Summer is a time of extreme temperatures and extremes are the last thing we want for our family history records, heirlooms, and memorabilia. Check your precious stashes of family history and make sure that they are in a stable environment and are not showing signs of damage by extreme temperatures and other hazards. Periodic checkups can help you to stop deterioration before it’s too late.
24-7 Family History Circle
The Place for Ancestral Connections
When I first started my search of my ancestors, little did I know how much responsibility went along with it. An aunt who moved her parents into her home so they could be cared for in their older years told me when I asked if she had anything that had belonged to her older relatives. She took me out to her garage and showed me a trunk that my grandmother(her mother) had saved quite a varity of memorbilia, and she said I could have it. Then was when I realized what I had taken on.The most fragile item was a two piece black cotton dress that was in like new condition and a beautiful black silk bonnet, also in excellent condition. None of my children had any desire to be the recipient of any of these items, so I decided with their agreement to donate them to the Historical Museum of Gillespie County, Texas. These pieces had belongedto my greatgrandmother and the entire family had made their homes in Gillespie County. Then to protect the odds and ends of papers that were a part of this collection in addition to photographs, I purchased enough acid free envelopes in various sizes to save all these from further deteriation.
I always preserve my photos & written
material in acid free paper, which I
purchase at Staples. I’m sure there
are other stores that sell the paper.
My photo albums are also preserved.