Treasure Trunk of Memories...Reflections by Terri

Robert B. and Louetta McKinney Fonville (Jerry's Granny and Grandpa)
 on their honeymoon in 1915 in Ft. Worth, TX.

Over the past several years I have spent quite a lot of time working with hundreds of photos stored in Granny Fonville's Treasure Trunk of Memories. Also stored in this trunk were newspaper clippings, letters and greeting cards. Unfortunately paper products give off  gases that are highly damaging to photos.  I am often amazed that these photos have survived over the decades.  Fortunately many of them were black and white photos which don't seem to deteriorate as quickly as the "new, improved" color photos.

This photo discovered in Granny Fonville's Treasure Trunk of Memories is of Jerry's 
Grandparents riding in a surrey during their "courting days" in the Spring of 1915. Unfortunately a portion of the photo has ripped off.

Luckily Aunt Helen had a better preserved copy of the same photo.

Most people tend to store their photos, slides and negatives in trunks or shoe boxes scattered throughout their home. Some people actually store these trunks in the attic, storage shed or garage which is probably the worst place for photos. 

For safe storage of your photos  I recommend using either a Creative Memories Power Sort box or a 11X14 Expandable PicFolio (slide-in) Photo album. Power Sort boxes will hold up to 1200 of your photos up to 5x7 in size.  For larger photos I recommend using  a 11x14 expandable PicFolio Photo album. These albums hold up to 40 pages and are available in both 11x14 pocket pages and pages with 5 4x6 photo pockets.  Just stop by my website: http://www.mycmsite.com/terrifonville to check out some of these photo safe organizing and storing tools.

John Franklin Fonville in 1915 photo. He was Robert B. Fonville's little brother. I am so glad they photographed him in front of the horse drawn carriage.  Little details like this help us age the photo in case our ancestors have not taken the time to identify them for us.

Photo Tip: Photos survive best in environments similar to where we flourish. Heat, light and humidity are three of the worst enemies of your photos. So protect them for future generations.

This badly deteriorating envelope sent to Great Grandpa James Dill Fonville was stamped July 5, 1893 Ardmore, Indian Territory. I would love to know what was inside the envelope since only the envelope survived to make it into Granny's Treasure Trunk of Memories. I imagine it must have been important since Granny took the time to place the envelope in the trunk.

Photo Tip: Remember you do not want your photos to be stored in the same container as newspapers, greeting cards and letters since paper products give off gasses dangerous to photos.

This photo found in Granny's Treasure Trunk of Memories is of Alma Leona McKinney
sister of Grandpa J. E. McKinney taken on July 4, 1902. As you can see it
was professionally attached to a cardboard backing which is badly deteriorating.

Recently,  I was asked what to do with photos that have been professionally attached to cardboard backings. I have tried unsuccessfully in the past to take the backing off of other old photos, so I recommend to just leave the backing on, but scan the photo now before it deteriorates further.  Since the cardboard will continue to give off gasses be sure to store this photo separate from other photos. If you have several of this type of photo you may want to designate one entire Power Sort box for photos with cardboard backings.

This badly deteriorating photo was in a cardboard sleeve.  It is of Steven Alexander Fonville who was born June 1, 1913 in Seymour, Baylor County, TX and died Sept. 3, 1914.

Using Creative Memories Memory Manager 3.0 much of the damage on your heritage photos can be corrected. This software can be downloaded from my website @ http://www.mycmsite.com/terrifonville. It is amazing what you can do to restore your priceless heritage photos.

Stephen Alexander Fonville photo after I have restored it
using CM's Memory Manager software.



Great Grandpa James D. Fonville before his 1893 Marriage
(front of photo).

Photo Tip: When scanning old photos be sure to scan both the front and back of the photos.  Sometimes some very important details can be found on the back of photos.

Back of the photo of James D. Fonville before
his 1893 wedding to Mary Jane Winton.

I love that I can scan all of Granny's old documents from her Treasure Trunk of Memories directly into Memory Manager 3.0. This software is an incredible organizational tool as well as a great storage tool for your family's heritage items.  Once the items have been scanned into Memory Manager 3.0 any family member can have either a digital or paper copy of all of your family's special treasures. I love that Memory Manager 3.0 allows me to write the story that goes with the photos and memorabilia.

As a history buff I love exploring all the treasures in Granny's trunk...it's almost as if history comes back to life. In school I learned that US citizens were required to pay a "Poll Tax" in order to vote...since Granny Fonville kept everything...including their "Poll Tax" receipts I now know that Granny and Grandpa paid $3.50 in 1929 just to have the privilege of voting! Amazing! Can you imagine having to have to pay to VOTE??? Oh how far our country has come!

Another thing I've learned while working with Granny's photos is that sometimes you need more than one photo to tell the entire story! I was so excited when I uncovered this old photo with Grandpa Fonville in front of an old automobile which appeared to have a flat tire.

When I came across the next photo I was so excited because Grandpa was actually changing the tire. I love that someone actually thought this was an important activity to photograph.



Herschel, Helen, Elaine, Jesse, James and Brantley with Granny holding Marcus in photo taken in 1935.

But the story was not complete until I found the negatives showing the progression of events that day which included this photo of the family waiting for the tire to be changed. Yes...that's two sets of twins you see...for Granny Fonville had twins in 1923 and in 1926. Can you imagine driving that old car with 7 kids and your wife on board??? How did they all fit?

Twins Helen and Herschel munching down on Baby Ruth candy bars in 1924.

When I discovered this photo I wondered about the story behind it.  I actually thought maybe they were posing for a commercial for Baby Ruth Candy Bars. After asking several older family members I discovered that at the time this photo was taken Grandpa Fonville was actually a wholesale candy salesman. I knew he was truly an entrepreneur since during his lifetime he had owned the City Garage, Fonville Cleaners and several farms I just didn't realize how diversified he truly was. I guess with 10 kids he had to be resourceful to keep his family fed.

I love the stories told by old photos. I hope that the information I have shared in this post will encourage you to take care of your family photos so that they will be around to share with generations to come.  Terri

Photo Dilemma 101 Reflections by Terri

"I have so many photos I'm overwhelmed! I don't have any idea how to get started organizing our family photos!"  I have heard statements like these hundreds of times. I thought today's post would give you some ideas on how to get started...let's call it Photo dilemma 101. 

Some consultants would tell you to go through your home and gather all the photos you have taken through the years.  I personally don't use that approach because I think you could easily be overwhelmed when faced with tackling hundreds of photos at one time.

Instead I suggest you start by purchasing one or two Creative Memories Power Sort Boxes. Just go to my website http://www.mycmsite.com/terrifonville  order yours and they will be shipped to your home usually within the week.  These wonderful boxes meet ISO 18902 the International Standard for photo preservation. Best of all they hold 1200 4x6 or 5x7 photos. At  $28.50 these boxes are a great investment.

I suggest you start with sorting and organizing your most recent photos. Events that have happened so far in 2011 would be the best place to start. For me that would have to include photos of the Hwy 183 expansion tree destruction.

Photo Tip: Ideally you should take time to print your photos once a month.  You choose when - but I suggest pick a date that's easy to remember like the 1st, 15th or the last day of the month and try to get in the habit of printing a few photos from each event that you photographed. Many people make the mistake of storing all their photos on their hard drives or external hard drives, which unfortunately have a tendency to crash periodically. If you've not yet tried Creative Memories Digital don't hesitate to go to http://www.creativememories.com/digital, create an account using your e-mail address and a password you choose, enter my CM ID # 46487817, then upload your pictures, order your first 20 prints FREE (my gift to you)  and they will be shipped right to your door.  All you have to do is pay for the shipping.

With digital cameras - families are taking so many more photos, so it's OK to be picky and print only your favorite photos. Also, don't hesitate to delete fuzzy or bad photos like this over exposed photo I took through my glass front door. 

When your photos and Power Sort Boxes arrive you will be all set to get started.  Take a few minutes to put the boxes together. CM's Power Sort Box comes with 6 compartments, six compartment dividers and 2 compartment covers. Also, you can purchase additional compartment dividers if you choose. 12-pack dividers are available for $4.00. 

As soon as the photos arrive take them out of the unsafe store photo envelopes and place them, several pieces of acid free/lignin free paper and a photo pen in one of the Power Sort compartments with a cover on it. Stick the compartment in your bag and carry it around with you so that when you're waiting at the airport, Dr's office or waiting on the kids at practice pull it out and spend a few minutes journaling the details that you might want to remember for the photos.  I've learned the hard way that I won't remember all the details I will later want when sharing the photos with my friends and family. Be sure to include "why" you took the photo if it had a special significance to you.

Photo Tip: Creative Memories Storyboxes make the perfect journaling boxes for telling your stories.  These pre-cut papers available in a variety of colors and designs come in packs of 96 pieces for $11.00. Storyboxes are a great time saver for busy moms.

After you have had a chance to journal your thoughts about the photos in your "travel" Power Sort compartment you will need to decide how you want to sort your photos.  There are a variety of ways to sort.  You may choose to sort: by date, by event or perhaps by person.  There is no right or wrong way to sort your photos! I personally sort chronologically by event.  Just use a pencil to label your Power Sort dividers. I always purchase an extra set of dividers for each Power Sort box I buy because I tend to go through quite a few dividers.

That's all there is to it.  After you have your chosen 2011 photos labeled and sorted and stored in your Power Sort Compartment you can begin working on your 2010 photos and then the 2009 going back.  As you become more and more comfortable with journaling and labeling your photos you will find that your remaining photos will become easier and easier to sort and label.  Before you know it you will have a major portion of your photos organized.

Photo Tip:  I try to take a Power Sort compartment of my older un-sorted photos with me to family gatherings. I especially try to include any "mystery" photos. At Jerry's Surprise 50th Birthday Party I was amazed at how many forgotten details his older siblings remembered. Many of my mystery photos are no longer mysteries thanks to taking them with us his party.

I hope these suggestions help you tackle one of the most common photo dilemmas. Terri

Raindrops on Roses and Whiskers on Kittens...Reflections by Terri

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens...these words bring back such fun memories to me.  When my children were small we started a family tradition...every Sunday afternoon after church & lunch we would put a movie into the player, pop some popcorn and watch one of our favorite movies. As you might guess The Sound of Music was one of our favorites.  Many of these family traditions I was able to capture on our small point and shoot camera. I faithfully had them developed (as funds would allow) and like many of  you put them in shoe boxes in my closet.  Unfortunately many of my photos began deteriorating badly from the acid and lignen given off  by these boxes.

Luckily for my photos, in 1994 a dear friend introduced me to Creative Memories.  I learned how much damage shoe boxes could do to my treasured family memories. So I began moving my photos into safe albums as quickly as I could.

A few years later, Creative Memories started offering Power Sort Boxes.  I must say that if I had to choose my very favorite thing Creative Memories produces it would be Power Sort Boxes! These wonderful boxes enable me to properly store my photos.  As soon as I finish sharing my latest photos I place them in these boxes. The dividers that come with the boxes allow me to easily organize them. I try to take time right then to write down a few details including the reason I chose to take these photos as well as where and when I took them. The Power Sort Box holds 1200 4x6 or 5x7 photos divided into 6 compartments. Hopefully you can learn from my mistakes.

Photo Tip: Don't leave your photos in the envelopes and boxes that your developer puts them in! Your photos will begin to deteriorate much faster left in them.  Instead invest in a couple Power Sort Boxes.  

My second favorite thing from Creative Memories has to be Memory Manager 3.0. Memory Manager 3.0 Software is the answer to photo overload.  It offers you an easy way to organize, cross reference and fine-tune all the photos you have trapped on your computer! It's incredible how quickly you can have your photos ready for your next project. It is especially user friendly.  I have used several other digital organization software programs and none compare to Creative Memories Memory Manager 3.0.

This software came in especially useful a few years ago when one of Jerry's aunts offered to share Granny Fonville's family photos.  In exchange for allowing me to borrow them and scan them onto my computer I agreed to make a heritage album for her.  I had no idea what an incredible task this would become! She shared with me hundreds of photos., some dating back to the 1800's.

 Thankfully I had Memory Manager 3.0 Software to help with this immense task.  Using this software I can scan the photos, record the story that Granny faithfully wrote on the backs of each photo and then restore much of the damage time has done to them, while still keeping a digital copy of the photo in it's initial state.  I can not imagine attempting to tackle this task without Memory Manager 3.0!

I could write on and on about the wonderful products that Creative Memories has made available to help us preserve and protect those precious photos that record the memories of our lives. Instead I would like to share a list of my top 12 favorite "things" and a few photo tips to help solve some of your photo dilemmas. I hope these will prove useful to you.  Terri

Terri's Top 12 Favorite Creative Memories Products:

1. Power Sort Boxes
2. Memory Manager 3.0
3. 12x12 Coversets
4. 12x12 Spargo photo-safe pages
5. 12x12 photo safe polypropylene page protectors
6. Hummingbird Personal Trimmer
7. Frosted Photo Splits
8. Multi-Purpose Tool & Clips
9. Custom Cutting System
10. 12-inch Rotary trimmer
11. PicFolio Photo Albums
12. Power Palettes

Terri's Photo Tips:

1. Get closer to your subject!
2. Now get a little closer...either physically or using your zoom lens!
3. Turn off your flash and take some indoor shots using natural light!
4. Take lots of photos...the more photos you take the more likely you are to get some really good shots!
5. Trash the photos that don't turn out or are blurry! It's OK you've taken lots more!
6. Regularly print the photos you take, don't just store them on your computer.
7. Remove the photos from the store photo packages as soon as you get them.
8. Take the photos with you when you go to the Dr.'s office, or when you plan to wait for your kids at a sporting event or music class and take a few minutes to identify the important details about these photos. I promise you in ten years you will have forgotten why you took this photo!
9. Invest in a couple Power Sort Boxes and begin organizing those photos. You choose how to organize them...there's no right or wrong way...organize them by child...date...event...whatever works for you!
10. If you decide to put your photos in an album...keep it simple...the most important thing is your photo and the story that goes with the photo...you really don't need a lot of extra stickers and bling...it's about the photo and the story that goes with it not the decorations!