When the light bulb finally came on, it was several years ago after talking to my sister, Doris on occasion, pertaining to genealogy. She has been to Ireland and back to trace some of our ancestry and has stomped and tromped through every cemetery between Central Iowa and Ireland.
I would tease her by saying something ill mannered that genealogy was like watching paint dry. There had to be more to ones life than being just a name on a flow chart with your name, year born and died and relatives up and down the line.
Yes, we know that it also includes biographical, statistical data, and some social data written in county historical records, centennial books, obituaries, newspaper announcements, and more. It seemed to me, we need to do more. More needed to be done to compliment the "family tree" and all that data. Those that came before us, deserve more than just to be just a name on the wall, a few pictures in an album or stuff!
It finally dawned on me, alittle late, that a lot of those people that would provide great stories were GONE! But, there was one person that was still around and had some pretty good personal and family related stories. After all, many of my own stories would be going back a half century and probably by the time some young relative would have interest in reading any of them another fifty years would pass. Who knows! Besides, someone will enjoy reading about the good old days even the 1980's!
------------to be continued.
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