Category Archives: Holidays

Rebecca’s Reel Hints: A Time to Give

Posted on December 14, 2011 by Rebecca

After hearing amazing stories on the news the other night about people who gave their time and money to local charities, I felt guilty for not doing more – especially in this season. No matter what you celebrate this month, many of our traditional celebrations focus on giving. I have active children and a busy schedule, and wondered how I could give more.

As I was pondering this, I realized how much I was already giving and how many opportunities there are for someone with my genealogical skills and interests. I thought back to the time I served at the local LDS family history center, the lectures I had given pro-bono for local groups, the cemetery indexing and photographing project I had been involved in, time spent talking to new genealogists about their projects and offering advice, and the regular meetings of an online genealogical educational group I help with (http://progenstudy.org/). While I don’t have the ability right now to work in a soup kitchen or help build homes, I still lend my time and expertise voluntarily.

Are you interested in giving back to the genealogical community? Let me tell you about some of my favorite places, and maybe you will find a project that fits your schedule and interests:

  • www.DeadFred.com. This is literally genealogical treasure hunting. When people find old photos or even family bibles that are thrown away or sold at swap meets and antique shops, they “rescue” them and put them up on this site, looking for a home. You can go there to look for your own long-lost relatives or put up some photos you have found.
  • www.USGenWeb.org. This is a hub for state, county, and town sites created and maintained all by volunteers. Contact the site manager of a town or county you are interested in to see if there are projects you can help with. When I did it, I was sent a few pages from an old index to re-type. I re-transcribed them into a word document, sent it back to the site manager, and it became a new online resource for out-of-town researchers.
  • www.FindAGrave.com. A great project for your family, church group, scout troop, or genealogical society. Volunteers photograph headstones and monuments from a cemetery and put them up on this site. You can submit one photo that you already have or hundreds taken by yourself and friends on a sunny afternoon. Check with the local sextant or cemetery manager if you plan to do a whole cemetery to make sure you would not be interfering with any funerals.
  • FamilySearch Indexing. The LDS Church is famous for their microfilm collection and they are organizing an ambitious project to digitize and index these valuable resources. Check out https://www.familysearch.org/volunteer/indexing. There is an online tutorial to teach you how to index, and lots of help along the way.
  • www.worldmemoryproject.org. Ancestry.com and the Holocaust Memorial Museum have partnered to create the world’s largest online resource for information about victims of the Holocaust. Thousands of volunteers worldwide have added 873,000 records that are now searchable. Contributing is free and easy to do for anyone with a computer and a few hours to help.

There are so many more ways to use the talents you have as a genealogist to give back to others and encourage a love of family history, I wish I could name them all here. If you know of a special group or project, or just want to tell about a giving experience that you have had, write us and let us know.

This holiday season, celebrate random acts of genealogical kindness. After all, not every gift can be wrapped with a bow.

A Tribute to Pearl Harbor Day

Posted on December 7, 2011 by Lin

Seventy years ago today, the Japanese Imperial Navy launched a surprise military strike on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.  This attack came as a profound shock to Americans, and led to America’s entry into World War II.

An astounding 2,402 Americans died at Pearl Harbor, and 1,282 were wounded.

On this day, we at Reel Tributes honor and remember those who have served in all branches of the United States military, and thank them for their service to our country.

A Rocking Thanksgiving

Posted on December 1, 2011 by Lin

The earthquake that hit the East Coast in the summer of 2011 took me back 60 years.

It was San Francisco in the late 1950’s, and I was six. These were carefree and glorious times.  These were the days of flying a homemade kite with a tail made of cotton rags, of spur-of-the-moment hula-hoop contests with the neighbor kids and roller-skating on the front driveway and the accompanied skinned knees.

On Wednesday, November 25, 1958, San Francisco was hit by a powerful earthquake. Though I was a child, I remember it like it was yesterday.  I was at home at the time. Out-of-town family had already begun to arrive for the Thanksgiving festivities. My grandmother and great grandmother were at home, getting ready.

When the shaking began, I was sitting on the toilet (of all places!), wondering to my young self what in the world was happening.  All of a sudden, my grandmother burst through the bathroom door, pulled up my pants and hustled me towards the front door of our house.   In the process she grabbed her mother.  My grandmother obviously had experienced earthquakes prior to this one. Before flying through the front door with us in tow, she passed the tall wooden liquor cabinet and reaching in, grabbed a large bottle of aged Irish whiskey.

I don’t think I had ever seen my grandmother move so fast!  The next thing I knew we were all standing in the middle of the street staring at the front of our house.  I remember thinking to myself, ‘how strange it was to be standing in the middle of the street when I was so frequently told not to go out in to the street.’

Well, we lost our chimney in that quake and a lot of dishes were broken, too.  But gladly we all survived without a scrape.  I still wonder, as I did then, about my grandmother’s reasoning behind grabbing that large bottle of Irish whiskey. I don’t remember her drinking it, but maybe she did behind my back. Anything to calm the nerves!

So when the earthquake struck in August 2011, I knew exactly what to do. Take action, protect yourself and your loved ones, and drink up.

What are your memories of childhood? What events are stuck in your mind? The simpler times of youth, or the disasters that brought the family together? We’d love to hear your stories!

The Thanksgiving Feast: Food, family, and the future

Posted on November 22, 2011 by Lin

Thanksgiving brings back plenty of fond memories: visiting with family, watching the Macy’s Day Parade on Thanksgiving morning, and playing football in the afternoon. And of course, everyone’s favorite:  eating the meal of all meals.  We all have our favorites – whether it is a honey roasted spiral cut ham or a Butterball Turkey.  Undoubtedly there will be a myriad of other dishes on the table as well.

Some of my favorites are my mother’s creamed pearl onions. Heavenly! It just wouldn’t be Thanksgiving unless those creamed onions were there at our feast. My two daughters wouldn’t be happy unless I have made my sweet potato casserole and huge tray of stuffed deviled eggs. My husband has a favorite, too. There must be a platter of asparagus with Hollandaise sauce on his side of the Thanksgiving table.

Did your mother or grandmother have special recipes that were unique to them? Here’s a sweet-tasting thought: Thanksgiving is a great time to put together a cookbook of family heirloom recipes so that these special delights will never be missing from your family’s Thanksgiving table.

Here’s mine, Lin’s Sweet Potato Casserole:
Cut six medium sweet potatoes, cooked and peeled, in ½-inch slices. Layer potatoes in buttered  1 ½ quart casserole with ¾ cup brown sugar, 1 teaspoon salt, and ¼ cup butter, ending with sugar and butter.  Bake uncovered at 375 degrees about 30 minutes or till glazed.  Add ½ cup miniature marshmallows last five minutes; brown lightly.  Serves 6.

If you make it, let us know how it turns out.  Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at Reel Tributes!

How Will You Celebrate the National Day of Listening?

Posted on November 21, 2011 by Lin

Did you know that the day after Turkey Day is another holiday? Most people don’t know, but we’re here to let you in on a little (but big) secret, so listen up.

Friday, November 25, 2011 is the National Day of Listening. It is considered an “unofficial day of observance.” Americans are encouraged to record the stories of their families, friends, and local communities.  This special day was first launched by the national oral history project StoryCorps in 2008, to be a day set aside for reminiscing, story sharing and creating new memories. So while you’re recovering from the food coma and helping yourself to leftovers, bring the family together for some storytelling. Don’t know where to start? Our friends at AARP have put together a great list of “Story Starters” to give you a helping hand.

For more information about the National Day of Listening, please check out:
http://www.npr.org/series/120540199/storycorps-national-day-of-listening
or http://www.storycorps.org

Photo credit: AARP (Gary Hovland)