"public officials quarantined the business"

A student in one of my classes said he knew it was time to write down the truth about his life when one of the young ones said, "I know about your life, Grandpa, back when you rode in covered wagons and fought with the Indians."

I will be teaching a writing class for adults at Tri-County College in Murphy, NC beginning Tuesday March 5. This class is for anyone who enjoys writing true stories, not fiction, who ever wanted to write about their life for their family. This class is also for those who are beginning to realize their grandchildren don't really know much about their past. And this class is for anyone who has been writing about his/her life and wants to be motivated with prompts, with ideas from others, and wants to have their work read for feedback. This is also for those who want to publish their stories in magazines and journals.

On a recent trip to Florida, I visited with cousins, and we told stories about growing up, about our parents, our grandparents. We were fortunate to hear our parents and aunts and uncles tell about the history of our family. But in today's world, a man's children might live in New Mexico while he lives in Blairsville, GA. Families are not always close enough to share those stories of youth.

One of my uncles lost all he had invested in a store in St. Petersburg when another of my uncles, a young man, worked in this store, and contracted small pox, an epidemic at that time before a vaccine had been found. Because he worked in the store where fresh meat and vegetables were sold, public officials quarantined the business. No one was allowed to enter. All the meat rotted, the fresh fruit and vegetables decayed as well.  The owner had to walk away with nothing.

This took place in the early 20th century. The uncle who lost the store packed up his four kids and moved back to Georgia. That same family had lost their home in a flood and escaped in the night to higher ground. We wonder how some of our ancestors kept going.
Today a young man with a contagious disease would not be relegated to live in a storage house or barn away from the family with food delivered to him twice a day -- not in this country we hope. But that is what happened to my uncle with small pox.

These stories teach a kind of history not found in text books. And the fact that these events happened to people in their family, they create more impact on the younger members.

Every family has interesting stories to pass down to the next generation, and beyond.

March 5 - April 9: Write stories about your life with instructor, Glenda Beall, published writer and poet, at Tri-County Community College, Tuesdays, 3-5 p.m.

Call Lisa Long at Tri-County Community College in Murphy to register. 828-837-6810

Glenda Council Beall - author of Profiles and Pedigrees, Tom Council, and his descendants.

Where are Your Precious Photos Stored?

How do you preserve your family history? Does your family history consist of, not only stories about your family, but photographs, documents, letters, and other keepsakes?
For years I kept photographs in those albums with the sticky plastic that held them in place. But I learned in my genealogy society in Albany, Ga how to take care of precious pictures. Acid-Free! Those are important words. Keep your valuable documents, old letters and other historical pieces of your family history, in archival quality boxes, folders and holders.

I have a box of old letters written by my father to my mother when they were sweethearts and just after they were married when my father had to leave her for a while to find work. The brittle pages of the letters had to be handled with care.

Almost all of these letters I've copied on acid free paper, but I still store those originals in archival boxes. These letters are about 90 years old. And the paper quality was poor to begin with. I feel so fortunate to have those letters written in my father's hand and to read those words of a young man who was desperately in love with the girl who was to be my mother.
Don't procrastinate. Store those important papers now to use in your future book or just to save for future generations.
Do you have any tips for our readers on how you save and protect important keepsakes and photos?