You are to be complimented to fitting into them for so long too. I hate to think what is in the back of my closet.

here's another susan that wears clothes from 1994 and earlier, lol...until it gets hole it gets worn..

know about stuff..was going thru my bedside table (was mother's) and here were a bunch of papers..then a small travel diary that mentioned 2 trips...i did toss it, though...it just wasn't anything the kids would be interested in...had a worse time with a plastic coaster..now how silly is that??

I suggest that you bundle your letters by date. A future family genealogist would love to have these because he/she can gleam an understanding of conditions and there will be some clues about data. You could toss any that do not add anything to the family history. Keep all letters that mention events such as marriages, births, deaths, disagreements, mentions of historical events, etc. Keep letters containing indentified photos. Having an example of a relative's handwriting and signature is valuable to the family historian.

Once you have organized these letters, you have one problem left: who to pass these to. Pass these to the individual who will handle these with care.

I ran across all kinds of memorabilia when I packed my stuff up. I made four piles: One for Jerry, one for each of the girls and one for trash.

My trash pile was the biggest, and then I realized, Jerry added everything to that pile.

I read a letter my step mother wrote me, when it got to the point that she needed care, and could no longer care for my dad. She had a real tough time. To bad, my brother never appreciated that.

Moni

I still have some clothes I wore in the sixties in my closet. Only dresses and tops, my bottom has -uhh- "spread" since then. I still have a Tent Dress I wore in high school. And an embroidered blouse from my "hippe" clothes days.

People always tell me to scan memorabilia into the computer and throw away the actual paper. I think that's a good idea until I remember how storage methods have changed. Who is to say that computers of the future will be able to read a DVD or a flash drive? Instead, I bought a nice acid-free box. I figure that I can always find room to store one box.

I thought of that, forhgtv, but for some things like handwritten letters from beloved family members, I'd like to have the paper in my hand.

But--I'm looking at one of those Pan Digital scanners on Amazon to scan some pictures. DS is wondering if the quality of scanned pics would be good enough--it's 600 dpi. What do you think? The scanner has many positive reviews.

Here is a link that might be useful: Amazon Pan Digital

I don't have any memorabilia left. I gave my sons their baby and childhood things I had kept. Gave my husband's kids his photos, his company badges 5 yr, 10 yr etc. with their wee rubies and diamonds. A lot of things they would cherish. If I should die suddenly, they would probably not get those things.

I wouldn't throw away a single letter!

Keep them for future generations.

Gosh I haven't posted to this forum in ages. Anyway I LOVE looking through old pictures and reading old letters belonging to my grandparents. I just read somewhere the other day that schools are thinking about doing away with teaching cursive writing. How will the next generation read these old letters and the like if they don't know cursive?

I'm so sentimental that I cry when I go through that stuff, especially letters from my parents. Yesterday I was going through mom's recipe box and found a recipe she'd written on the back of a bank deposit slip and several written on old envelopes. So, of course, I cried like a baby. I miss them so much!

My son (14) struggles reading/writing cursive. It bothers me so much. I've always stressed the importance of neat, legible handwriting. I've said "someday you'll have a teacher that will mark everything wrong because it is too difficult to read". That has never happened. I also tell them that the quality of their work also directly represents them. They don't really care. Makes me crazy.

The few things I have with my grandparents writing are some of my most prized possessions. My grandfather had beautiful handwriting. My grandmother (other side) was an artist. Her handwriting was very unique (hard to read). She was also a nurse and often wrote with medical
Symbols. I've become the translator for anyone trying to read something of hers.

My advice to anyone saving pictures is to PLEASE date them and write who is in the pictures. Eventually there won't be anyone to ask when you don't know who the picture's of.

Susan, I'm glad you saved the letters.

I don't know what "pan digital" means, but you might be better off with something like this one. Check out the specs.....in addition to better resolution, it might have automatic features that would be helpful with restoring old photos. I have an older Canoscan, and love it. I use it to scan old photos and negatives.

I have a few old letters I saved. Cards from my Godmother When I was in high school and college. Letters from old boyfriends, etc. Considering my Mom died this past January 15, I wished I'd saved everything she ever sent me. I think I have her recipes for fried chicken and apple crisp somewhere.

Sad to say, my grandparents lost their house in a fire many years ago when DH and I were first married. If we could only go back!!! I would have gone to some of the out buildings on the ranch and taken so much as I was really close to Grandma and Grandpa. My mom never wanted anything in the past and now I realize that much of my Dad's stuff just went poof! as she did not like any of his relatives. I know he took a ton of pictures and did write everything down. All gone to who knows where.
I did find out that my real Grandpa on my dad's side passed away just a few miles where we use to live in Inglewood CA. He was always good to me. I have a miniature bottle collection that I really don't know what to do with it. No place to put it in my house, just stored in boxes.
It is too bad that a bunch of us cannot get together and trade stuff!!
Have a great day and enjoy the memories of the past.
Marie

I have a pair of pants at home, part of a suit that was custom made for me in Hong Kong ...

... in 1957.

Can still get into them ... but it gets a bit difficult to breathe: not good for running a race!

But ... I could only run for about a hundred yards, anyway.

ole joyful

Susan, do you just scan one item at a time with that scanner? Is that what you call a "flat bed?" How long does it take to do a snapshot, for example? I do want something which does 8x10's because I have some of those.
I'll definitely consider this scanner and it's not too much more than the Pan Digital.

Patti43--that's exactly what was going on with me last night--sadness. I posted a couple funny things, but really my heart was aching for my dear parents, for the years that have flown, the happy times, the sad times...just reminiscing. It's still hanging on to me a little today.

Joyful, I take it you did not get pants for your birthday. Awwwww..... What you need is a good pair of blue jeans!! And maybe some long johns to go under.

Dani, I'm sorry for your son's troubles. Keep encouraging him. Maybe he needs more practice--write a row of 12 a's then 12 b's. But I doubt a 14 year old would go along with that scheme! LOL! Does he print well? Neither of my kids made a good transition from printing to cursive, and they are both doing fine.

I guess it's a flatbed--it's big, and it's flat. :-)

It takes a matter of seconds to scan a photo, and yes, I do one at a time. It's capable of scanning multiple (batches) negatives and slides, but I haven't tried that. The bed on mine could handle 8x10's easily. The plate looks like it might be 11x14.

You've probably seen some of the pictures I've scanned with it. I'll post one below. I've had large prints made from some of the digital images, and they're gorgeous.

I have a post card that was sent to my grandmother by a soldier leaving for France in 1916 or 17. She was a teen(born in 1900.

Since she married my grandfather in 1920, and the name is not familiar at all...I often wonder who he was and what happened to him.

My family saves everything.

One of the things we discovered in mom's house when she died was a box full of old cards dating back to when her and dad were first married. Luckily I was there when older brother and sister discovered it or they would have thrown them out! Amongst those cards was a smaller box containing --- two hand knitted baby outfits of mine! They are a bit moth eaten and I don't what I'm going to do with them, but I still have them and the cards.

Socks: I wouldn't use any machine that "runs through" multiples of photos or papers. (I don't even know if there are machines like that.) You just don't want to risk something jamming and ripping or not being able to get it out without damage.

Another thing you might want to consider: Framing a (copy of) an interesting letter! That way you can enjoy it instead of having it stored away for someone else.

On the Nate Berkus show last week, there was a woman who had a precious family letter that she wanted to frame but didn't know how to have both the front and back visible. (Doesn't seem like an impossible mission, but...) Nate copied the letter and used a 3-part hinged frame (which is easily made, too, by finding the wood "floating" frames and screwing in tiny hinges.

One of my favorite framed family pictures in my home is a small snapshot of my Dad when he was in the Army overseas. On the back, he wrote something humorous. I had both the front and back professionally copied and framed them (in the same frame) side by side.

Yes, I agree--the handwriting makes memorabilia so much more heart-grabbing!

Susan--sorry if I'm pestering you. I remember when you posted that photo before--who could forget it? Quite funny! I wonder if it was posed or the dear lady was really as exhausted as she looks.

The Canon scanner has hundreds of positive reviews, but most everyone is referring to scanning slides, and I have no slides. I would be scanning photos and maybe a few letters and documents. It works equally well for those too?

Size is a bit of a problem, and that's what I liked about that smaller scanner. But the quality of the output for the Canon seems far superior to the Pan Digital. Does the scanner have to be located by the computer, or could it be somewhere else?

You're not pestering me at all--I don't often get a chance to sound smart! :-)

I'm pretty sure the photo was posed. My father loved to do stuff like that.

A scanner like this one would absolutely do a good job with photos. I think prints aren't mentioned much in the description or in reviews because it's understood that the scanner is fine for them. Its ability with slides and negatives is the big plus.

The description says this, which might interest you:

Enhance old photos: Built-in retouching technology removes much of the dust and scratches on original prints, improving image quality.

I've scanned documents on mine, and turned them into PDF files. It's easy.

As far as I know the scanner must make a wired connection to the computer, so it would have to be in close enough proximity to do that.

Let us know what you decide. If you think of any more questions, ask away!

OK, thanks very much. I'll have to think about it a while, decide if I'll use it enough, where to put, etc. Seems to be an excellent scanner.

Run that by me again, please.

You scan 'em on to a hard drive ...

... and then the hard drive crashes ...

... becomes obsolete (within, what ... 3 or 4 years) - and how do you transfer the stuff on to the new machine?

And how long does it last?

I can see the paper (as long as my eyes function) ...

but I can't see the stuff in the computer, if the machinery doesn't work right.

ole joyful

Joyful, if you have any old faded color snapshots hanging around, you'll understand what I mean when I say it takes more than functioning eyes to see them.

Today's prints last a lot longer, and the b&w prints my dad made in his darkroom have held up exceptionally well, but paper is perishable. So is everything else, but it's really not that big a deal to store digital images in a computer, in an external drive, or online. And it's easy transfer them to a new computer.

Susan--I have wondered about the quality of photo prints one can do on a home photo printer on photo paper. Do you think they last as long as prints done by a professional company like Kodak?

Do you think they last as long as prints done by a professional company like Kodak?

Yes, they can. The quality of ink has a lot to do with it. A couple of years ago I considered getting a good printer for my dad's photos. At the time I was more interested in greyscale than color, but I recall seeing the different inks discussed, some of which are expected to last 200 years. (I don't know how they can test this out.....) I imagine the paper quality is a factor, too, but it's easy enough to get good photo paper.

I didn't want to sink $700-800 into a new printer, so I elected to go with pro prints (Mpix.com and Adoramapix.com) for my enlargements.

Socks, he prints really small. I think he must hold his pencil really tight. His older brother used to do the same thing, but his work has gotten neater since he's been in High School.
So much of their "writing" is done on the computer now. They just aren't required to have neat handwriting. Since no one writes in cursive, he rarely has to read it.
I try to work with him but he thinks he's being picked on. I need a more subtle approach with this child.

My best story about tobacco. I remember when I was in college, we had a vending machine that sold cigs. The cost was 35 cents a pack. The cost kept going up. It got to 75 cents by the time I was a senior. One girl, a smoker, said "When the price gets to a dollar a pack, I'm quitting!" I hope she kept her word. But what a bargain in those days! (circa 1970).

Dani, when it comes to teenagers, the last thing you want to do at this point is alienate them from you and break down the communications lines. If he's resisting you, my advice would be to back off fast, because really how important is handwriting? Morals, manners, integrity are what we want. Right? Don't sweat the small stuff or they won't be listening when the big stuff comes up. Just my 2 cents.

PS Maybe he wants to be a doctor! LOL!