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Preserving
Reunions
There are many ways to ensure a special place for reunions in
the lives, hearts, memories and history of members. This section
outlines just some reunion preservation ideas and we invite you
to e-mail us your special
ways of preserving and celebrating your reunion.
AFRICAN AMERICAN LIVES 2
A new four-part PBS series explores roots, race and identity through the ancestry of remarkable individuals.
Premiering February 6 and 13, 2008.
Featuring Maya Angelou, Bliss Broyard, Don Cheadle, Morgan Freeman, Peter Gomes, Kathleen Henderson, Linda Johnson Rice, Tom Joyner, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Chris Rock and Tina Turner.
"These stories of adversity, sacrifice, achievement, and empowerment transcend the realm of color with a universal resonance." - Henry Louis Gates, Jr., series host and participant
Is
there an epidemic of memoir fever?
Many Americans are scrambling with video cameras, tape recorders
and other high-tech tools to chronicle family histories before
the memories are gone. When relatives share their histories, think
how fascinated you are. Then, watch the children’s faces
as they, too, find it intriguing. That look of astonishment on
your kids’ faces means it’s time to make sure you record
the stories for them to enjoy later.
Best-selling
memoirs like Tom Brokaw’s The Greatest Generation,
Frank McCourt’s Angela’s Ashes and the wonderful
Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters’ First 100 Years
have fueled the fire. Memoirs don’t have to be difficult-to-read
genealogy but rather can employ all manner of new media. Ordinary
folks are becoming writers and moviemakers by publishing their
works in limited quantities for current and future generations.
These are generally parochial efforts of interest to extended
family members.
Baby
boomers hearing, learning and appreciating their parents stories
of the Depression and World War II can be very interesting (true)
tales. Everyday life stories can produce eye-opening experiences.
Children will be amazed to realize what things cost as little
as 50 years ago and how people lived without TV, VCRs, CDs, microwaves,
computers, video games and many other things we now take for granted.
Like
reunions, memoirs maintain a connection among generations and
are an antidote to anonymity. Your grandchildren and their grandchildren
will know you through memoirs. Tell it like it is, be a good listener
and you can make an immortal collection of memories. EW
- There
are many ways to incorporate memoirs into your reunion.
- Read
stories from them.
- Use
them to create re-enactments of ancestors’ lives.
- Sell
copies to help finance your reunion.
- Make
them a permanent part of your reunion or family archives.
Living
trees help preserve reunions
Trees are a prominent theme, logo and design idea for reunions
and can also be used in different ways. Living trees as prizes
make memories but are lovely only for members who have a place
to plant them. A small tree in a pot that can be put on an apartment
balcony or terrace works well if there is no earth in which to
plant one. Cuttings or grafts for those clever enough to know
what to do with them can extend a family's connections even further.
Karen
Naedler, Hopatcong, New Jersey, reports that her Cousin Connection
Reunion awards a "family tree" to the person who selects
the number closest to the count of peanuts in a large fish bowl.
The tree is growing and suitable for transplanting in October
(when they have their reunion).
The
147 attendees at the Navy Destroyer USS Ingersoll reunion each
donated $1.00 to plant 147 Blue Spruce Trees at Snowmass, Colorado,
as part of the Plant-It-2000 Program. This idea works well for
any type of reunion: plant trees in the name of grandchildren,
ancestors, fallen comrades and deceased classmates.
Margurite
Tibben reported that her Skinner/McQueen Family Reunion planted
and dedicated a tree to her parents, Bill and Leona Skinner, in
the park where they held reunions for nine years. They chose a
Liquid Amber to commemorate autumn, a favorite time of year for
both parents. A plaque in red granite imbedded in a stone reads "The Family Tree, Its Roots an Ancestry, Its Limbs New Generations." Skinner grandsons dug the hole and placed the plague.
How
do you incorporate trees in your reunion?
Restoring
heirloom photos
Laurie Thompson reports that damaged, faded, irreplaceable photographs
can be saved. Storage of your valuable heirloom photos in a dark
acid free environment will slow the deterioration process but
nothing can stop it. New methods of restoration can reprint images.
The original fragile photo is scanned. Then, in a labor-intensive,
digital restoration process, the image is converted to a film
negative and printed. Your original remains intact.
Thompson,
who restores heirloom photos, offers a free evaluation and estimate
if you send a copy of your damaged photo to Imagination Studio,
2812 Tanglewood Dr, Sarasota FL 34239; 941-922-9553.
Hiring
a photographer?
Here are some basics for hiring a reunion photographer.
- Ask
around. Get recommendations and check albums of friends and
relatives. Ask how their photographers were to deal with.
Check for complaints with the Better Business Bureau.
- Meet
the photographer. Spend time with the person who will be photographing
your reunion. See his/her actual work. Discuss his/her approaches
and requirements.
- Compare
prices. Packages vary in size and cost. Try boiling them down
to comparable terms by dividing total costs by the number
of photos you'd get.
- Hire
the photographer. Make sure the person you met is specifically
named in your contract as the photographer.
- Be realistic.
Get the package that suits your reunion.
- Sweat
the details. Make sure the contract spells out everything
you're getting, the total cost and when you can expect to
get the photos. Use a credit card for protection.
- Stay
in touch. Call occasionally to make sure the photographer
is still in business.
Family
reunions are portrait time
J.R. vanLienden
Family reunions are great times to make family portraits.
Photographing
a large group, however, has many inherent problems. You must keep
everyone's attention and have all eyes looking at the camera.
Barking like a dog (some of us will do anything to get others
to look at us) serves this purpose well. Many times getting a
group to say "cheese" works, but "hi!" (tell
them to keep their teeth closed) and "shucks" are better.
Smile
for the birdie
Soft warm smiles are better than big cheesy grins so ask everyone
to shake like a dog, relax and then smile pleasantly keeping attention
toward you. Ask persons not in the picture to stand directly behind
you so if people look at them, they'll still be looking at the
camera.
Let
there be light
Lighting is crucial. Avoid sun that makes big shadows across faces.
It is unflattering, and film doesn't see details like the human
eye. The sunlight is behind subjects just after noon till about
three o'clock, but open shading from a building shadow or a tree
works better.
My
favorite light comes just before sunset. Warm color makes everyone
look nicer if the light does not create shadows. The soft light
just following sunset is perfect for shadow-free, even illumination,
but it's fleeting so shoot fast.
Today's
cameras with built-in flashes work well if the sun is to subjects'
backs, and you use the back-lighting mode. Back-lighting gives
subjects more dimensions as light comes over their shoulders.
The
three-legged one
Tripods may be cumbersome to use but a lifesaver if you want to
make bigger prints from your photographs. The tripod steadies
and prevents movement that would be more apparent on enlargements.
The more you enlarge, the more once subtle little imperfections
show up. You may also improve images by using a cable release.
This bit of extra work pays off in finer outcomes.
Fashion
is important
Proper clothing can turn a picture into a portrait. Mixing solid
colored clothing with the background eliminates distracting colors
and puts attention back into people's faces. One of the easiest
ways to keep clothing from having to many distracting styles,
colors and patterns is to have everyone wear commemorative t-shirts.
If all the shirts or tops are the same color, attention is forced
back to faces. It looks incredible. If you have different solid
colors in the same tones for each family, it defines each family
and looks fantastic. When I photograph families, I like them to
wear long sleeves and pants, to keep flesh color mainly to the
faces.
Choose
place carefully
Where you choose to take the picture is important. Minimize background
distractions. A good rule of thumb is to have a simple background
without too many colors or distracting patterns.
To
see areas that will stand out in the background, close one eye
and squint with the other. Don't try this standing on one leg
- you might fall down. If it stands out when you squint, it will
stand out in your picture. People will block a lot of the background
anyway.
Position
everyone so you can see their faces. Get them to relax. Place
some people in front on the ground sitting up or leaning on one
arm. The next row should be sitting on chairs, rocks, or stumps
to get them a little higher. The third row should stand to the
side and back of the seated row. Keep individuals and rows very
close.
Shoot
lots of film. These images will be with you for the rest of your
life. If it is in your budget, hire a professional photographer
and be sure you get great pictures.
Good
luck and keep smiling.
About
the author
J.R. vanLienden and his wife Darcy own and operate Masterpiece
Portraits (VanLienden@aol.com)
in Sarasota, Florida. They specialize in outdoor portraits, many
of which are created on Florida's Gulf Coast beaches where they
claim to have the whitest sand in the world.
Sign
on the dotted line
Signing on the dotted line is one way to preserve a very important
part of your family history. For people doing genealogy and family
histories, discovering an ancestor's signature is often considered
a significant find, a treasure, something to celebrate.
Now,
think ahead, wouldn't it be nice if there were a collection of
your family members' signatures? Without a concerted effort at
collecting them, signatures might have to continue to be those
special finds of genealogists. Resolve to collect members' distinctive
signatures at your next reunion.
Autograph
books are probably passe now, but they could be a repository of
family treasures. In fact, autograph books might be something
for kids to make at reunions to collect family signatures. Save
these little books and years from now great family treasures will
be secure.
To
make autograph books
Use two pieces of cardboard for front and back covers and plain
20# paper for filler pages. If you're into serious preservation,
you'll want to use archival paper for the inside pages. Punch
holes for the binding and thread some pretty yarn, ribbon or string
through the holes and tie in a bow on the front. The front cover
could be scored (bent) near the binding to give it slightly easier
access opening.
Memory
book alternative
Lloyd Dean made and shared a wonderful book called An Appalachian
Reunion from the 25th Dean & Creech Family Reunion. Instead
of using a conventional memory book format, Dean made a book comprised
mainly of candid snapshots of family members at the reunion. Pictures
are interspersed with clippings saluting achievements and sadly,
obituaries.
This
is a great way to remember your reunion and it's easy to do! The
cover is made of colored, light card stock. Inside pages are collages
of cut and pasted pictures. Imagine looking back at reunions and
see family spending time together. And family members will probably
be pleased to see themselves in the book. Thanks for a great idea,
Lloyd!
Use
family memories to bridge the past to the future
You've heard him tell the story a million times: during Thanksgiving
dinner ... at your son's birthday party ... even at Uncle Joe's
funeral. But your dad never tires of telling it.
You've
eaten your mother's favorite chicken dish almost as many times
as you've heard your dad tell his favorite story. Now, you're
all grown up and live 1,000 miles away and your mouth still waters
every Tuesday, chicken surprise night at your parents' house.
Do
you remember all the details of your dad's story to share with
your children after he's gone? Do you know your mom's secret chicken
surprise ingredient? Will you continue to enjoy her recipe when
she's not around? Or will you be overcome with nostalgia every
time you eat a chicken dish that's good but "nothing like
what mom used to make?"
Document
the stories, memories, and experiences you take for granted. You
owe it to yourself. Give your family and future generations the
exciting adventure of traveling back in time.
Follow
the lead of Mary Lou Peterson, a retired AT&T manager, who
decided to commit her family's history and genealogy to video
to share at their 50th reunion. With old photographs, personal
interviews and many trips to the library to research her Norwegian
roots, Peterson produced a video that took her back in time to
meet ancestors and learn things about her family she'd never known.
The result is Gift of Heritage®, a 50-minute video that demonstrates
how you can create your own family documentary, using the photos,
slides, home movies, and other memorabilia stored away where no
one ever gets to enjoy them.
"It
began as a project to share with my family," says Mary Lou.
"It's now my mission in life!" Those are pretty strong
words. But it's easy to relate to her enthusiasm and passion,
when you realize that what we take for granted will last only
as long as those who share them are alive.
Once
our loved ones are gone, their stories and experiences go with
them, creating a void that can never be filled. "Once I realized
this," says Mary Lou, "I made it my mission to teach
others how I preserved my family's history so they could preserve
theirs." Mary Lou has turned what was once a personal hobby
and passion into a business.
Gift
of Heritage® teaches everything from how to organize photos
and gather background information to ways to make your family's
documentary come to life with music, sound effects, narration
and personal interviews.
"You're
not just gathering information," Peterson asserts. "You're
weaving a legacy that will live long after you're gone."
The best part is you need no previous videography experience or
high-tech equipment to create your family documentary. You don't
even have to own a camcorder.
The
end result is more than just a timeline. It's an incredible journey
into the past that builds a bridge to the future … for yourself,
your family, and future generations.
Tips
from Gift of Heritage
1) While writing your script develop your ancestors' relationships
to historical events. For example, "In 1865 – the same
year the Civil War ended and Abraham Lincoln was assassinated
– Nels and Marie sailed from Bergen, Norway, to come to America."
2)
Protect your family's precious old photographs. Make two copies
of each photo you feel may be valuable to other family members;
use one while organizing the project, to protect the original
until production time. Place the other copy in a separate notebook
and label it Photo Library. On the front of each copy, note who
is in the photo and who owns the original.
For
a free copy of 10 Tips to Preserve Your Family History and Memories,
contact Mary Lou at 800-224-8511; MaryLou@giftofheritage.com;
www.giftofheritage.com.
The Gift of Heritage® videotape costs $29.95 + s/h.
The
Association of Personal Historians
Interest in collection and preservation of individual and family
history has increased dramatically in recent years. More people
than ever are writing and preserving memories as photographs,
tape recordings, scrapbooks, collections of family stories and
books. Exploring new technologies such as video cameras, computers,
color copies and short-run printing enhance traditional story
preservations and develop new methods.
The
Association of Personal Historians (APH) is a professional alliance
of individuals and businesses whose mission is to assist preserving
life stories and memories. Their members have expertise in journalism,
non-fiction writing, publishing, genealogy, history, storytelling,
gerontology, counseling and video documentary.
If
you are writing or thinking about writing your personal or family
history, APH offers "coaching" at www.personalhistorians.org/coach.html.
Lots of examples will help motivate you.
For
example, Randy C. Smart of ancestor-rescue.com preserves family
pictures from oblivion. He offers a new interactive multimedia
family album on cross-platform CDs. Another example is Julie McCullough
(juliemcc@gateway.net),
whose business, Your Story Oral and Family Histories, can help
you preserve much of your precious legacy.
High
tech memory sharing
"I’ll be sure to send you a copy," my cousin said
about a picture he just took of my family. That was more than
five years ago and I still haven’t seen it. My pictures were
fine, but I’d love pictures other relatives took. Everyone
knows about e-mailing pictures. It’s easy to copy photos
and mail them the old fashioned way. But we don’t make time
for it.
Create
a Video by PhotoVision, is a new product that makes it easy to
share and present pictures in an entertaining way. A video with
special effects, music and titles is created with pictures. After
your reunion, mail your film to PhotoVision. The film is processed,
printed and the best pictures are selected for the video.
Video
copies are $9.95 each. A single-use camera or roll of film is
provided for every ten videos ordered. Price includes film costs,
pictures and shipping costs to one person for distribution or,
for a fee it is sent to each member’s home. PhotoVision also
creates videos from old family pictures and 8mm movies to video
transfers. Contact Brenda Grimes, 800-533-7636.
Reunion
keepsakes
Memorybooklets.com’s Reunion Guide and Event Booklet are
great keepsakes for family, class or military reunions.
Reunion
Guides contain members’ photos and information you choose
like family, interests and occupation. The Reunion Guide is 8.5"
x 11" or Memorybooklets.com will customize a layout. There
are also paper and color options.
Plan
well in advance and you’ll have the Guides for distribution
at your reunion. When you send your initial reunion information
to members include a form to gather information and a current
photo. Ask members to return the completed form and photo with
their registration. If you have a reunion web site or are communicating
via e-mail, Memorybooklets.com has an Adobe Acrobat form you can
link to or attach. Once you’ve determined the number of people
to be included in the Guide, Memorybooklets.com will send a kit
to help you organize the Guide and a price estimate. If you don’t
have enough member information to fill all the pages, include
a letter to members, a memoriam or history page.
When
you return the kit with the photos and text, Memorybooklets.com
scans photos, lays out the Guide and sends you a draft for approval.
Memorybooklets.com usually needs two to three weeks to finish
the Guide after you approve the draft. If the Guide is not done
in time for your reunion, Memorybooklets.com will ship them directly
to members for an additional cost.
Event
Booklets document the reunion itself and are an opportunity for
those that couldn’t attend to see what they missed. Ask everyone
to send labeled picture doubles from the reunion. Memorybooklets.com
has a kit to help you arrange photos, captions and copy.
Both
the Guide or Booklet are also available on CD in Adobe Acrobat.
Acrobat is free at www.adobe.com.
Lead-time to make CDs is two to three weeks. Contact memorybooklets.com
at 866-843-4826; www.memorybooklets.com.
Tips
to preserve family documents
A few simple and inexpensive precautions can help preserve your
family’s important documents for future generations. Remove
paper clips, staples, and rubber bands. Don’t glue, tape,
or laminate. Metal fasteners rust, rubber bands lose their elasticity
and adhere to paper. Both glue and tape hasten paper deterioration.
Glue also attracts insects and lamination may or may not be harmful,
but it is almost always irreversible.
Store
documents at room temperature. Avoid storing them in rooms like
the basement and attic or against outside walls. Extreme heat
and dampness speed deterioration. A good rule of thumb is if the
temperature and humidity feel good to you, it’s fine for
your documents too. Documents are best stored in the dark (flat,
acid-free containers). Avoid lengthy displays under damaging fluorescents
or direct sunlight. Avoid folding and unfolding important documents.
If you’re saving newspapers or clippings, store them separately
from other less acidic, documents. If the newspaper or clipping
is important for the information it contains rather than as an
artifact, photocopy it. A photocopy will hold up much longer than
newsprint.
From
the Homestead National Monument of America, Beatrice NE.
Book
Reviews
One Memory at a Time: Inspiration & Advice for Writing
Your Family Story. by D.G. Fulford. (2000, 156 pages,
hardcover, $16.95) Doubleday, 1540 Broadway, New York NY 10036.
Memories
are a big part of your history and Fulford encourages you to simply
remember your past. There are questions like "Do you remember
being afraid to enter the first grade? Have you experienced a
natural disaster? Who did you go to the prom with? Did your mother
wear a fancy perfume?" All of these questions will send you
back in time and help you remember little things for you to pass
on to future generations.
One
Memory at a Time urges you to realize that there is no right
or wrong way to conduct your family history project. Instead of
using a strict, step-by-step process of conducting research, this
book offers suggestions for what may work best for you. Nine chapters
are broken into smaller parts to help you navigate the book and
notes set apart from the text highlight points in each section.
Fulford
is an award-winning writer, nationally best-selling author, instructor,
speaker and former columnist for the Daily News of Los Angeles
and New York Times News Service. Her first book, To Our Children's
Children: Preserving Family Histories for Generations to Come,
written with her brother Bob Greene, is America's top selling
guide to writing family histories.
From
Memories to Manuscript, the Five-step Method of Writing Your Life
Story by Joan R. Neubauer. Ancestry, 266 W Center St, Orem
UT 84057; 1994, 40 pages, soft-cover, $5.95.
The
steps outlined by the author are a great review/reminder of what
must be outlined to write one's own story. She also recognizes
issues like frustration, feeling like you've lost control on your
way to the goal of your own story. She breaks the project into
manageable pieces and details each. Worth a look if you are preserving
your own fascinating tale.
Whoops!
We were remiss and are corrected by Lisa (McCullough) Youngblood,
Green Bay, Wisconsin. In a small article in our Winter 2000 edition,
Filling the time capsule, Youngblood said "you may want to
check your facts regarding color photos only lasting 50 years
and black and white ones lasting 100 years. In 1997, I had the
privilege of hearing Henry Wilhelm, director of research at Wilhelm
Imaging Research, Inc. and widely regarded as the world's foremost
expert on the care and preservation of color photographs. His
landmark book The Permanence and Care of Color Photographs, is
considered the definitive work on the subject. He told us that
color images are actually more stable than black and white. Because
color is the preferred film for most people, more research has
gone into making it more stable. Also, black and white images
are now usually printed on resin coated (RC) paper, just like
color photographs. If the black and white images were printed
on cotton-based fibers they would be more stable than the same
images printed on the RC paper. But, take my word for it, it's
very expensive and almost always has to be shipped out.
"In
my field of preservation specialists, it is no longer the case
to suggest families take at least one roll of black and white
film for long term storage. The technology has advanced so that
most all 35mm prints will last a lifetime or more."
Lisa
Makosewski, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is a great source of wonderful
hints from her McLaughlin Family Reunion. Here are some new ones.
"Another
thing that worked well was renting a digital camera to take pictures
to insert directly onto the family tree. We didn't want to purchase
a digital camera because we weren't sure we would like the pictures.
For $50, we rented a $700 camera for the weekend. Good deal! In
addition, we created a table to list everyone's name, disk and
frame number. Then, as we took "mug shots," we found
the person's name, and simply wrote in the disk and frame numbers
of the shot. This was a great help in identifying pictures. We
were meeting many people, for the first time. We would never have
remembered who was who. Photographing and tracking was a two person
job; one to take pictures and one to keep track of names, disk
and frame numbers.
Evelyn
from Texas e-mailed that at their reunion, they had a poster with
lots of old photos of family members at a younger time. They numbered
photos then played guess who? The one who correctly identified
the most photos won. She says the game brings back memories, stories
and tales.
Tips
for making memory booklets
by Richard Hane
1. Plan early! To estimate the cost of each booklet, approximate
how many booklets will be ordered and how many pages you’ll
need for each. Add a few dollars to the price and use the books
for fundraising. Then you’ll know how much to charge each
member.
2. Before or after? If you want booklets ready for the reunion,
you need to collect photos, personal information and money before
the reunion. If you plan on making a booklet after the reunion,
set up a table at the reunion with order forms. Only booklets
made after the reunion can include photos from the reunion.
3. Quality counts! Many reunions have some kind of booklet. Someone
on the committee gets stuck pasting, typing, copying and stapling.
Often, the end product is not as nice as you’d hoped. Why
not get them done professionally? Customized booklets can be ordered
for as little as $15.00 each.
4. Choose the right booklet-making company. Sometimes booklets
are part of a larger package where you must use the booklet maker's
or other event planning services photographers. Other companies
specializing in making booklets can use your photos or photos
from a photographer you choose.
For information about memory booklets contact 866-843-4826 (toll
free); www.memorybooklets.com.
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