October - Remembering our Ancestors & Loved Ones

Vintage Postcard

London Storefront

Grave-digging
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​Hallowe'en is just too cool a holiday to confine it to one day...or even one week.  So Meadow Sweet Grove is starting now - the fairies who reside in the Grove are busy making their costumes and getting ready for the big All Night All Hallow's Eve Dance-a-Thon!
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For us mortals, October can be a month to fondly remember our ancestors and those loved ones who may no longer be with us.  Some people know a lot about their ancestors through direct knowledge, family stories or documents and heirlooms ... while most of us have a little of that, we also need to do a bit of 'grave-digging'!  I absolutely LOVE grave-digging.  And by that I mean genealogical research.  I started this process many years ago, before the internet took hold with all its various genealogy sites and came across many amazing facts about my family.

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Genealogy find
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For example, my paternal grandfather was born in 1907 but wasn't issued a birth certificate until 1945!  Obviously, no one checked for birth certificates in those days as he had by that time:  attended school (although only for a few years), worked many jobs, got married, had children and was rated 4-F for military service during WWII due to a broken back in childhood, and a metal plate in his wrist from a construction accident.  I'm not sure what prompted his need to apply for a birth certificate in 1945 but it is certainly interesting how he was able to function until the age of 38 without one!  Just shows how different the times are now.  He was born at home, and had to get statutory declarations from his mom, aunt and a former neighbour, together with a copy of his dad's handwritten entry of the birth in the family bible, in order to have his birth registered.

Wishing you a lot of cool stories to uncover with your grave-digging too!

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​Picture Frames & Photo Albums

That favourite picture of your loved one deserves a good frame.  Most you will find these days are made of MDF - which is just not good enough!  Real wood, metal or ceramic is much more long-lasting and kinder to the environment.  Also, don't forget to print out your special photos and get them into albums.  While I know it is space efficient to store photos on the computer, it is easy to forget that crashes, viruses and obsolete technology can render those photos irretrievable.  I have heard horror stories at our local camera shop from people who have lost their photos - always print the special ones!  One of my goals this winter is to sift through our family's virtual mountain of photos and compile a physical record of the precious ones.  

Meadow Sweet Grove © Vicki Buchanan, 2016 / edited 2021

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