The Blog

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.

11 Attributes of the Perfect Gift for the 2011 Holiday Season

Posted on October 25, 2011 by David

We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.
- Winston Churchill

Scratching your head to come up with a great present for your loved ones? Every year we give presents, yet somehow picking out gifts only seems to get harder as time goes on.

To make your life a little easier, we’ve done the research for you. Our team of expert gift-givers has come up with the 11 attributes that make for the perfect holiday gift.

For the 2011 season, your gift should…

1. Be fun to receive. Gifts should bring a smile to the face of the recipient. They should create an immediate impact. Think of the sight of a kid riding his brand new bike for the first time. The perfect gift brings that level of excitement to adults and children alike.

2. Be fun to give. The best gifts are the ones that you’re proud to give. When was the last time you were excited to give dad a new tie? In the words of Leonard Nemoy, “The more we share, the more we have.”

3. Provide long-term enjoyment. A gift’s instant gratification doesn’t mean the joy should be short-lived. On the contrary, a gift should create a lasting impact. The ideal gift is so meaningful that 5 years later, the recipient remembers not only what the gift is, but who gave it and the emotions they felt when it arrived. Think of the moment you received your first pet, and how it changed your life forever.

4. Bring people together. The holiday spirit is all about bringing family and friends together. Studies have shown that strength of relationships and amount of time spent with family are the keys to happiness. The best gifts create quality time with loved ones.

5. Be meaningful to the giver and recipient. Gifts that have a deeper meaning are the ones that create the biggest impact. Experiences are often more meaningful, and provide longer-lasting happiness, than material gifts.

6. Provide a great value. As gift givers, we want to know that we’re getting a good value for the item we’re buying, especially in today’s economic environment. Ask yourself, “How much is this gift actually worth?” The answer should make the price tag seem irrelevant, or, in the case of the MasterCard commercials, “Priceless”. Another question to consider: will the value of the gift appreciate or depreciate over time? The best investments are those that increase in value as the years go by.

7. Be high quality. It’s often tempting to save money by buying a cheaper item. But less expensive doesn’t mean better value. High quality gifts will last longer, perform better, and look nicer. Luxury daily deal websites offer high-quality gifts at a lower price—the perfect combination!

8. Involve some creative effort. Finding a great gift should be a labor of love.  A perfect gift is meaningful in its creation, not just in delivery.

9. Be original. We’ve all asked the question, “What do I give the person who has it all?” The perfect gift allows the giver and recipient to realize that there’s plenty more to experience and appreciate in this world.

10. Be personalized. The ideal gift could only come from you, and could only be given to that special someone. It’s an extension of your relationship and strengthens the bond between giver and recipient.

11. Speak to the character of this holiday. What’s unique about the 2011 holiday season? Every family will answer that question differently. Think about how you want this year to be remembered, and give a gift that is special for this particular holiday.

Hopefully this has sparked some ideas of the gifts that meet these attributes.

Looking for inspiration? One gift that meets all 11 attributes is a professionally produced documentary of your loved one. This holiday season, celebrate the lives of your parents or grandparents with a broadcast-quality film from Reel Tributes. Capture the stories, the laughs, and the memories that have defined your family. It’s an investment that will only appreciate over time. And one that will be appreciated by the entire family today, tomorrow, and for generations to come.

Reel Tributes: the official sponsor of family spirit this holiday season. Contact us to start your customized film today.

Share these tips with your family and friends:
Print a PDF
[Click links below to email and post to Facebook. Use the comment box to add your thoughts. What attributes do you think are most important?]

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!

Tracing My Treasures: A Measure of Love

Posted on November 3, 2011 by Lin

How do you measure love? Is it felt by the intensity of a hug, the passion of a kiss, the size of a box of chocolates or the number of rose stems in a bouquet?

Today, I measure love with a tin-measuring cup.

For years upon years my Tennessee grandmother whipped up homemade biscuits served with red eye gravy, eggs, bacon for her family.  I was fortunate enough to be part of many of those special family breakfasts.

I would watch my petite Southern grandmother measure out the flour, salt, baking powder, milk, and shortening using the very same old measuring cup and measuring spoons that she had used for decades.   Once everything was in the mixing bowl, she would give a little stir, and then pour out the ingredients on to a breadboard. After kneading it a little, the dough was placed into an black and worn cast iron skillet.  Into the oven it would go until the biscuits were baked light brown and to perfection.

The butter and cloverleaf honey were already out when those hot-out-of-the-oven biscuits were placed in the center of the kitchen table for the family to enjoy.

So much love and attention went into this early morning ritual.

After grandmother died, her sons asked me what of her possessions I would like to have.  Without hesitation, I asked, ‘Could I possibly have her set of kitchen measuring spoons and her measuring cup?’  I’m sure they thought ‘what a crazy woman to be asking for such mundane things!’

But the deeper truth is that by holding in my hands these simple objects, I remember a woman who was a special part of my life for so many years.

A tin measuring cup and a set of measuring spoons.  Symbols of love.

What treasured family heirlooms do you possess? What memories do these items stir up inside of you? We’d love to hear from you!

The Value of a Personal Historian, by Dan Curtis

Posted on October 19, 2011 by David

If you’re thinking of hiring a personal historian, keep reading.  If you’re a practicing personal historian, remember that potential clients don’t really care what you do. What they care about are the benefits they’ll get from hiring you.  I must admit that I sometimes forget this fact.  So as a reminder to myself and to anyone else who needs a prompt about the benefits -  here are five important ones. Can you think of more? Let me know by leaving a comment below.

1. Your story will get told. This is the most important benefit of all. Countless times  people have told me that they started working on their life story or that of a family member but never seemed to be able to get it finished. Hiring a personal historian means the work will get done on time and in a professional manner.

2. It’s more fun. Let’s face it, sitting alone with a blank computer screen or piece of paper and waiting for inspiration to strike can be daunting. We are by nature conversationalists. Sitting with a personal historian who is a skilled interviewer and empathetic listener makes telling your story an enjoyable experience.

3. Your story will be richer in detail. Because of the familiarity with your own story, you can easily miss details that others would find fascinating. You need a personal historian who is fresh to your story and has the skill to bring out the richness of your life’s journey.

4. A personal historian relieves you of the burden of  producing your film. Putting together a life story is an overwhelming undertaking for most people. From start to finish it requires a set of skills  that include – interviewing, editing, research, photo enhancement, design and layout, and printing.  A personal historian takes on these production tasks  and ensures that all are handled professionally.

5. A personal historian has the time. Are you someone who simply can’t find enough hours in a day to devote to working on your own story or that of a family member? Hiring a personal historian relieves you of the guilt of not putting in the time you need to get your life story or that of a family member told.

Thank you to personal historian Dan Curtis for this article, which was previously published on his blog. You can learn more about Dan and his work at http://dancurtis.ca.