What a great idea, adding a few old family favorite recipes to your collection of journals and family history! Usually, cookbooks are kept separate from genealogy and family history, and are in their own category. But what a nice surprise to find, while reading a passage in a journal, a recipe that was cherished by a family member. We have several favorites in our family, used especially at family dinners. One is Potato Salad which, I hear, tastes better than most other potato salads. Another is a cottage cheese/whipped topping salad we call, affectionately, "Fluff" - a term my mother created for its fluffy, smooth, creamy texture. Our family specialties are: Banana Bread, Cinnamon rolls, Homemade white bread, Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars, and much more. (There were quite a few, once I got to thinking about it!) Here's our potato salad recipe:
8 medium size potatoes, boiled, peeled
12 eggs, hard boiled, shelled
1/4 cup onion, finely diced
1/4 cup sweet relish
1 to 1-1/2 cups mayonnaise
seasoning salt, to taste
black pepper, to taste
Into a large mixing bowl, cut potatoes into medium size chunks. Finely chop eggs and add to potatoes. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Season with seasoning salt and pepper to taste. Adjust quantities as needed for consistency and taste. Chill in refrigerator for at least 2 hours, or overnight. Serves 8-10.
Cookbooks are a great way to get to know an ancestors personality. Include recipes wherever you can in personal and family histories. And since each family has a different "take" on the same recipes, no two family's Potato Salad, or "Fluff" will be the same, which makes each family unique!
Friday, July 25, 2008
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Get it All
A family history book is a collection of important, and even trivial, family information. A "Book of Remembrance" is more specifically charts and forms, with written histories and some pictures. A family history book can be put together to include a list of immediate family members, birthdates, birthplaces, pictures of the home, the address, pictures of vacations, tokens from memorable occasions, all with written descriptions, of course, and whatever else seems appropriate.
Become "snap happy" with the camera and include pictures of anything and everything (they can be sorted out later). Take pictures of where you live, best friends, favorite things, a meal around the dinner table, ...everything!
Gather souveniers from wherever you go: receipts from anniversary restaurants, movie ticket stubs, napkins from receptions, flyers from vacation spots, a leaf or flower from a car trip.....but you might want to leave that tiny bar of soap back at the hotel! You'll end up with enough "stuff" to fill a few books, but that's what family history is all about. Just keep gathering mementos from wherever you go and add it.
Our trip to Wyoming made up a bulging, 2", three ring binder filled with pages of pictures, newspapers, receipts, wrappers, etc., all with descriptions and captions - and that was just one trip! What fun it is to get that book out and remind us of the fun we had! Imagine the effect it will have on the grandchildren, and great-grandchildren to see our adventures!
There doesn't have to be a special occasion to document your history. A trip to the grocery store reveals the everyday life you have. Your shopping list and the receipt, the current ads, and your written description of your experience, including who you saw and what you thought, sheds light on your current circumstances for readers now and in the future.
Once you've put together a collection of stuff, big or small, and put it in a binder or folder, you begin to train your eye for future items to include in another binder or folder. Sure, in the end (if there is an end), you could have boxes and boxes of binders, books, folders, etc., of family experiences. But what a cherished history you've compiled for your posterity!
So gather anything and everything! Get it All!
Become "snap happy" with the camera and include pictures of anything and everything (they can be sorted out later). Take pictures of where you live, best friends, favorite things, a meal around the dinner table, ...everything!
Gather souveniers from wherever you go: receipts from anniversary restaurants, movie ticket stubs, napkins from receptions, flyers from vacation spots, a leaf or flower from a car trip.....but you might want to leave that tiny bar of soap back at the hotel! You'll end up with enough "stuff" to fill a few books, but that's what family history is all about. Just keep gathering mementos from wherever you go and add it.
Our trip to Wyoming made up a bulging, 2", three ring binder filled with pages of pictures, newspapers, receipts, wrappers, etc., all with descriptions and captions - and that was just one trip! What fun it is to get that book out and remind us of the fun we had! Imagine the effect it will have on the grandchildren, and great-grandchildren to see our adventures!
There doesn't have to be a special occasion to document your history. A trip to the grocery store reveals the everyday life you have. Your shopping list and the receipt, the current ads, and your written description of your experience, including who you saw and what you thought, sheds light on your current circumstances for readers now and in the future.
Once you've put together a collection of stuff, big or small, and put it in a binder or folder, you begin to train your eye for future items to include in another binder or folder. Sure, in the end (if there is an end), you could have boxes and boxes of binders, books, folders, etc., of family experiences. But what a cherished history you've compiled for your posterity!
So gather anything and everything! Get it All!
"Say Cheese!"
It's true, a picture is worth a thousand words. Whether creating a family history book, a pedigree chart, scrapbook (where pictures are essential), or journal, adding pictures, artwork, sketches, etc. add a more complete element.
In a few pedigree charts I've seen (both from long ago, and most recent), pictures were added next to the names. This is especially helpful when you're not familiar with a particular family member. Those great-aunts and uncles from another part of the country or world are much more easily identifiable with their picture by their name, rather than just reading their name on the page. Even though the pedigree chart pictures are just from the neck up and they're tiny, it's enough to see a family resemblance. In a family history book, pictures big and small can add more detail than words can give. Expensive portraits aren't necessary to add in a family collection, although they could be included. Long ago, pictures were taken and printed on tin plates. Sure, they lasted a long time, but they also bent and faded. Regular snapshots work great. An inexpensive disposable camera does the job just fine.
However, with all the technology of digital quality, color-enhancing, blemish-hiding, red-eye eliminating, cropping to size, etc., there isn't much of an excuse anymore NOT to add pictures to a collection of family history.
In a few pedigree charts I've seen (both from long ago, and most recent), pictures were added next to the names. This is especially helpful when you're not familiar with a particular family member. Those great-aunts and uncles from another part of the country or world are much more easily identifiable with their picture by their name, rather than just reading their name on the page. Even though the pedigree chart pictures are just from the neck up and they're tiny, it's enough to see a family resemblance. In a family history book, pictures big and small can add more detail than words can give. Expensive portraits aren't necessary to add in a family collection, although they could be included. Long ago, pictures were taken and printed on tin plates. Sure, they lasted a long time, but they also bent and faded. Regular snapshots work great. An inexpensive disposable camera does the job just fine.
However, with all the technology of digital quality, color-enhancing, blemish-hiding, red-eye eliminating, cropping to size, etc., there isn't much of an excuse anymore NOT to add pictures to a collection of family history.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)