Patriotism has made a resurgence in the recent year and justly so. I wanted to honor the past by creating scrapbook pages that told my children what it was like to be an American way back when.

I have a little story, so please bear with me. I constantly search out family members to complete my family history, which is forever a work in progress. I love to learn everything I can because I believe our heritage is the most meaningful gift we can pass down to future generations. The internet has made it easier than ever to meet and find distant family members who may share a piece of the puzzle. I was searching genealogy sites and came across a photograph of my great grandmother. I was thrilled to see such a close connection, because it’s usually very distant, and curious as to who would be in possession of it. I sent an email to this person, who it turns out is a cousin, and she replied. Our great grandmothers’ were sisters. We decided to swap photos to see if one person had some that the other did not. It turned out that she had a picture which included my great grandmother and her entire family. This was of great interest to me because I knew my great grandmother very well and there weren’t any pictures of her when she was a young woman. It really touched my heart that this newly acquired cousin would share such a special piece of history with me. Later, I found that I had several photographs of her great grandmother that she had never seen and gave them to her. And get this... she’s one of us, a scrapbooker! What a small world!

A similar thing happened when I was given this photograph of the town my family originates from. I have been to this town to search through the cemetery and read grave stones. (And I use to think those people were strange...) So, seeing this amazing patriotic photo of an Independence Parade back in 1908 made the story even more meaningful. Both photos are from the same year. The town still looks very much the same and Main Street hasn’t changed much, except they’ve paved the road and added a gas station. That’s about it, though.



So, this is the lesson to be learned. If you want to create a heritage album, but are short on photographs and stories, there are people just like you out there who would love to share what they know. It’s a great way to meet new friends who have a similar interest and you both care more, because it’s family. Just remember to share what you have with them so the experience is just as meaningful.