In the summer of 1979, I
received a box from my grandmother containing various family
documents, pictures, and books. The two most interesting items were my
great-grandmother Mable’s memoirs and our family tree, both handwritten on old mimeograph
paper – the purple stuff! As I typed her memoirs, I became fascinated with her life, her childhood, years spent raising my grandmother and her siblings, and her life thru her 70’s. The family tree was also a wonderful read. (Mable lived to her 87th year.)
While working on the project,
I was also very pregnant with my daughter, Emily. Not long after the typing was done, she was
born. With a 6-year old son and a new
baby and a job, I put the box of materials away and didn’t spend much time
looking at any of it for many years.
However, any time we visited family, grandparents, etc., I would ask
questions and make notes. Into the box
they would go. For 35+ years….
Now I have many boxes of
materials, and I’m very serious about sorting this out and putting things in order... for the next generations...
