Generated by Bing Image Creator In your research experience have you been contacted by someone who had a picture or other item that belonged to your family and they wanted to give it to you? If it was something you have sought for years, weren't you thrilled to finally have it and so grateful for the person who sent it to you? Maybe you have been on the other side, instrumental in connecting an orphaned heirloom with its family. Didn't it feel great to make that connection? I've had it happen a few times and I always feel so satisfied when I succeed.  Several years ago I was researching the history of photography for a presentation I was doing for the society. I needed examples of antique photos because I didn't have very many in my own family. I went to antique stores and shopped on Ebay for good examples of very early photography. When people found a stray photo in their collections that they didn't want, they offered them to me for my use. Making Trans-Continenta...

  Courtesy Pixabay Pandemic It was October 2020 during the coronavirus pandemic. The whole country was asked to social distance, wash our hands, wear masks and stay home. Since we were staying home we were all trying to keep busy and were doing cleaning, filing, sorting, etc.  Cleaning the garage This day in October I decided to clean out the garage, something I have needed to do for a long time. On a top shelf way in the back, I found a box marked "old dolls."  I remembered this box is where my old dolls were and the china heads for dolls. I opened the box and yes, there were the old china dolls, but there was more than dolls.  Hidden treasures In the bottom of the box were a lot of my oldest daughter’s baby clothes. I took them all out of the box and into the house, decided to wash them as they were all wrinkled. After washing them and they all looked so much better, I got to thinking, "Do I have any pictures of her in any of these clothes?"  Red Polka Dot Dr...