Think – Write – Connect

“Look at this old wooden tennis racket.  I never knew Granddad played tennis!” Have you ever had the experience of going through your loved one’s keepsakes after they died or were too disoriented to answer personal questions?  People do this every day, and they regret how little they knew about their families and their lives.  Now it’s too late to talk with them.

“Oh, my gosh!  We’ve been robbed!  Did you ever fill out those insurance inventory papers our agent gave us?”  It’s sad, but true.  People’s homes are invaded every day, and valuable items are stolen.  Many have no way of documenting what was theirs, and are therefore of little help to investigators who try to locate their stolen belongings. MY RECOLLECTIONS is a company that will come to your location (usually your home) and photograph items to document them for you.  We record your stories about these items, and then produce a book that contains your information.

Our business started quite accidentally.  Not long after my father died, I looked around my own house and noted bits and pieces of furniture he had built for me.  I had told my children from time to time about his love for woodworking, but I never felt comfortable that they would remember these stories after I was no longer here.

I had an idea.  With my digital camera, I took pictures of several items in my home that have sentimental value to me.  After downloading these pictures onto my computer, I wrote a brief description of each one, then printed my pages and put them in plastic sleeves to compile a notebook.  I showed this booklet to my children, then filed it with trust records in my credenza.

What a relief I felt at having documented these things that mean so much to me!  I have a plate that once was part of the set of dishes my maternal Grandmother started housekeeping with.  I have a bookcase that touches five generations of my father’s family.  It might sell for $10 at a garage sale, but knowing that our grandfather several times removed made it from a tree he had cut down on his farm in Indiana, makes it special to our family.

In talking with my son about my notebook one day, we wondered if we could offer a similar service to others.  He has studied photography and owns a professional grade camera that could be put to good use.  I am a retired English teacher with writing skills that are getting rusted.  Why not put our talents to work and open a business in which we can both contribute our expertise?  So, MY RECOLLECTIONS was born.

Visit our website at www.my-recollections.com and let us be of service to you or someone you know.