Family Tree Gal

Family Tree Gal
Carolyn Calton welcomes YOU!

Motto

In every home, frame a family tree to help strengthen your posterity.

Welcome !

I am committed to acknowledging connections throughout the generations--past, present, and future--and igniting a sense of extraordinary family purpose in individuals in THIS generation. Let me help you discover your "roots" as well as strengthen the "branches" of your family tree. If you have had painful experiences in your family line, then this is the blog for you! In fact, all of us will see that as we strengthen ourselves, we strenthen our entire FAMILY TREE through the power of our positive influence.

Monday, June 20, 2011

Memory Lane Monday: Neighbors


I’m using the ’52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy and History’ series as an aid in beginning my personal history this year. See the entire challenge on my Examiner.com article at http://exm.nr/ietnRo. I create an article about this series each Monday. Click subscribe (at the top) if you’d like to get my articles automatically delivered to your email inbox, or click the RSS icon to read my posts via a feed reader. These weekly challenges are authored by Amy Coffin of the We Tree blog and hosted on the GeneaBloggers website.

Here is the beginning of my memories about neighbors:

I had great neighbors when I was a child--people nearby whom I could trust. There was a tender elderly couple across the street. He worked as a butcher at Ray ‘n Eddies, a small grocery store not too far from our home. It was great to see him when we went to the market.


The neighbors to the south of us never had children of their own. The husband was deaf and the woman spoke really loud. They helped care for our home when we’d go on vacations. The neighbors to the north of us had three children (all older than me). The mother was a beautiful woman who worked in the PTA with my mom. I also have fond memories of another family across the street. When it came time for her to call her two sons home for dinner, she had a special call she made to them while whistling, and they responded every time.

My best friend lived around the block. I considered her a “neighbor” as well. We’d go down the alley to play at each other’s home.

I think it takes more effort now to be neighborly, but the neighbors I’ve come to know have made a real difference in my life. Everyone has their own uniqueness and contribution. I’m happy to have known many wonderful neighbors in my lifetime.
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As founder of Family Tree Quest, people sometimes ask what tools I recommend for organizing and recording personal and family history. Here are my highest recommendations.

Heritage Collector Suite- Your complete Family History Management System (my highest recommendation)  This has everything you need to get your family history clutter into one, orderly place. Store and retrieve photos, documents, videos, etc. Create a PDF for a bound book. Many bonus items such as storybook and GPS modules.
Personal Historian Software- I love it’s timelines and personal history prompts.

Flip-Pal™ mobile scannerPortable, easy flip-and-scan-technology. You can even scan pictures in the frame or while they remain in their photo albums! I sit on the sofa in comfort and scan to my hearts delight.

If you're looking for a great summer project, interview relatives or write your own memoirs.
Please leave a comment and let me know how you are integrating Family History into your summer plans.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” I have not received any compensation from Amy Coffin or GeneaBloggers.com for writing this post. I am listed on the GeneaBloggers Blog Roll because I find it to be a valuable, shared community resource. As founder of Family Tree Quest [dot] com, I am an affiliate of LifeStory Productions, Inc. and Amazon [dot] com and Flip-Pal.