyde, among other chemicals, even when they're turned off.

Most people would probably never notice these minute amounts of chemicals, but I have chemical sensitivities that forced me to abandon my quilt studio for more than two years due to isocyanates in water-based floor sealer.  We also had to remove all wall-to-wall carpeting (no aesthetic sacrifice).  The fumes of latex paint (formaldehyde) make me sick.

On top of that, we'd have to buy a new hood and have a cabinet removed to make room for it.  We'd also probably have to modify a deep drawer under the range.  Couldn't face it.

So we bought another electric cooktop.  It's Whirlpool instead of a Bosch, and it cost less than the Bosch did 15 years ago.  Good reviews, features I wanted.  What the hell.


This is a "Whirlpool Gold 30" Radiant Electric Cooktop with 4 Elements including Accusimmer Element," in case you're wondering.

In the course of investigating cooktops, I had this conversation with an appliance repairman:

"You're only going to get 15 years out an appliance now," he said.  "Forget the 30-year stove your mother had."

"Then why do people pay more for European appliances if all brands last only 15 years?" I asked.

 "I can't figure it out," he said.

This is a guy who specializes in repairing Bosch appliances.

Can't wait to accusimmer.