Family history is one of those things that everyone talks about and passes on, yet nobody seems to write down. One of the things I’ve been thinking about recently is how much history is contained in Dad’s tools. There are a lot of things out there that got bought once, used once, and never touched again… yet there is a story about it. Not to mention the tools that were fabricated, or are for things that don’t exist anymore.
There have been conversations about writing down the stories behind these tools, but I’m not aware of anything actually happening. I think part of the problem has been in the description of the tool. (so, just what is a 3 1/2 inch varmit? we’ve got the story for it, now which thing *is* it?)
Here’s my idea: I should come down some weekend and take pictures. Lots of pictures. Pictures of each tool, or set if it makes sense, that is interesting. I imagine the majority of the screwdrivers are going to get left out… Then I can get the pictures printed in a book, which I would give to Dad. He would then just need to write in the story behind each picture, in the book. I’m guessing that writing it directly in the book would be easier and more likely to happen than having him type out the stories. Perhaps someone could go back later and transcribe the text and I could remake the book.
So, anyone else think this is an interesting idea? We need not limit it to tools in the garage… anything with a neat memory behind it would be up for the photoshoot.
Sounds like a great idea, if you’re up for it. It’s a lot of work.
But with that said, have you look at the mac photo tools? They have a really neat one for putting pictures together in books; would make compiling the pictures into a format for history-recording a little easier.
But it does sound like a really marvelous idea. I think it would be something everyone would treasure.
The work in putting the book together isn’t really something I’m worried about, as the process is worth going through.
I think it is a great idea. I have wished that i kept a record of, for example, each bell i have, who gave it to me, for what occasion, where it came from, why it was chosen. And there are many things around here that have family history, from who first owned that circle of people looking at an egg that your dad has in his office to who passed down a particular piece of cut glass.
Many histories have already been lost, but it would be great if we could preserve what someone still knows.
The next step, I think, is to figure out what tools/objects/ect you would like included.
I don’t have a problem taking pictures of other things that don’t really have a place in this book, but having a picture of it anyway would be nice.
Figuring out the time to do it… well, that’ll probably be a few months from now. There are a few lenses that I’d like to rent for the project, some equipment to build, and a few other things to test out before all this goes down.
If ya’ll want, you could select a few things that you know you’d like to record and think about what you’d like to say about it.