Picture And Memorabilia Project - Part 1

At the start of this extended time of physical distancing, I spent a ton of time with photographs and other family memorabilia when I started a project to scan "my collection". Over time, I have become the family historian and have most of my Dad’s old photos, including ones he acquired when his parents died. I also have the photos from when my mother and father were married and the photos from my brother childhood and mine.  Given my Mom's circumstances, there's virtually nothing from just her side.

Especially with the older stuff, it's not just photos.  I have old letters, ration books from World War II, newspaper clippings, and other things.    

Some time in the 1990s when I received my first batch of old family photos from my Dad, I brought them back with me to a family Thanksgiving. I made my Dad and my Aunt look at all of them and identify who they could.  We documented names on the back of these photos.  

This spring, I started to sort through different pockets of the collection, beginning with the newspaper clippings and other items my stepmother gave to me after my Dad died 13 years ago. I had never looked at any of this. It was all waiting for me in the drawer of a file cabinet in the basement. Once I got started, I started pulling out more and more of the collection which was tucked away in different places.

At some point, I came across a number of pictures which were not documented and contained people that I didn't know, so I reached out to my Aunt.  She is 90 years old, still lives independently, and has a good memory. She's also been stuck at home most of the time like the rest of us and is bored. For several months, I sent her several scanned items each day. 

With her help, I got many more photos identified and also got some background stories from her.  One photo with my Grandmother and a couple I didn't know prompted her to tell me that the couple in the picture were my grandparent's best friends. She told me that this was the same couple that my grandparents called to sit with them after they first received notice from the Army that my Dad had been injured in Europe during World War II. I learned a bunch of things I didn't know, got closer to my Aunt, and gave the both of us something to do.  

For the scanned versions, I've figured out a way to document names and other information in a picture's margins.  It takes a lot of time, so I'm only doing that for some of the collection. I'm saving the scanned photos in a folder out in the cloud and have shared the folder with my family members, so they can access what they want.  I hope someone from the next generation gets interested.

At this point in a rambling post, I feel compelled to share at least one pictures. Out of all the family photos, I'm drawn to this one. It's from July 13, 1919 and my grandparents on my father's side are in this picture.

This grandfather died before I was born and I was not close to this grandmother, but there's something about this photo that makes me feel connected to them.

 

I did a rough draft of this post on May 8th. Today, I decided to finish it and post it. 

When all of the uncertainty and disconnection from people and regular routines first occurred, my own reaction to it surprised me. I had zero capacity to draw or paint. I certainly had time and I also really wanted to, but I just could not. Instead, I found that I had to knit. 

This project also was helpful and needed distraction and I think it was creative in its own way.