Our All-Time Favorite Reading Books

Awhile back, one of my first cousins was looking to purchase a book for her nephew for Christmas. She wanted to give him a book that was popular with her age group and asked for our advice.  We thought her suggestion was too mature for his age and level of understanding, so we told her of several other books that we thought would be more appropriate.  That's when I decided to compile a list of our all-time favorite chapter books and I'm finally getting around to it. 😄

(Pssst! Many of them have been made into audio books and movies too. A book and the corresponding CD or DVD  would make an excellent birthday or holiday gift. They can listen to, read and/or watch and compare the story lines. And I was able to find a few free e-books for your I-Pad, Kindle, Lap-Top, Nook, or Smart Phone. They are linked in. Our favorite bookstore is Half-Price Books. We discovered it during our homeschooling days. We also visit our local library and thrift stores for books.)

Author - Book Title(s).
(Many of the books may be appropriate for both boys and girls.)

for boys 

1. Bender, Esther  - Thank God for Rocks.
2. Bowen, Robert Sidney  - Dave Dawson (book series); Dave Dawson on Guadalcanal (audio)
3. Burgess, Thornton W. - The Adventures of Bob White (audio); The Adventures of Buster Bear (audio); The Adventures of Bobby Coon (audio); The Adventures of Chatterer the Red Squirrel (audio); The Adventures of Danny Meadow Mouse (audio); The Adventures of Grandfather Frog (audio); The Adventures of Jerry Muskrat (audio); The Adventures of Johnny Chuck (audio); The Adventures of Lightfoot the Deer (audio);  The Adventures of Mr Mocker (audio); The Adventures of Old Man Coyote (audio); The Adventures of Paddy Beaver (audio); Adventures of Peter Cottontail (audio); The Adventures of Sammy Jay (audio); The Adventures of Prickly Porky (audio); The Adventures of Unc' Billy Possum (audio);  The Adventures of Poor Mrs Quack (audio); The Adventures of Reddy Fox (audio); The Adventures of Jimmy Skunk (audio); The Adventures of Old Mr. Toad (audio);  Bowser the Hound (audio);  The Burgess Animal Book for Children (audio); The Burgess Bird Book for Children (audio); Blacky the Crow (audio); Buster Bear's Twins (audio); Happy Jack (audio); How Old Mr. Crow Lost His Double Tongue (audio);  How Old King Eagle Won His White Head (audio); How Old Mr. Mink Taught Himself to Swim (audio); Mother West Wind's Animal Friends (audio); Mother West Wind's Children (audio); Mother West Wind "How" Stories (audio); Mother West Wind When Stories (audio);  Mother West Wind 'Where' Stories (audio); Mother West Wind 'Why' Stories (audio);  Old Mother West Wind (audio); Mrs. Peter Rabbit (audio); Old Granny Fox (audio); Tommy and the Wishing Stone (audio);  Whitefoot the Wood Mouse (audio); Why Hooty the Owl Does Not Play On the Green Meadow (audio)
4. Burroughs, Edgar Rice  - Moon Maid (audio); The Princess of Mars (audio), (book); Son of Tarzan (audio);  Tarzan (book); Tarzan and the Jewels of Opar (audio); Tarzan the Terrible (audio); The Land that Time Forgot (audio); 
5. Chesterton, G. K.  - The Wisdom of Father Brown (audio)
6. Cooper, James Fenimore - The Last of the Mohicans (book)
7. Defoe, Daniel  - Robinson Crusoe (audio)
8. Dickens, Charles - A Christmas Carol (video); Oliver Twist [note: video may be disturbing for young children] (video), 
9. Dixon, Franklin W. - the Hardy Boys (mystery series). (video)
10. Douglas, Lloyd C.  - The Robe (book), (video clip)
11. Doyle, Sir Arthur Conan - The Lost World (book); Sherlock Holmes
12. Dumas, Alexandre - The Count of Monte Cristo (audio), (book) ;  The Three Musketeers (audio)
13. ENGLISH FAIRY TALES - Jack & the Beanstalk (video); 
14. Fleming, Ian - Chitty, Chitty, Bang, Bang 
15. Field, Eugene = The Poems of Eugene Field (book)
16. George, Jean Craighead - My Side of the Mountain
17. Gipson, Fred  - Old Yeller
18. Grahame, Kenneth - The Wind in the Willows (audio), (book) 
19. God - The Holy Bible (book), (audio)
20. Guest, Edgar Albert - Just Folks (book)
21. Haggard, H. Rider  - King Solomon's Mine (book), (audio), (video)
22. Hamner, Jr., Earl  - Spencer's Mountain,  The (Walton's) Homecoming: A Christmas Story (video)
23. Herriot, James (pen name for James Alfred Wight) - All Creatures Great and Small (series); Dog Stories; 
24. Hope, Laura Lee - The Bobbsey Twins (book); The Bobbsey Twins in the Country (audio); The Bobbsey Twins on the Deep Blue Sea (audio); The Bobbsey Twins at the Seashore (audio); Merry Days Indoors and Out (audio); 
25. Lawhead, Stephen R. - the Pendragon Cycle (series)
26. Lewis, C.S.  - The Chronicles of Narnia (series). 
27. London, Jack - The Call of the Wild (audio), (book) (video); Sea Wolf (audio); White Fang (audio); 
28. Kipling, Rudyard  - The Jungle Book (audio)
29. Malory, Sir Thomas  - Le Morte Darthur: King Arthur & His Round Table (book)
30. Marzollo, Jean  - I Spy: A Book of Picture Riddles
31. McSpadden, J. Walker - Robin Hood (audio)
32. Munsch, Robert - Love You Forever.
33. Lofting, Hugh - The Voyages of Dr. Dolittle (audio).
34. Nesbit, E.  - The Railway Children (audio)
35. O'Dell, Scott - Island of the Blue Dolphins
36. Pyle, Howard  - Robin Hood (book)
37. Rawls, Wilson  - Where the Red Fern Grows
38. Sayers, Dorothy - Lord Peter Wimsey (adult mystery series) (book)
39. Scott, Sir Walter - Ivanhoe (audio), (book) 
40. Sheldon, Charles M. - In His Steps (book), (video-1) (video-2) (video-3)
41. Stevenson, Robert Louis (some of his writings are on the dark side, but these are okay) - A Child's Garden of Verses (book);  The Black Arrow (audio);  Treasure Island (audio);  
42. Swift, Jonathan - Gulliver's Travels (book)
43. Tolkien, John Ronald Reuel  - The Hobbit; The Lord of the Rings (the movie is too intense for little ones)
44. Travers, Pamela Lyndon  - Mary Poppins
45. Twain, Mark (Clemens, Samuel) - A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (audio); Huckleberry Finn (audio), (video), The Prince and the Pauper, Tom Sawyer (audio), 
46. Verne, Jules - 20,000 Leagues Under the Seas (audio); Journey to the Center of the Earth (book) 
47. Wallace, Lewis - Ben Hur (book)
48. Warner, Gertrude Chandler  - The Boxcar Children (audio)
49. White, E. B. - Charlotte's Web; Stuart Little.
50. Wright, Harold Bell - The Shepherd of the Hills (book); 
51. Wyss, Johann David - Swiss Family Robinson  (audio), (book)

for girls

Beautiful Girlhood by Mabel Hale. 

1. Alcott, Louisa May  - Eight Cousins (audio); Jack and Jill (audio); Little Men (book); Little Women (audio), (book), (video);  Rose in Bloom (audio), (audio 2); Spinning Wheel Stories (audio)
2. Barnes, Emilie - Sharing a Cup of Kindness with Treasured Friends, The Spirit of Loveliness: Bringing Beauty, Creativity, and Order to Your Life; If Teacups Could Talk: 
3. Brink, Carol Ryrie  - Caddie Woodlawn; The Pink Motel
4. Brown, Ruth Alberta  - At the Little Brown House (book); The Lilac Lady
5. Buck, Pearl S. - The Good Earth.
6. Burnett, Frances Hodgson  - A Little Princess (audio), (book), (video);  Little Lord Fauntleroy (audio),  (book); The Secret Garden (audio), (book); The Shuttle (audio)
7. Childs, Laura =  Cackleberry Club; Scrapbook; Tea (adult cozy mystery series)
8. Finley, Martha - Elsie Dinsmore (book series); Elsie's Children (audio); 
9. Field, Rachel -- Hitty, Her First Hundred Years.
10. Frank, Anne - The Diary of a Young Girl (video)
11. Gates, Doris - The Blue Willow
12. God - The Holy Bible (book)
13. Hale, Mabel - Beautiful Girlhood (audio) 
14. Hill, Grace Livingston - (abt. 100 novels); The Enchanted Barn (audio); The Girl from Montana (audio)
15. Keene, Carolyn  - Dana (mystery series); Nancy Drew (mystery series)
16. Keller, Helen - The Story of My Life (book)
17. Landon, Margaret  - Anna and the King of Siam (video clip; The King and I); Never Dies the Dream
18. Lindgren, Astrid - Pippi Longstocking.
19. MacLachlan, Patricia  - Sarah, Plain and Tall (video)
20. Marshall, Catherine - Christy; Julie
21. Montgomery, Lucy Maud  - Anne of Avonlea (audio); Anne of Green Gables  (audio), (book); Anne's House of Dreams (audio);  Anne of the Island (audio); Emily of the New Moon; Further Chronicles of Avonlea (audio);  Jane of Lantern Hill; Rainbow Valley (audio); 
22. Norton, Mary  - The Borrowers (series)
23. Oke, Janette  - Love Comes Softly (series);
24. Page, Patti  - Once Upon a Dream; This is My Song: A Memoir. 
25. Perrault, Charles - Cinderella (book)
26. Porter, Eleanor H. - Pollyanna (audio), (video clip); Pollyanna Grows Up (audio), (book)
27. Porter, Gene Stratton - Freckles (book); Keeper of the Bees; Laddie (book), (video); The Girl of the Limberlost
28. Potter, Beatrix -  Great Big Treasury (audio);  The Tale of Peter Rabbit (book); Miss Potter (video)
29. Sewell, Anna - Black Beauty (audio), (book) 
30. Shaw, Bernard -Pygmalion (video) (My Fair Lady; Audrey Hepburn version is my favorite)
31. Sidney, Margaret  - Five Little Peppers and How They Grew (book) (video) 
32. Smith, Hannah Whitall -  The Christian's Secret of a Happy Life (audio)
33. Spyri, Johanna - Heidi  (audio), (book), (video)
34. ten Boom, Corrie - The Hiding Place; Tramp for the Lord. 
35. Tudor, Tasha - A Tale for Easter.
36. von Trapp, Maria - The Story of the Trapp Family Singers  (video); (movie: Sound of Music) (video clip)
37. Wiggin, Kate Douglas Smith - Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm. (book); Rose O' The River (audio)
38. Wilder, Laura Ingalls - Little House on the Prairie (series). 
39. Williams, Margary - The Velveteen Rabbit (audio)

MORE:

YouTube Audio Book Playlist. 

Heirlooms: Little Mementos of Our Ancestors

I've been reading a book for my personal summer reading program called "Gratitude: Affirming One Another Through Stories." By Len Froyen. 2013. I was inspired to compile a list of heirlooms we have by a couple of sentences in a chapter: "Gratitude inspires one generations contributions to the next." and "Gratitude preserves the indispensable heritage of each generation."

Reminds me of my favorite Bible verse found in Proverbs 24:3,4 

By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established; through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures." 

Both of us have a wealth of cards, letters, newspaper clippings, photos and recipes that have been shared with us and they are scattered throughout this blog. Be sure to come back to see this list as it is sure to grow longer, for when we sat down to compile a list of our treasures, things that we had forgotten about kept coming to mind. Why just today, my husband dug down in a cabinet to retrieve something of his dad's! smile! 

Here are some of HIS heirlooms:

Ishmael Rush's Bolo Tie clasp he purchased while  on vacation to South Dakota. 

Ishmael Rush's Cuff Links. 

Marie Rush's Red Willow Plate. It hung in her farmhouse kitchen for years and she gave it to me when she learned I loved the novel "Blue Willow" by Doris Gates.  Both Marie and I shared a love of reading. 📚

Norman Rush's toy car. 

Norman Rush's candlestick that he made in high school shop class. It is dated 1950. 

Bertha Carrender's cookie jar. 

And here are some of HER heirlooms:

Tacy Ullom's graniteware cup. Tacy cooked in her husband's inn before and after marriage in Coffeyville, Kansas and in Streator, Illinois before moving out to Postle in the panhandle of Oklahoma to settle.

Gladys O'Neal's print of the Good Shepherd given to her by her Sunday School class. It is from a painting by Warner E. Sallman.

Gladys O'Neal also had a framed copy of this print which was hanging in one of her bedrooms. She gave it to our son. It is called "The Pilot." Also by Warner E. Sallman. 

Gladys Esther (White) O'Neal worked on her genealogy for 28 years, finally publishing it in 1983. Each one of her children and grandchildren received a copy. There are no more copies and Vera Lane holds the copyright. 

Gladys O'Neal had a little ceramic shop out in her garage. Many of the ceramic pieces was used in the wedding cakes she made for the young couples in the area and as VBS crafts. She took some china painting classes and this is one of the plates she painted. I always thought this plate was lovely, so it came to me upon her death as she had a little note taped to the back of the plate that I was to have it.  

Beautiful Girlhood by Mabel Hale.

Gladys O'Neal received this book for Christmas from her parents, Papa and Mama White when she was a girl. 

Russell Griffith's book "The Little Brown Suitcase" is at the bottom of this post. 

Maurine Ullom's Household Searchlight cookbook that she traded a chicken for.

Maurine Ullom's lamp. It was moved from Maurine and John's 2 story old farmhouse to their new ranch house that John had built in the 1960s on their Postle, Oklahoma farm.

Maurine Ullom's Dutch couple. 

Maurine Ullom's small crockery pitcher. She had a love for dolls and miniatures and she used it for toothpicks. 

We visited Hallie Maple at her 2-story home up in Stanberry, MO several times where she gave me all of her genealogy notes for the Bailey and Morris families and gave me this old doll. She made the dress herself as it was to grace her made bed as a bed doll.  According to the internet, classic boudoir dolls were meant for decoration rather than play and was popular during the 1920s to 1940s. 

Robert O'Neal's 2 year old summer suit he wore for a photo along with long hose that went up over his knees and high top, tie-on oxford shoes. Imagine wrestling a squirmy kid in and out of this outfit. 😁

Little Robert, when about two or three years old, played with these little dolls. As worn as the paint is on the female doll, I'd say his three siblings played with them too! 😄

Lavon Robertson purchased a pair of these lamps as a gift for her mother. They sat on the vanity in the guest bedroom for many years.

Melba Robertson gave Lavon this perfume bottle which sat on her dresser until Lavon's passing. 

Mom's repainted porch glider.

Article written and updated by : Dolores J. Rush. 

Fabric Records

Many ladies got together in quilting bee parties to catch up on the news of the neighborhood while they stitched a quilt top with batting and a backing together. Sometimes the quilts were for the hostess' home or as a gift for a bride and groom, an upcoming baby shower, or as a commemorative memory quilt for a pastor leaving for new fields or somebody moving away. Sometimes the ladies would embroider their signature and the date on a solid  square and sew it into a patterned patchwork block to be donated to a group project and sewn together with others' blocks to make a signature friendship quilt.

 

My mother dug around in her stash of keepsakes awhile back and found this signed bath towel.  She received it at a baby shower the ladies at church gave her when I was about to make my  appearance. While not paper, it is an embroidered record of members of mom's church at the time, some of whom have passed on to their reward in heaven such as Edna Thimes. 

I was able to decipher most of the names embroidered on the towel and they are: Bonnie Alt, Mrs. Alt, Dorothy E., Amy Fagan, Lucille Harvey, Sarah Hite, Mrs. Leicht, Bertie Loomis, Mary Rapsilber, Frances Olson, Kathleen Sager, Edna Thimes, & Jan Tins. They were the Women of the Church of God (Anderson, IN) who attended the First Church of God in Kansas City, Wyandotte County, Kansas during the 1950's. 

The purpose of this article is to tell you about FAN research. I search for the FAN's of my ancestors. FAN's are friends, associates and neighbors, so I research not only my ancestors, but also their FAN's, hoping to connect the dots (primary doc'uments) between them. You can find FAN's everywhere -- in autograph books and school yearbooks, in census records (look at the people above and below your ancestors' as the people were often neighbors), in their church fundraising cookbook, membership roster, minutes, and telephone directory, from signed greeting cards and postcards,  in history books that mention Old Settlers Club and other social groups like that, sometimes in land records if remaining neighbors purchased their land, lockets containing hair,  paintings or photographs, in letters, or  marriage records, in newspaper articles such as auction ads or who visited whom, on cross-stitched samplers to signed quilts, scrapbooks, and towels.  Hope your ancestors saved such mementoes of their FAN's, because they now become your treasured heirlooms of their friends, associates, and neighbors. Any record, fabric or paper, helps construct your ancestor's story. 

More to Read: 

1. Family Crafting
2. Edna Thimes' biography

3. Quilting in America

4. Antique Quilt History

Written by Dolores J. Rush, Updated: 10/25/2019

Treasured Memories

Jesus, sing along with me, "Precious Memories, how they linger . . ."

Jesus, do you remember where you slept when you were a boy and later as a man? Can you picture it in your mind, remember all the details of that place?  The sights, the sounds, the smells, the feel of your blankets and lumps where you lay? 

I went to my grandmother's last night as I lay in my bed at home, nestled under a quilt grandma Maurine made for my high school graduation.

My inner eye and I roamed around in my grandmother's basement where we slept as kids during our summer break from school (we sometimes stayed a month during our three month break) and during our Christmas break (two weeks) and then upstairs in her second bedroom when I was sixteen. Do you remember that Jesus? I felt so grown up as I was allowed to visit my grandparents by myself and to travel to Dodge City, Kansas by train where they picked me up. Thank you for being with me, protecting me along the way. My mother never said anything, but I'm sure she was anxious until I made it there and they assured her I was okay when we called her from their house. I was excited and homesick all at the same time.

I miss grandma and Papa. Jesus, do you remember when I called him that? He was Papa until I think I was in high school and felt I was too old for such a childish name for him. I miss being able to visit them, but last night, I pushed past my emotions and looked around the rooms in my memory while I lay snugly under my quilt.

Will you come along with me as I remember grandma's basement? It was a wide open space, except for where the stairs came down into the third end of the room.  Grandma had grandpa build a little storage room under the stairs and shelves on the left side of the stair wall for her pretties. She would rotate them as she got tired of looking at them or when the seasons or holidays changed. On the right side of the stairs there were the white metal cupboards they removed from the kitchen in the old house before it was sold and moved into town.

Grandma told me they began housekeeping in a 2-room house, which was still standing the last time I was down at the farm, then they purchased a two story house in Elkhart, Kansas and moved it to their farm in the 1940s. On the plains of the Oklahoma panhandle and southwestern Kansas where wood for building was scarce, my mom said it was a common practice to remove whole buildings to a new site. After 20 years of living in that house, Grandpa decided to have a 2-bedroom ranch house built over a basement in 1962-63, thinking it would be easier for Grandma to keep house. 

Do you remember Jesus, that Grandma loved that old house as much I did? I don't know why she loved it, but I did because it was full of interesting nooks and crannies. It had a lot of character. 

As I lay in bed, I swept my mind's eye around the room, feeling cozy and loved under my quilt. Beside me a few feet away, was Grandpa's office desk and chair. We kids loved that chair, do you remember why Jesus? We loved to sit in that wooden arts and crafts chair and spin each other just for the fun of it until mom would yell down the stairs and chase us out-of-doors to play. On the left side of Grandpa's desk was a bookcase where he kept his farm books mostly. After awhile, Grandpa brought home a huge metal safe to keep their photos and accounting books in. It was on the wall on the right side of the desk.

Remember the old living room furniture Grandma brought over from the old house – her scratchy old beige sofa, a braided area rug, an old blanket trunk, an old wooden kitchen chair with the black vinyl covered seat that wasn't fastened down and a end table arranged in a circle? In the corner, sat her old round oak dining room table. I loved that hefty pedestal table on huge claw feet and rollers as it could be pushed out from the wall a little if needed so all of us kids could crowd around (there was four of us and usually two or more cousins) to play games on it. Often times, when it was rainy or a blizzard blew in, we would play "house" down there. It was cool down there in the summer and warm in the winter. 

Then there was the three double iron beds that we each slept in. One was mom's squeaky bed from when she was a girl. My sisters usually claimed that one, but my brother refused to sleep with me after he said I kicked him out of bed several times in a row in my sleep. Jesus, knowing my brother, he was probably being onery to me and I kicked him out in self-defense, but since I was asleep, I don't remember it. Jesus, did you have any pesky little brothers? 

I remember the way the basement smelled, dusty. None of the basement walls or the floor were painted or sealed, so when we left, Grandma would cover the beds with plastic sheeting because that fine Oklahoma dirt would sift in through the basement windows, two on each wall whenever a storm would stir up.

Jesus, I felt so grown up as I lay in the upstairs bed in between the crisp white sheets where my parents usually slept when we came down during the Christmas holidays. Dad would take his two-week vacation time then and we would drive to our grandparents, usually during the night so that we kids slept on the way down in the back of the station wagon that mom and dad made up into a bed. Two at the top of the mattress and two at the bottom, with our legs and stocking feet meeting somewhere in the middle under the quilt. Sometimes I would just lay there, looking up at your beautiful night sky as the car rolled down the highway (eight hours one way). The sky didn't change much, but lower down, the telephone poles would flash by, one after the other. Thank you, Jesus, for that conjunction of Mars and Jupiter. There was much speculation that this was the star the wise men saw that year. Thank you for that precious memory.

Jesus, remember that new oak bedroom set that Grandma purchased in town when she moved into the new house for the second bedroom? The double bed was stationed under an aluminum drapery-framed window. Instead of opening from the bottom as our windows at home did, these slid open from the side. They were a wonder. My grandparents had air-conditioning, but sometimes they would shut it off during the night and open the windows to let in the fresh night-time breezes through the screen. Their air was dry, not humid like where we lived. The windows were shut before the heat of the day began. 

The walls were painted white and the trim around the windows and doors were stained oak to match the bedroom furniture. Opposite the bed on the right side, was another window that looked toward the back of the house where the cement patio was. I always wanted a covered concrete patio like theirs. Their back door was constantly in use, unlike the formal front door.  Thank you, Jesus, for providing a home for my family with a small covered concrete porch.

Across the room, at the end of the bed, was the clothes closet and the exit door to the hallway. There was a beige carpet on the floor that led out to the hallway. And, facing me, as I curled up in the bed, was the oak bureau with mirror. As a good hostess, grandma kept two drawers empty so visitors would have some place to stash their stuff and a closet full of hangers. I can remember waking up at the crack of dawn and watching the sun come up, sometimes falling back to sleep until I heard my grandparents stirring in their bedroom. Once, grandpa, laughing, came to shake me awake. I guess I was talking in my sleep about horses! Jesus, the things I did in my sleep! I was rather embarrassed! LOL! Jesus, did you do anything funny in your sleep?

Jesus, I want to tell you  thank you for allowing me to have a relationship with my grandparents. Many of my friend's grandparents lived too far away or some had died before they were born, so they didn't know what they were missing. Grandma Maurine and I were close like this (holding two fingers up side by side); she was my best bud and a kindred spirit. All through my growing up years we corresponded by letter throughout the year.

Do you remember, Jesus, when my grandparents asked you to come into their hearts, to wash them whiter than snow? I bet your angels were rejoicing in heaven the day they did. 

Grandma Maurine met Papa at a camp-meeting in Topeka, KS. I don't recall how my paternal grandmother met my grandfather, but they were married in a pastor's home before Sunday School began. I expect that's why I'm a believer today, because they influenced my parents and thus me to follow Christ.

Remember Timothy, Jesus? He had a godly grandmother too. It says so in 2 Timothy 1:5 --

"I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also."

Paul told him to guard the good deposit, all the good reading from the scriptures he received from his grandmother and his mother, from infancy up, and Paul's discipleship in evangelism.

I thank you Jesus, for the treasured memories of my grandparents. See you in heaven, Grandma Maurine and Papa John. Until then. . .

More to Read:

Memories of our Grandparents and Their Farms

Findagrave, # 15079870 and 15079845

Adding in Names, Dates, and Places to Your Scans

I recently read somewhere that when a person dies, a whole library is lost too. Think of all the knowledge and experience the person had acquired during their lifetime. Did they pass on any wisdom to  the next generation, including knowledge of their family tree? Hope so.  

Speaking of the library you carry around in your head,  some things will out-live you, so make sure you pass on what you know about your family. Write down and share some of the best stories of you and your family, things you would be happy for your descendants and extended family to know. Along with that should be paper copies of photographs with labels as to who is in the photo, when it was taken, and where it was taken.

"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things." ~ Philippians 4:8

My husband and I enjoy adding to our knowledge of history by attending events at local historical society museums and genealogical libraries. At one such lecture, the speaker, David Jackson, said we should make paper copies of all our history to preserve it as technology changes way too fast. As an example, he asked everyone in the audience if anyone remembered reel-to-reel audio tapes, 8-tracks or VHS video's and nearly all the mature set raised their hands, while most of the youngsters only looked puzzled. Yeah!

However, it is easier to swap information by email with distant relatives and scanned photographs through attachments in email. Before you share, consider adding in names (take care to spell names correctly) and dates to photographs, either with a permanent blue photograph pencil (most hobby stores carry these in the scrapbook or photograph department) before you scan OR digitally enhance  the scan afterwards by using the Paint or photograph editing program that came with your Windows computer package. You can also use Photoshop or any other photograph editing program, but I can't tell you about how to use those other programs as I self-taught myself to use the Windows Paint program that came with my computer and I am happy to share what I know. Be sure to preserve your original photos in acid-free document sleeves, photograph albums  and/or boxes. DO NOT put them in those cheap magnet albums as the "protective" plastic attached to the pages off-gass and will fade your photos. Ask me how I know this! 😒

This is what the Paint program looks like open. Click on photo to enlarge.

1. To import a scan into the program, click on  "File" and "Open" on the left-hand side of the screen. Select a scan from  "File Explorer > This PC > Picture > Folder"  saved on your computer's hard drive.  Play around with your Paint program. Push buttons and figure out what they do. That's how I learned.

2. You may use the "select" button to crop or delete the scanner bed from the sides of your photographs. You can also resize photographs or rotate them around here also. 

TIP: Create a new photograph from the original by clicking on "File", scroll down to "Save As", find the folder you want to save it in, in "Pictures" on your computer and renaming it before editing. When I save ancestor's photos, I usually name them first with their surname (last name), then a dash or dot - and next, the proper name (first name) and a year date (if I know it)," so the photo at the end of this article of me, would be "Rush-Dolores" in the .PNG file extension or .JPEG format as those seem to be the most used online. 

Keep the original file as a back-up, in case something goes hay-wire in the paint program or you hit the wrong button accidently and the photo goes, poof!, off into cyber-space. Apparently that has happened to quite a few of us. 😬  After you get done with the editing of the second photograph, you'll be saving all the edits you have added to it.

3. The rest of the buttons are the "Tools," "Brushes," "Shapes," "Lines," (gauges thickness of lines), and "Colors" (I wrote an article on my craft blog here on how to figure out the digital color formulas of popular marker colors.)

4. After you have imported your scan into the paint program, click on the "Select," then scroll down to "Transparency" and click on that (I like the transparency as it allows the background to show through the additions to my photographs.) Then move over to the "A" on "Tools", click on it and then move the cursor to a point on your scan to open an "enter" box to add in the information you want (the above sample of my stick figure shows an "enter" box).   You can put the information in anywhere on the photograph, but it's best to stay away from your main focus, usually the face.

I went back up to the tools and chose the font I wanted for the name and date, then went back down to the "enter" box and began typing in the information I wanted to use on the photograph. Since my "photograph" of the stick figure's background was white, I used the contrasting color of black to type in the name and date. But you can choose another color if you so desire, by clicking on the color menu on the toolbar. 

If you decide you want a different font or alpha color, you don't have to erase the current wording (before the dotted enter box disappears). Just highlight the words and change to to the other font or color.  If you make a mistake as you type, you can hit the backwards arrow at the very top of the toolbar to delete it. 

5. If you are happy with everything on the scan, click again on "File," scroll down to "save" and you will have a lovely photograph to share with the relatives through email or at your next family reunion (printed copies). Great-aunt Jane won't have to roll her eyes upwards, tap her cheek with her finger and try to remember who you said that was in the photograph, because the person's name will be right there on the photograph in front of her.

This photograph was taken at the New Santa Fe Historical Society Trails Center after an event there.  Do you see where I placed my name?

Article written by Dolores J. Rush