H is for Heritage

Since I have never known my father, I can relate to the quote by Dick Gregory - "A man without knowledge of himself and his heritage is like a tree without roots."  It is for this reason that I want to make sure to provide my children with a more firm foundation.

I have worked sporadically on our family's genealogical tree for over twenty years (mainly my husband's side) and have found out that my family tree is lopsided and full of holes.  The research is so much fun though and I love trying to recreate our Heritage.  I have even spent time at the National Archives in Washington, D.C., however, it is easier to perform research these days with the ability to do much of it online.

Not only have I been trying to find out our family's Heritage to pass down to the kids but I try to keep up with the family photographs through scrapbooking or at least by keeping the shoeboxes of photos labeled with year, location, etc.  Have you ever sat down with your parents or grandparents with a shoebox full of photos and they cannot remember any details?  Sadly, I have - so much history and Heritage lost!

Although with the demise of 35mm film and the speed of technological advancements, future generations may sit down with each other and have to figure out how to retrieve photos out of an ancient metal box they used to call a computer.