For part of our annual family vacation, we spent a few quiet days in the mountains at a friend’s house. I feel so totally comfortable there mainly because the lady of the house was a scrapbooker. This year a new crop of albums showed up on the shelves and I was elated to take a peek into her past. She graduated from high school in 1941 from a school in my husband’s hometown…which was exciting to see familiar sites in her photographs. She also preserved the ephemera of her day too, luggage tags, WWII ration book, train tickets even her college transcript and school bill.
It’s hard to describe the elated feeling I had at looking at her fragile scrapbook and her handwriting. If I was happy that she took the time to preserve every photograph and greeting card, it gave me a huge sense a validation that one day my very own desendants may sit around and enjoy my many albums too.
O.K. let me just say as a professor of African American history I am completely blown away by the goldmine you discovered. I hope that you have the chance to encourage this wonderful woman to correctly preserve her memories. She might even consider donating the documents to a library/archive. I am sure it was almost an out of body experience to be in the presence of such history. WOW! JUST WOW!
Posted by: Wendi Manuel-Scott | August 12, 2007 at 11:52 PM
Lisa: Isn't that remarkable! Although I don't know you, I can imagine you gently touching each page, devouring each caption. This really is a gift (even from a mere aquantance) a peek into a life. A peice of history, one of a kind. It's anthropolgie. There's no doubt the books we create today will be treasured as much or moreso, given the advent of so many computer-generated images. (I'm not suggesting that digital isn't good - I use some) Your photographs are amazing. Thanks for sharing this. - Molly
Posted by: Molly | October 28, 2007 at 09:47 AM