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 family in early Cascade
Our Cascade-area roots reach back to the town’s earliest decades. Cascade’s settlement history begins in 1834, the village was laid out in 1842, our Ballard ancestors are documented in Dubuque County by 1848, and the Sand/Sands line is documented in Cascade by 1860. Historical records use both Sand and Sands for the same family line.
1834–1842 · Cascade context
The town takes shape
Settlement at the Cascade site began in 1834. In 1837, John Sherman and Arthur Thomas established an early flour mill, store, and hotel. The DeLong brothers built the first sawmill the following year. Cascade’s first school was operating by 1840, George G. Banghart brought dry goods to the community in 1841, and the village was laid out in 1842.
1848 · Family record
James Ballard in Dubuque County
Our family records place James Ballard in Dubuque County by 1848. That puts the Ballard branch in the area only a few years after Cascade was laid out as a village.
1860 · Family record
François Sand in Cascade
Born July 25, 1835, in Luxembourg, François Sand is listed in Cascade in the 1860 U.S. Census. He married Francis Ballard in Dubuque in 1864, joining two family lines with early ties to the area.
1865 · Born in Cascade
William Theodore Sands
William Theodore Sands was born in Cascade on July 4, 1865, to François Sand and Francis Ballard. He is a direct ancestor in the family line.
1868 · Buried in Cascade
Margaretha Elisabetha Sand
Margaretha Elisabetha Sand, born February 24, 1804, died April 4, 1868, and is recorded as buried in Cascade. Passenger records place her arrival in New York in 1861.
1870s · Cascade context
A growing business district
Nicholas Shaffer was operating a Cascade livery business by the early 1870s, and Frank S. Banghart was running a men’s clothing business later in the decade. These are town-history names, not relatives we have identified in our family tree, but they were part of the Cascade our ancestors knew.
1880 · Family record
Ballards and Sands still in Cascade
James Ballard and Bridget Grimes Ballard were living in Cascade in 1880. The same census also lists Mathais Sand, born in 1811 in Luxembourg, in West Cascade as a widower.
1892–1893 · Cascade context
The Columbia Opera House opens
Cascade’s first Columbia Opera House was built in 1892–93. Bridget Grimes Ballard was still living in Cascade at the time. We do not have a record showing that she attended, but she was part of the community when the original opera house opened.
The family connection continues beyond these dates. Both James Ballard and Bridget Grimes Ballard died in Cascade, and Bridget is recorded as buried there. François Sand’s descendants carried the Sands name forward, including William Theodore Sands, who was born in Cascade.
These entries combine the family tree and its linked census, passenger, marriage, and cemetery records with published Cascade histories. Where local-history summaries conflict on a date or name, this page uses the detail supported by the stronger historical record and avoids treating unverified town figures as relatives.
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.