What this is
A place for the things we make and do: craft projects, family projects, the land, individual stories, and whatever else becomes part of the ongoing family record.
About us
A family that
shows up.
We’re an Iowa family with a lot of different skills, interests, opinions, projects, and ways of pitching in. The common thread is simple: when something needs doing, somebody usually rolls up their sleeves.
All of us. For each of us.
Why the name
We were talking about all the things we’d started making and the possibility of putting them together in a craft booth. Somebody joked that apparently we were going to include “the whole damn family.” Around here, slips of the tongue have a habit of becoming family jokes, and it was a very short trip from there to The Whole Fam Damnly.
What you’ll find
Mostly, you’ll see things one of us made because we wanted to make it, learn how to make it, or thought somebody else might enjoy it. Sometimes that means one person’s work. Sometimes it means several of us getting involved.
The fam damnly is bigger
It starts with our immediate family, but it doesn’t stop there. From time to time, aunts, uncles, cousins, and other extended family may show up here too. If somebody in the family made something worth sharing, it belongs in the booth.
Family history
Our Cascade connection
Our Cascade-area roots reach back to the city’s founding era. Cascade’s settlement history begins in 1834, and the village was laid out in 1842. Our documented family records place ancestors in Dubuque County by 1848 and in Cascade itself by 1860. The Sand/Sands line is part of that early connection, and historical records use both spellings of the family name.
Lived in Cascade · 1860
François Sand
Born July 25, 1835, in Luxembourg. The 1860 U.S. Census lists him in Cascade, Dubuque County. He married Francis Ballard in Dubuque in 1864, and the family was living in Nebraska by 1870.
Buried in Cascade · 1868
Margaretha Elisabetha Sand
Born February 24, 1804. Passenger records place her arrival in New York in 1861. She died April 4, 1868, and is recorded as buried in Cascade, Dubuque County.
Lived in West Cascade · 1880
Mathais Sand
Born in 1811 in Luxembourg. He arrived in the United States in 1861, and the 1880 U.S. Census lists him in West Cascade as a widower. He died in 1885 and was buried in Nebraska.
Born in Cascade · 1865
William Theodore Sands
Born July 4, 1865, in Cascade to François Sand and Francis Ballard. He later lived in Jones and Delaware counties and died in Delaware County in 1929. He is a direct ancestor in the family line.
The Ballard side of the same branch also has early ties to the area. James Ballard is recorded in Dubuque County by 1848; he and Bridget Grimes Ballard were living in Cascade in 1880. Both died in Cascade, and Bridget is recorded as buried there.
These dates come from the family tree and its linked census, passenger, marriage, and cemetery records. Historical records sometimes vary in spelling and dates, so this page uses the details that are supported most consistently across the records we have.
Family recommendations
Businesses we support
These are businesses members of our family use, know, or recommend. Where someone made a specific recommendation, their name is listed with it.
Coffee · Utah + online
Alpha Coffee
Recommended by: Andrew and Stacey
Carl and Lori are Andrew and Stacey’s chosen family. Andrew and Stacey were married in their Salt Lake City coffee shop during COVID. Alpha Coffee is a veteran- and woman-owned coffee company based in Utah.
Music · Fairfax, Iowa + online
fp Music Academy + Music151
Recommended by: Everyone
fp Music Academy is run by Thresa’s sister and brother-in-law and offers in-person and online music lessons. Music151 is their retail music store in Fairfax, Iowa, with instruments, books, supplies, rentals, repair services, and pro-audio equipment.
Family Farms
Farm · Cascade, Iowa + online
Beringer Family Farms
Recommended by: Elizabeth
Beringer Family Farms is a third-generation family farm in Cascade, Iowa. It sells 21-day dry-aged Angus beef and operates a farm store that also carries products from other nearby farms and small businesses, including pork, chicken, eggs, baked goods, produce, dairy, and honey.
Cheryl’s Flour Garden
Bakery & Coffee Bar
Bakery & Coffee Bar
Bakery & coffee · Cascade, Iowa
Cheryl’s Flour Garden
Known around the family as Cheryl’s bakery, Cheryl’s Flour Garden is a bakery and coffee bar in Cascade. It offers made-from-scratch baked goods, breakfast, lunch, homemade bread, vegan baked goods, and occasional gluten-free options.