Newsletter

  • Heather L Donahoe

  • Hemet, CA

  • Major: General Studies

  • Creativity Engagement Track

Preserving the Past for Future Generations

The purpose of this project was to help me gain the skills needed to sort through information and memorabilia, as well as organize and catalog memories and information for my own family, letting go of clutter and allowing for more enjoyment of past experiences. I digitized over 5000 photographs, using both a scanner at home and equipment available to me at a local library, and labeled and cataloged them by date for future reference. The digital files were backed up on both an external hard drive and online for preservation. As I digitized the photographs, I sorted the hard copies into different piles of those I planned to keep, pictures to give away to specific people who would find value in having the pictures, and photographs to discard.

Once all the pictures were digitized, I determined which pictures to use in the photobook. I decided to focus on the meeting, courting, engagement, and wedding with my husband. I also had to choose a site for creating the photobook and learn the steps required within the software of the site for compiling the book. In addition to the pictures, I documented in writing the parts of our experience that indicated the value of chosen pictures as well as pieces of our story that are of importance to both me and my husband to preserve and pass on to future generations.

Inspiration:

I have always had a concern of something happening to my pictures and losing the visual records of the precious memories for me and my family. I have also wanted to conquer the enormous amounts of paper in my home. I figured that this would be a great opportunity for me to do this and bless my family at the same time. In addition, I wanted to demonstrate the value of another person to both themselves and others. I had originally planned to work with an elderly friend and then take the skills and knowledge I gained to apply to my own photo preservation. Unfortunately, that did not work out, but in moving on to my own family photos I was reminded of the value of the relationship I have with my husband and the beautiful life we have built together, through both the good and difficult times.

Challenges:

Initially, I had planned to work with an elderly widow to digitize her photos and memorabilia. However, her health quickly declined, and she was unable to participate in this project. I tried working with another elderly gentleman, but he did not have enough memorabilia to bring the project to the needed working hours. Health challenges of my own daughter and myself also made dedicating time to the completion of my EDGE project in the initial time table I had planned difficult. The entire project itself also took more time than I had anticipated. In addition, selecting the exact pictures to use and arranging the correct digital formatting for the photobook was more intense than I thought it would be; however, I am pleased with the outcome.

Each obstacle was frustrating, but not anything that couldn’t be overcome. I live out of state and was unable to physically come into the EDGE center, yet I was able to call and counsel with EDGE tutors via the phone. Each time they were supportive and helpful in aiding me in finding solutions to my challenges.

Benefits to Others:

This project benefited other members of my family. My husband is grateful for less paper clutter around the house. With the photos being more easily accessible due to their digital nature, my children have enjoyed looking through them and are doing so more regularly. They love the photobook and I am easily able to print copies for each of them, as well as any other family members who are interested. I have also been able to pull hard copies of photos for other people who were pictured in them and pass those along.


Benefits to Me:

Completing this project has brought me peace of mind. I am comforted to know that these precious memories are digitized, backed up, and safe from potential disaster or theft. It has been much easier to locate photos from the past and share them with family. I have already found this helpful in searching for pictures for my oldest son’s high school graduation. Working on this project also helped to show me the immense value of my husband and the relationship we have. I was reminded of just how much we have worked through together and that we can continue to do so.

I know I am meant to be with my husband, but the steps involved in my EDGE project were a needed reminder to me of this fact. For this, I am deeply thankful.