Preserving the Pieces

A Nostalgic Look at Genealogy, History, and Family

I am at a stage in my life where I enjoy taking time to pause in my busy day to reflect on the past. Since I am now a grandfather, I would like to think that I have gained some wisdom over the years about life, and what is most valuable.

I often stop to think about childhood memories, the sacrifices my parents made for me, and family members who have since passed away. It is a bitter sweet journey through my mind. I love family photos, in fact, I am the family historian that scans and shares all our old albums. I enjoy genealogy research and discovering new things about my family and the places I have lived.

I think we can all agree that the world today is more crazy than ever. The things we have access to with technology would have been beyond our imagination just 25 years ago. I'm not saying that it is a bad thing, but in many cases people use good things for bad purposes and to harm others at an alarming rate.

As a person who has loved technology since the 4th grade, I often get consumed by the latest technology trends and dive in head first. There is also a side of me that holds great value for the old days, when life was less chaotic, people valued things more and communicated better.

I enjoy watching documentaries (like a nerd) especially ones that talk about the mob and the industrial revolution. I could literally watch documentaries everyday, my wife, not so much. We take so much for granted these days, but that's not how it was back when my great-grandparents were working hard to raise their families. I enjoy finding old census records about my family that tell me the places they lived and worked. I then try and research those places for old photos and facts that I can pass on to my children.

I make it a point to spend time with family making memories. I also am trying to ensure that I am documenting my childhood memories, for my children and grandchildren. If you have ever done genealogy research on your family, you will likely learn how frustrating it is to having missing pieces. I want my grandchildren and great-grandchildren to have some amazing life stories to read.

This is a park that I frequently visited my entire childhood. The park was a gift to the community from Lowell businessman and philanthropist Freeman Ballard Shedd in 1910 with the provision that the 50 acres "shall forever be used as a park and recreation or playground for the citizens and children of the City of Lowell and for no other purpose," a use that continues to this day. It is so interesting to learn things like this about a park that is part of my childhood memories. To think that so many people have visited Shedd Park for over 100 years and many may have no idea about the history and the man who donated it.

I guess I decided to write this post because I was feeling nostalgic and wanted to share a little about myself and how much I enjoy learning. Do you have similar interest in researching the old days, or genealogy? If so, I would love to hear about it. Feel free to email me.