n April 21, 2008, Tegan Cich-Olson, was welcomed into the world by a large, loving family.
Tegan marks the fifth generation of women on her mother's side of the family, who gathered recently to photograph all the generations. Her parents are Amanda Olson and Derick Cich of Duluth.
On the maternal side of her family, Tegan has two grandparents, Annette and Rick Olson of Canosia Township; four great-grandparents, Judy and Carl Isadore of Duluth, and John and Kay Olson of Canosia Township; and two great-great-grandparents, Elaine and Lon Thompson of Prescott, Wis.
On the paternal side of her family, she has two grandparents, four great-grandparents and one great-great-grandmother. Her father's side of the family was unable to be present.
Tegan's maternal grandmother, Annette Olson, shared these family facts:
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* Families are getting smaller. Great-great-grandmother Elaine Thompson is the oldest of 14 children, and all but one are still living. Great-grandmother Judy Isadore is the oldest of six. Grandmother Annette Olson is the second of five children. Mother Amanda Olson is the oldest of two children. Tegan is Amanda's first child.
* Three of the generations of mothers on the maternal side first gave birth at age 21. Elaine Thompson was married and 19 when she had her first child.
* Great-great-grandparents Elaine and Lon Thompson, ages 83 and 84 respectively, are in good health and livein their own home anddrive. They look forward to having great-great-great-grandchildren someday.
* After Elaine and Lon Thompson had Judy, both of their parents continued to have children, making some of Judy's aunts and uncles younger than she is.
* Tragedy struck twice on the maternal side of the family. Judy Isadore's first husband was killed in 1981 in a car-train accident only a few miles from their home in Cotton, leaving Judy a widow at age 38 with five children. The youngest two children were in the car and survived with injuries.
One year later, Annette, at age 16, was in a head-on collision just a few miles away in the other direction. The people sitting on both sides of her (her boyfriend and his brother) died. At first, Annette was in a coma and was not expected to survive. She had to endure several surgeries over the next few years. She later married Rick Olson, an acquaintance from the same hunting shack her boyfriend was from, and they went on to have Amanda and their son, Peter.
Judy found love again, marrying Carl Isadore last year when she was 62. Her father, Lon Thompson, walked her down the aisle and her mother, Elaine Thompson, was her matron of honor.
