Wednesday, November 12, 2008

A Lifetime of Memories

Sorry to be such a bad blogger, but life has just been hectic lately. I have been using any "down" time that I have had sorting through my late Grandmothers photos. I have been taking them out of the albums and sorting. My technique is to put all the photos of my Grandmother in one pile, all the photos of just my Grandfather in another, photos of me and my family in another, and so on. The problem that I have ran into is one that I believe is universal for anyone going through a loved ones pictorial memories. I have no idea who some of these people are! Nothing is labeled on the back or if they are labeled, I still don't know if they are a relation or friend or her brothers friends sisters boyfriend!
So, what to do? My plan is to scan some of the photos of the unknowns and e-mail them to my grandparents more distant relatives and see if they have any clue as to who they are. Hopefully someone will be able to recognize them and then I will send the originals on to them.
My pack rat tendencies come honestly. My Grandmother has saved hundreds of the fronts of cards sent to her over the years and has glued them into scrapbooks. There are four scrapbooks filled with cards, poems, and photos she had cut out of magazines. I have always liked looking at them.
I may try to scan some of these cards to use with my scrapbooking and paper crafting.

I'm going to need to hurry through these now, as Thanksgiving is almost here and I need to clean my Dining room table off. Perhaps my family will go through some of these scrapbooks on Thanksgiving Day. This will be the first Thanksgiving in 47 years that I haven't been with my Grandmother, but we have wonderful memories that will get us through that day.

Hope everyone has a great day.

Linda

9 comments:

Libby said...

Hopefully those photos will get recognized. I have boxes of pics of folks I can't identify, no one left to tell me who they are, and not the heart to get rid of them.

GlorV1 said...

I love the way your Grandma saved all the greeting or postcards she received. I have tons and don't know what to do with them. The idea of scanning them sounds very good. Memories, memories, memories. That's really all we have. Take care.

Debbie said...

Hi Linda, I love the way your Grandmother hung onto everything. I am the same way, I can't throw anything away. I will have to go back and check for your email, I am having fun getting things together.

Love,

Deb

nancy said...

I know it's a bittersweet thing to go through those photos. And you don't seem to be on an emotional overload in spite of the many traumatic things going on all around. I keep all my cards loose, and then I just dig down into them and grab a handfull, when I feel like it, and remember the kind things people have said. Sometimes I need that.
Thanks for visiting my art blog. Yes, it was copper foil you saw. Thanks for your encouragement.
Love,
Nancy

Jess said...

Tons of memories... sweet memories.. cherish them all and they help to get you through.

Have a good end of the week

Love, Jess

Twyla and Lindsey said...

Your grandmother was a scrapbooker before it became popular! You are so lucky that she was a pack rat. Thank goodness for all the packrats or else all of us vintage seeking people would find nothing. Have a nice day! Twyla

Mountain Mama said...

You are doing exactly the right thing. Get as many of those old photos identified as you possibly can. It's best to use a label on the back of the photo rather than writing directly on the photo because sometimes the ink will bleed through.
Because I am a genealogist I have collected literaly hundreds of old photos and copies of old photos and tintypes of my ancestors and I know how disappointing it is when the people are not identified. It is actually a wasted photo.
Scanning and sending those in question to every elder in your family is the best way to get ID's. I sure hope you get some good results.
Have fun!

Dianna said...

What a treasure these will be once you label them. I'm sure they will delight family members for generations. But what a challenge for you!

Arlene G said...

loved seeing all your treasures Linda. I am sure you will be blessed as you remember special people, places and times.