That Box

I needed a briefcase to transport some documents on Wednesday, so ventured into the box room and got one. On top of it was a neat little box I didn't recognize - when I opened it, I discovered Mom's trove of special pictures, overlooked in closing her house when she died. I had already gone through several much larger boxes of prints and slides, threw some away and sent others along to family members who would enjoy them, and kept the rest. These photos went back to the '20's, and stopped around the time Dad passed - a few I remember seeing, some had a notation on the back, many were completely new to me, some anonymous. In a way, a microcosm of Mom's life, family, friends, joys and regrets. I have written on this subject before - that I might be one of the last to recognize some of these people, or care that I don't. Leaving out a span of immature "self" years, for most of the rest of my life it would have been great to be "taken on a tour" by Mom, particularly of the oldest. There is no mulligan on this one. Have to consider how to present some of this to my adult kids in some way other than viewing "Dad's Vacation Slides". Whether it "works" or not, I think it is worth a try.

Some online genealogical sites allow uploading of both text and images that correspond to and support the family history. If your family is represented in those records, this could be a great way to both share and preserve these images for posterity in a way that means something. Also, others who access the data may well recognize and be able to identify places, people, and events that are unknown to you. I have not done this myself, so I can't provide any specifics, but I believe it is readily and generally available. Please let us know if this proves to be useful, as there are many of us, I'm sure, who face a similar predicament.

My suggestion is that if it's at all possible, wait and do it with them in person. Those photos seem meant to be handled and looked at together. That may be impossible for one reason or another, in which case some kind of scanning and web sharing might have to be the way to go. But the personal nature of the photos is partly embodied in their being physical prints with all the lovely wear and tear the years might have added to them.

My suggestion is that if it's at all possible, wait and do it with them in person.

Exactly what I had in mind! Many thanks for your input.

Old pictures are fun to share with family. Its amusing to see styles n fashions of yester year. To see my grandmothers round screen TV with rabbit ears in the background always gets a chuckle. To find pics of me with long hair as a teen gets belly laughs.

 

Faded pix from the 20s made in europe looking very formal on post card stock with Russian inscriptions on the back peaks curiosity.

 

This is a pic pf my grandma I had to restore in photoshop that is just a faint barely visible image now.

 

.

I have a trunk (the one my mormor came over with) full of old clippings, photos, etc.

My mother fortunately had labeled most of them. I spent a fair amount of time digitizing them and distributed a DVD with them to the relatives.

Shortly after my mother passed in 2010, I came upon several shoe boxes where she had stashed the last photos, negatives & slides of my father and her life together. For several years prior to her passing I had been collecting what remained of our family pictures up to my fathers passing in 1984. Her failing health & eyesight did not allow complete annotation of the various pictures dating into the mid 20's possible.

Almost 5 years were spent scanning & researching that trove, plus my earlier collection efforts, copying the various prints into digital format & removing centuries of rips, tears, stains & bringing forth barely visible images.

All of this work was transferred onto 128gb thumb drives and presented to my four nieces & brother for their viewing, at their timing. The digital age now allows these life histories to continue to future generations. Aloha, Bill

I made several versions of a digital slide show set to "The Times of Your Life" for family members tailored to their particular kids and such.

Pictures they never had seen, I had taken over several decades.

This after showing the whole group a more general version shortly after Grandma's funeral they all wanted a copy. The DVDs were edited from many photos which were also included on a separate disk if they wanted to dig through them.

The music and the pictures mated perfectly and made for a simple pleasant viewing format easily given after the personal time, which is unbeatable.

 

Another good one for slideshow backing....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-eCh3y5VROM

Edited May 19, 2018 by Moving On

I know it sounds cheesy but when you put your own personal family pictures from over decades to that music the effect is wonderfully personal.

Admittedly it works best with older, but familiar pictures.

The Beatles music was set to pictures of my old school, classmates, neighborhood, and childhood friends, including my wife from the years we dated in High school..

Perfect fit.

Edited May 19, 2018 by Moving On

I know it sounds cheesy

Not a bit! Just a great deal of disciplined work - I found just rough sorting and mailing off the contents of several LARGE boxes of photos was very time consuming. One method or another I've probably scanned 1,200 slides & negatives with cartons of slide trays as yet untouched, a couple of shoeboxes of my negatives, and family negatives going back till I don't know when. This newly discovered box, at least is small - sort tomorrow, mail those important to others in the family next week. I admire your achievement!

Just pick a few, say of siblings and early parents. 35 to 40 is a good number. Clean and correct color etc. I added a script text of the year taken to the bottom of each.

Try one to see how you like it.

You can make a file of each of 30-40 and make different slide shows as you go along.

I have a separate file for several family member's kids so they can be customized for each DVD. Some pictures will overlap, for instance grand parents, etc. I just weight the pictures for the particular members' own immediate family with a few groups and common relatives thrown in.

like I say, most photos I took at events and during everyday life and they were never seen by the other family members until the DVD.

Just have a bit of Kleenex handy.....

Edited May 20, 2018 by Moving On

My mother had saved all of my class reports/grades from kindergarten to high school.

 

Those I did not distribute, but it was fascinating to see how the kindergarten teacher had captured some of my personality traits that were commented on through my school career.

 

It's almost as scary as my high-school yearbook.:eek:

Back around the financial bubble a friend of mine was flipping houses and asked for help getting some furniture moved on a house he was turning over. Seems the owner had just died, his wife had died years earlier, and having no kids his neice was heir to the property and just wanted to get rid of it. Under some mattresses we were moving I found a box of pictures. Basically the couple's entire lives from the time they met until they died stored in that box. My friend I was helping appreciated the nostalgia, but indicated the neice wasn't close to the couple and would prefer to have the contents of the house burned if it would get it sold faster. That kind of person. I left the pictures, but moved them to a more respectable location.

If you have younger ones to share do it while you can.