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The Christmases of my childhood were rather simple affairs. Our tree was always a cedar tree, cut fr…

Yes, You Van

In last year’s Christmas card, we explained that after experiencing the realities of towing a …

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New Year’s Day 2021 marked the beginning of a family history experiment on Instagram. I had tr…

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artofrecollection

🌱 Planting seeds of family history - one photo, one story at a time. #artofrecollection 📃 "In the end, we'll all become stories.". ~M.Atwood

Cropped the old fashoned way - with scissors. 😄

Cropped the old fashoned way - with scissors. 😄 This is one of those photos that makes me wish there was a companion video.

The vast majority of photos in this album are the stand up, face the camera, 1...2...3...SMILE variety. I understand the importance of that kind of photo. I appreciate them, I just don't love them. That type of photo usually doesn't capture personality.

This one does.

I can't recall any stories about my Hills-in-law having a playful sense of humor. Actually, I can't recall any stories about anyone ever being silly. Dedicated, hard-working, efficient, organized - yes. Taking a moment for silliness - no.

And yet here is a piece of evidence to the contrary.

Now when you look at the expressions on each face, it may be that only the dad, Cyrus Ransom "Ran" was having fun. The boys - Art, Jay, and Ray - are all wearing that barely tolerant expression we've seen in our own children. "I don't want to, but dad told me to so...yeah, whatever. Just get it over with." 🙄

Sometimes photos cause me to wonder at the emotional legacy I am leaving. What stories will my kids and grandkids tell about me. What will be their stand-out memories?

When our grandson was about 3, he looked up at me with a big grin and said, "Mimi, you siwwy." Made me proud. ❤️

As the first born compliant child, big sister to 3 little sisters, I was dubbed by our mother as the "responsible one". I'm pleased that my grandchildren experience me in moments of playful silliness rather than as the "responsible one".

I'm also pleased to see that whether or not Art, Jay and Ray possessed the ability to let go and be silly, my great grandpa-in-law Ran did. Now if only there was a video of these guys getting into this 1917 balancing-act pose. 😄
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#telltheirstories #lifestories #savefamilyphotos #memorykeeper #familiesareforever #familyhistory #familystories #familyhistoryresearch #oldphoto #familysearch #ancestors #vintage #vintagephoto #artofrecollection #genealogyphotoaday #myheritage #research #genealogyresearch #vernacularphoto #genealogyphoto #heritage #familytree #ancestry #memorykeeping #familyalbum #photomemories #familyhistorian

Not sure what it would be like to have your sister

Not sure what it would be like to have your sister-in-law as one of your teachers. From Ray's expression, I'd venture to guess he wasn't having a great day. 😂

• 1915, new school building, Granada MN

• Edna Handy married Jay Hill 15 Oct 1915. She was a newlywed when this picture was taken.

• On the back of the photo Ray identifies some of his friends. That tall guy standing next to Ray? I'm thinking I've seen him in some of Ray's snapshots.

Early morning curiosity has awakened the research rabbit. He just needs a little coffee first. 😂
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#genealogyphotoaday #myheritage #research #genealogyresearch #vernacularphoto #genealogyphoto #heritage #familytree #ancestry #telltheirstories #lifestories #savefamilyphotos #memorykeeper #familiesareforever #familyhistory #familystories #familyhistoryresearch #oldphoto #familysearch #ancestors #vintage #vintagephoto #artofrecollection #memorykeeping #familyalbum #photomemories #familyhistorian

I don't have any photos like this from my side of

I don't have any photos like this from my side of the family. Not a single one. If they ever existed, they likely would have been lost during not one, but two, housefires (1929 and 1946) that destroyed most everything our family owned.

However, another factor is that there were no photographers in my home town. There simply may not have been opportunities like there was in Fairmont, MN.

This 1893 photo captures two sweet little boys - my husband's great uncles, Art and Jay.

Both boys grew up and moved away from home. One went to New York, the other to South Dakota so opportunities for my husband to know these men was limited.

Going though this album, gazing at hundreds of family photos, we start feeling as though we know these folks. We start recognizing faces, even without the prompts of captions. We start remembering stories, adding faces to the tales that were told.

When I reassemble this album, I may choose to use a reprint of photos like this rather than the original. I want the new album to be usable and these gorgeous cabinet cards are asking me to consider giving them special treatment.

I mean, look at the gilt edges. Didn't even notice that detail when it was mounted in the magnetic album.

Maybe it's because I don't have anything like this on my side of the family. Maybe its because photography has always been my chosen form of visual communication. Regardless, these cabinet cards invite me to pause and travel back in time.

Every photograph has a story to tell. And part of the story these formal portraits tell is that of intentionality. 129 years ago, the boy's parents made the effort to book a session with a photographer, capturing 2 little boy's sweet faces.

I am honored to be equally intentional as I take my turn - preserving and sharing these faces for the next generation.. 🥰

#telltheirstories #lifestories #savefamilyphotos #memorykeeper #familyhistory #familystories #familyhistoryresearch #oldphoto #familysearch #ancestors #cabinetcard #vintagephoto #artofrecollection #genealogyphotoaday #genealogyresearch #genealogyphoto #familytree #ancestry #familyhistorian #vernacularphoto #memorykeeping #familyalbum #photomemories

I had wondered what she looked like. Grandpa Ray's

I had wondered what she looked like. Grandpa Ray's first wife was Maude Timlin (on right). They had just celebrated their second wedding anniversary when she died during childbirth (April 25, 1923). This is the only photo I've found of her.

These women are Hill sisters-in-law.

• Ann Chipman (1895) was Art's wife.
• Edna Handy (1890) was Jay's.
• and Maude (1901) married Ray.

Art and Ray served in France during WWI, both returning home in 1919. Art married Ann on Feb 5, 2021 and 11 days later, Ray married Maude.

I can imagine the celebration. Both boys home safely from the war and now both boys marrying lovely young women.

• Art and Ann ended up in South Dakota.
• Jay and Edna in New York.
• Ray and Maude (and later, Goldie) remained close to home the remainder of their lives.

The family did a great job of documenting life in photos. So I wondered, based on the hundreds of family photos that have been saved, what happened to photos of Maude.

I doubt Grandpa Ray disposed of the photos. His handwritten poems and narratives speak of her with great love and loss. I wonder if he gave them to her family. I wonder if I have others, but she isn't identified in them.

I am just thankful to have found a photo that identifies Maude. We now have a face to add to Grandpa Ray's life story.

I had wondered what she looked like. Now we know - a most satisfying find. ❤️

To family: meet Lorraine's mother, Maude. 🥰

#telltheirstories #lifestories #hill #savefamilyphotos #memorykeeper #familiesareforever #familyhistory #familystories #familyhistoryresearch #oldphoto #familysearch #ancestors #vintage #vintagephoto #artofrecollection #genealogyphotoaday #myheritage #research #genealogyresearch #genealogyphoto #heritage #familytree #ancestry #familyhistorian #vernacularphoto #memorykeeping #familyalbum #photomemories

Here's an example of why it's important to conside

Here's an example of why it's important to consider both keeping albums intact (for context) and disassembling/recreating (for longevity).

I love this picture of Ruth. I love the composition, love how it truly captures a moment in time. Looking at the intact album pages, there's a photo of Ruth graduating, turn the page, and we see her wedding photo. I was guessing this was taken following a bridal shower with her gifts displayed in a hope chest.

I was guessing based on context within the album.

Continuing the guessing game, I could check my tree to find the date Ruth married to add an approximate date to the photo. However...

When I removed the photo from the page, there it is. A caption that would have been lost if I didn't disassemble.

I will transfer all on-the-back captions to fresh album pages and will keep page layouts the same. I'll use all of Grandpa Bruce's handwritten notes, adding them to new pages just as he added them to old. This will not be a quick project, but it will rescue 86 pages full of photos from magnetic album purgatory and create a fresh copy using current best practices and materials.

Now....do I have enough photo corners???? 😄

#telltheirstories #lifestories #savefamilyphotos #memorykeeper #familiesareforever #familyhistory #familystories #familyhistoryresearch #oldphoto #familysearch #ancestors #vintage #vintagephoto #artofrecollection #genealogyphotoaday #myheritage #research #genealogyresearch #genealogyphoto #heritage #familytree #ancestry #familyhistorian #magneticalbum #vernacularphoto #memorykeeping #familyalbum #photomemories

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