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Archiver > GenChat > 1998-09 > 0904958503


From: <>
Subject: Re: [GenChat-L] Packrat
Date: Fri, 4 Sep 1998 21:21:43 EDT


Chatters,

What an interesting topic! Packrats---oh yes, my parents could BOTH be called
packrats. "You never know when we'll need it or want it, or maybe someone we
know will need it." YEAH, right---used to be my standard retort.

All of sudden, & I don't know when this happened exactly, a good bit of the
stuff "the packrats" had saved all of a sudden became a goldmine! I have
found obituaries & newspaper clippings that my mom had saved over the years.
They have been invaluable to me in my genealogy research. Too bad she isn't
here to clarify a few of these items (okay, a LOT of these items). Mom had a
terrific memory right to the end & I know she would be able to whip out the
answers for me---if only I had asked sooner. She was good with photos too.
She not only identified most of the people & places she took photos of, she
wrote the year & place on many of them as well. I found an old brown-toned
(sepia) photo of an old man with a long white beard---rather stern looking
fellow. I turned it over & it read "Grandfather Roddy". Now this was in my
mom's writing, so this man was my G-grandfather Roddy---Samuel Decker Roddy.
What a find!

This past July I got together with some of my cousins (my mom's niece &
nephews) & they asked me to bring along the stuff mom had saved. They were in
tears when they saw she had kept each of their school photos (they range in
age from 56--72 now). There are photos of the 1936 Johnstown, PA flood that
appeared in the newspaper & stories of Shenandoah, (Schuylkill County) PA.
They were amazed. I am in the process of copying some of these times for
various genealogical societies & for fellow researchers of those areas.

So, what I once thought was silly & junk has turned into a virtual goldmine of
memories & information. I guess it is true...we never know what treasures we
have until we lose them. Guard your treasures well.

Sally

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