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Once upon a Christmas, Santa brought me my first camera, a Kodak Brownie Starmite. I’m not certain what it was about photography that captured my attention when I was so young, but it has.&#…

My Happy Place

The reasons we become involved with family history vary. I have genealogist friends who search tirelessly for that last elusive proof in a family’s lineage – whether it is for their family or for some…

Sharing Stories in a Virtual World

Early on, Tim told me that he wanted our family to camp. He had fond memories of camping trips with his family and he wanted us to create the same kind of memories for our children. The first opportun…

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artofrecollection

This is the young girl who, at eighteen, married a

This is the young girl who, at eighteen, married a successful businessman, helped expand his business and establish a second business. Together they owned and operated both a funeral home and nursing home.⁠
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As the nursing home expanded, she became one of the largest employers in our county.⁠
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Lovely girl. Successful businesswomen. Grandmother.⁠
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(Photo scan of Rowena from my 2nd cousin - Pete)

#telltheirstories #savefamilyphotos #memorykeeper #familiesareforever #familyhistory #genealogy #familytree #familystories #familyhistoryresearch #oldphoto #heritage #familysearch #ancestors #artofrecollection #familyhistorian

"Mrs. Rowena Dunn, wife, of Shelley Dunn, entered

"Mrs. Rowena Dunn, wife, of Shelley Dunn, entered the Kentucky School of Embalming February 5th, 1951, for a 9 months course in the art of embalming. Graduated from that school November 5th, 1951, took the state board examination December 11th, and received her license to practice embalming in the State of Kentucky. One of the fourteen lady embalmers in Kentucky, she will be associated with Dunn Funeral Home at Kuttawa, Ky., where she has been employed many years as a licensed funeral director"

My "Jumping for Joy/Eureka!" moment began as I searched online to see if I could find when Rowena (my grandmother) graduated from mortuary school. Yes, you read that correctly. Mortuary school.

A little backstory: The "funeral parlor" was established in 1916 by Shelley (my grandfather) with a mission statement of providing "Complete and Dignified Service to All". At the time, not everyone could afford funeral services. "Mr.Shelley" wanted to change that.

In 1922, he married Rowena. For a while, she was busy with children. Her first in 1925, followed by babies in '27 and '29.

She begins to emerge as a businesswoman in 1930 when she purchased the land on which she and Shelley built a funeral home. Two more babies were added to the family, one in '31 - the last in '35.

By 1940, she had 5 children and was actively involved with the funeral home as the "receptionist".

After her children were mostly "grown", she went to school. In Louisville. Four hours away. She had an apartment in Louisville where she lived during the week. On weekends, she returned home only to repeat the 4-hour drive again and again - for nine months. She graduated on November 5, 1951. What an accomplishment - she was one of only 14 "lady embalmers" in the entire state!

This was just the beginning of Rowena's contribution to the family business and to our community. Like "Mr.Shelley", Rowena lived a life providing care to the people of Lyon County. She was truly remarkable.

#2. Announcement in newspaper
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#telltheirstories #savefamilyphotos #familyhistorian #familyhistory #familystories #familyhistoryresearch #genealogy #research #dunn #hayden #ancestors #funeralhome #artofrecollection

It's not actually a 3-day weekend, but this quote

It's not actually a 3-day weekend, but this quote made me laugh (out loud) because it's just SO true! Once a family history detective embarks on a quest to find a particular piece of information, there is just no stopping it. (Snacks are helpful, though :D)⁠
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A few weeks ago I posted that I was jumping for joy about some unexpected information returned from a search on newspapers.com. A few days later, I shared that I had had a "Eureka!" moment. I was so excited about discovering a piece of information that connected wannabe-rogue dots in our family's story.
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It's not unknown facts that inspire my quests - its photographs. I will have an image in hand (more likely, I'll have a digital image on my computer) and it will spark more questions than it answers. Those questions, the curiosity about the often overlooked details in the photograph, drive my research. I'm truly image-driven.⁠
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I have images of homes, people, and businesses and have had one heckuva time figuring out how some of them fit together. Being a left/right brain person, living within the constant (and delightful) tension between the creative and the logical, I am compelled to connect the dots.

There are still some dots that are reluctant to be connected, but it feels as though I am an on brink of solving the mystery.

I'm oh, so close... So. Very.Close.
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Snacks are welcomed - especially chocolate. 🍫🍩🍪
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#familyhistorian #memorykeeper #research #preservation #genealogy#familiesareforever #familyhistory #familyhistoryresearch #ancestors #heritage #familytree #artofrecollection

"The Little White House" ---> Home Sitting across

"The Little White House" ---> Home

Sitting across the road from the funeral home, this little house was our Old Kuttawa Home. It was kind of a starter home in our family. We lived there. Our uncle, aunt, and cousins lived there before us. Before that, this was home to our grandparents and their teenaged children while the funeral home was being built.

This is where my mother started her flower shop. Talk about humble beginnings - she had coolers on the front porch where she stored her "cut flowers". She arranged the flowers into corsages, baskets, and sprays in the basement. When Lake Barkley forced relocation, she moved her shop to "New Eddyville" where it continued to thrive.

Diana's Flowers. There was a fragrance in her shop that is immediately recognizable. It was probably a blend of several floral fragrances, but if it were bottled, I'd wear it every day. This is where I first experienced gardenias (and gardenias are to be experienced). They have a heady fragrance that fills a room. The flowers appear very sturdy but are actually quite delicate. In a way, they remind me of Mama - a combination of elegant strength and an underlying delicacy that drew you to her.l and kept you close.

This little white house was a starter home in our family. This little white house was where Diana's Flowers began. This little white house held new babies, young parents, and new beginnings. This little white house was small, but was mightily important.
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#1 Flowers by Diana
#2 Diana
#3 see the funeral home in the background?
#4 cousins who lived here b4 we did
#5 the house when our parents lived there as teens.
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#telltheirstories #savefamilyphotos #memorykeeper #familiesareforever #familyhistory #familystories #oldphotos #dunn #thesunshinesbright #kuttawa #oldkuttawa #vintagephoto #artofrecollection

This just makes me sad. While I love putting toget

This just makes me sad. While I love putting together images from different sources to illustrate a piece of family history, there are times the story is not happy.

A 1962 newspaper article records a Sept meeting of the Oldtimers club. "The meeting had been scheduled for Kuttawa Mineral Springs but a heavy rain caused it to be changed to an abandoned building owned by Shelly Dunn. The structure used to be a funeral home.

"The oldsters met in the vacant chapel, and they ate barbecue and cake and pie there after the speechmaking and the business... "

What a melancholy picture: "With rain falling past the uncurtained windows...."

You've probably been in a house after a family has moved. It's so strange. One minute the movers are there, loading furniture and boxes into a truck. Then suddenly, it becomes an empty shell, devoid not only of furniture and family but also of its soul.

The quiet echoes.

This building provided both a home for my grandparents as well as a haven for grieving families as they mourned the loss of their loved ones. "Abandoned" the reporter wrote. Not really. "Taken" is a more accurate word.

I can only imagine how Granddaddy felt as he sat in this meeting.

A new funeral home was built in the new town. The first funeral in the new building was for my great-grandmother. Three months later, he offers his "abandoned" building as a shelter for a club meeting. It fits. He lived a life of service. He lived providing shelter/protection for others - despite personal feelings.

Purchased in 1930, this once proud and elegant property passed from mother to daughter to nephew. Incredibly thankful for the heritage and memories this property provided. Thankful there is a portion that was spared from the creation of Lake Barkley.

Sadly, many families were not so lucky.

#1 1954 - the building was about 7 years old.
#2 May 1962 - Access road created, the business relocated.
#3 1962 - some homes moved from the old town to the new
#4 1962 Paducah Sun article
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#telltheirstories #savefamilyphotos #memorykeeper #familiesareforever #familyhistory #familystories #research #oldphoto #ancestors #dunn #kuttawa #familyhistorian #artofrecollection

"Small towns have their own heartbeat no matter ho

"Small towns have their own heartbeat no matter how many people come and go." -Mitch Album

I'm one of those who moved away. College, a career in technology, marriage (to a midwesterner) meant that, over the years, our family relocated several times. Each of our moves was a calculated choice. However, at one point in time, the residents of Kuttawa didn't have a choice.

"In the late 1840's, rumors began to circulate that the US Corps of Engineers was considering the construction of a dam on the Cumberland River ... The dam [would] flood a large part of the town ...

"In 1954, authorization for the dam was given by Congress. Acquisition of property began that same year ... the entire business district ... was purchased by the government." -- cityofkuttawa.com

I haven't lived in Kuttawa for many years. Yet my childhood friends feel like brothers and sisters - not just classmates. We have known one another our entire lives. We share a history and experiences in a way that simply can not be duplicated in a city.

"Small towns have their own heartbeat...." and in my heart, this town is home. ❤️
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#telltheirstories #kuttawa #familyhistorian #savefamilyphotos #memorykeeper #familyhistory #familystories #familyhistoryresearch #oldphoto #research #ancestors #vintagephoto #artofrecollection

When the landscape of your hometown permanently ch

When the landscape of your hometown permanently changes, comparing historical topographic maps to current maps is interesting. When I animated two of the maps to create a before/after ... I admit it. I click the play button over and over, watching as a town is covered in water.

The historic map is from 1931. The property Rowena (Grandmother) purchased in 1930 that became "home" to our family is marked by the red dot. You can see Kuttawa Springs on the 1931 map (top center). Watch as familiar landmarks are covered by water - landmarks now existing only in photographs, newspaper articles, and the minds of those old enough to remember.

The lake is beautiful, but I am a nostalgic personality and will always miss (and maybe romanticize) that which has passed. This is why it is important to not just collect information about your family's history, but also to share it. It's the sharing that gives memories a new life. 🥰
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PS. Now that I've found these maps, expect future posts using info from https://www.usgs.gov/news/historical-maps-your-fingertips.
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#telltheirstories #familyhistorian #historicalpreservation #memories #hometown #kuttawa #ancestors #vintage #vintagemap #artofrecollection

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