Photo Scanning Used To Preserve George Washington’s Letters And Speeches

This Presidents’ Day, Get To Know George Washington

The Papers of George Washington Project Uses Photo Scanning To Preserve And Share Washington’s Letters, Speeches

presidentsdayFor most of us, Presidents’ Day (or George Washington’s Birthday, as it is officially known) isn’t a huge holiday. Sure, it’s a great time for bargain-hunters to find 50%-off sales and reduced prices on everything from TV’s to cars, but George Washington’s Birthday usually doesn’t stir up the kind of large-scale family trips and grand celebrations that are common on holidays like Memorial Day, Labor Day, and even Veterans’ Day. Still, many Americans, especially history buffs and die-hard patriots, consider Presidents’ Day to be a holiday worthy of full-scale celebration.

Originally implemented by the United States Congress in 1880, George Washington’s Birthday was the first federal holiday to honor an American citizen. Currently celebrated nationwide on the third Monday of February (that’s the 15th, this year) George Washington’s Birthday gives all Americans the chance to honor the accomplishments of our nation’s first president, who has been known for over 200 years as the “Father” of the United States. Military personnel and veterans also have a chance to pay tribute to the man who created the Purple Heart, which was the first military badge of merit for the common soldier.

In order to preserve and commemorate the life and career of our nation’s “Father,” a grant-funded project in Virginia called The Papers of George Washington has been working since 1968 to publish a comprehensive edition of George Washington’s letters and other personal and professional documents. Established at the University of Virginia, under the joint auspices of the University and the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association of the Union, The Papers of George Washington aims to publish a complete edition of Washington’s correspondence, consisting of approximately ninety volumes. The project hopes to make the material “available not only to scholars but to all Americans interested in the founding of their nation.”

As part of the project, letters written to Washington, as well as letters and documents written by him, are now being digitized using photo scanning equipment, and then typed into a searchable format for indexing and cross-referencing. Photo scanning technology allows the original documents, which ordinarily are available for viewing only to scholars and historians, to be viewed by anyone, anywhere. So take some time this Presidents’ Day and get to know George Washington a little bit better. Read the Farewell Address that he gave shortly before leaving office or take a look at his letters, his portraits, or his home. As it turns out, he wasn’t just our first president; he was also a pretty interesting guy!

Top 5 Organizing Tips by D. Allison Lee

deb lee headshotThere are many benefits to maintaining an organized environment. Besides being more efficient (i.e., finding things more quickly) and more productive (i.e., completing tasks fully and on time), living in an organized home or office space allows one to be more stress free. It’s no secret what stress can do to the body. One of the biggest side effects of stress is high blood pressure. Stress also affects your critical thinking ability, how well you sleep, and can even make you more susceptible to illnesses. Less stress = happier, more productive life.

Top Five Recommendations

1. Set Organizing Goals. Figure out what you want to accomplish, and put those items in order of priority. Sometimes it feels like our whole house needs help, and it might. However, there are likely to be specific areas that bother you the most. Start with those areas first.

2. Figure Out Your Peak Performance Time. Do you know when you are most productive? Are you an evening or morning person? When do you feel the most alert? Finding out when you perform at your best will help you to complete tasks more efficiently and with greater success.

3. Figure Out Your Learning Style. Finding out if you’re a visual, auditory, or tactile (or combination) learner will help you to understand why it may be more challenging for you to do certain tasks. In addition, your space can be structured so that it matches your learning style which will increase your success with maintaining order.

4. Plan Your Time Wisely. Schedule organizing tasks by putting them on your calendar with time frames. Be realistic about how long it will take you to complete a specific task, and then do a little bit each day. If you spend just 10-15 minutes each day attacking a cluttered area of your home, you will get some organizing accomplished, and yet not feel overwhelmed. After your 10 or 15 minutes are up (no more than 30 minutes), go about your usual day. If you’ve devoted a whole day to organizing, work in 30-60 minute sessions and take a 10 minute break before returning for another 30-60 minute session.

5. Relax! Once you feel motivated to keep up with your organizing tasks, you may forget one very important thing – YOU! We all lead very busy lives, and have families that need our attention, too. So, don’t forget to take breaks, to laugh, get a facial, take your vitamins, go for walks, take a vacation, make a healthy meal, etc. In other words, relax, have fun, and enjoy your life! When you’re having fun, there’s very little room for stress to take up your valuable time.

About D. Allison Lee

D. Allison Lee is a Certified Professional Organizer in the Washington, DC area. If you’d like to contact her for organizational assistance, or want to learn from her amazingly helpful blog- check out DAllisonLee or find @DAllisonLee on Twitter. Happy organizing!

Photo Scanning Aides Holocaust Remembrance Project

Scan Photos To Tell Stories

 Photo Scanning Aides Holocaust Remembrance Project

holoJanuary 27th marked the 65th anniversary of the liberation of the largest Nazi death camp. It also marked the fifth annual International Holocaust Remembrance Day, which the United Nations General Assembly designated an international holiday in 2005. On this annual day of commemoration, nations all over the world honor the millions of people who fell victim to genocide during Nazi rule. Here in the the United States, we officially commemorate the Holocaust each April,  during the Days of Remembrance, which mark the anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising of 1943. But International Holocaust Remembrance Day did not go unobserved in Washington D.C., where the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum hosted a candle-lighting ceremony attended by the diplomatic community, Holocaust survivors, and the general public. President Obama delivered a television address, and reminded Americans of their “sacred duty to remember the cruelty” of the Holocaust.

The United Kingdom first observed its own Holocaust Memorial Day on January 27th, 1999. The theme for this year’s commemoration was “Legacy of Hope,” which emphasized the lessons that future generations can learn from the Holocaust. Holocaust Educational Trust chairman Lord Janner of Braunstone said that having a national Holocaust Memorial Day gives the people of the United Kingdom a chance to “honor our incredible Holocaust survivors, many of whom work extremely hard telling others about what they endured during the Holocaust.”

Most Holocaust memorials rely on stories, photographs, and videos to recount the horrors that so many innocent people suffered through during the war. But there is one Holocaust remembrance project that has set itself a very different task. Centropa, a Jewish historical institute in Vienna, Austria, is interested in how Jewish people lived before and after the horrors of the Holocaust, rather than during them.

For the last decade, Centropa has been involved in an oral history project with Holocaust survivors, led by director Edward Serotta. The subjects of Centropa’s Jewish history project, who are all Holocaust survivors, have allowed Serotta and his team of researchers to scan photos, documents, family letters, and other printed memorabilia from the years before and after the Holocaust. Together, the Holocaust survivors and researchers go through the scanned photos and discuss their context – where they came from, and what they represent. The project has archived more than 22,000 scanned photos, family portraits, school report cards. What makes the project unique is that for each photo, Centropa also has a story. Serotta hopes that the project will help to preserve “the stories of an entire century, as told by those whose entire world has been destroyed.”

Amazing Online Resources for Finding Family Photos! By Maureen Taylor

old-family-weddingAt each junction of your family tree photographs and other visual representations of ancestors are either handed down or discarded. Before you claim that your ancestors weren’t interested in pictures or were too poor to afford them, remember that photography began in 1839, which means it’s possible your ancestors sat for a picture anytime in the last one hundred and seventy years. Even before the first camera, individuals captured their visages in paintings, sculptures, engravings and silhouettes. The fact is you just never know where they are going to turn up.

Image Search Engines
All the major web search engines have image search capabilities, but Google’s Image Search is probably one of the best known.  Enter your ancestor’s name into the search box using quotation marks and see what turns up. Try refining the search by adding a place of residence.
 
Another part of Google is Google Books
It’s a digital library of fully searchable books. Do another search to see if your ancestor’s name and possibly a picture shows up in either a downloadable full view book or in a book that you can’t preview. If it’s the latter, ask your public library to order the volume on interlibrary loan.
 
Genealogy Sites
Search Ancestry.com under the tab, “family trees.”  We Relate is a relative newcomer to the genealogy field but this wiki  allows you to search site content, comment on the genealogical information and photos – and even create tags (captions) for them.  Footnote.com also has searchable image databases. On Footnote, individuals can add their own family pictures to story pages. 

Message Boards 
Find one related to your ancestral place of residence or surname by using major sites such as Rootsweb.com.  Post a query including your question and the full name of the ancestor you’re seeking. Include what you know about them-date of birth and towns of residence.
 
Library and Historical Society Websites
While the Library of Congress (LC) has its own prints and photograph online database, increasingly so do local historical societies.

Orphan Photo Sites
These photo reunion sites are a great way to locate “missing” family pictures. Try Dead Fred and Ancient Faces to search for your ancestors.

Happy Hunting!

maureen taylorAsk Maureen to Analyze Your Family Photos

Don’t let heaps of unidentified, damaged, or disorganized family photos get you down. The Photo Detective can help!

If you would like to have Maureen, the Photo Detective, analyze your own family photographs, here’s how the process works. And now you can receive an audio file of your consultation with Maureen! 

  • Simply supply me with a photo or photos that you would like to know more about. You can do this online at my website.
  • Tell me as much as you already know about the photo and upload your photo(s).  I’ll email you back with an estimate for costs and you’re good to go. My new per picture rates won’t bust your budget either!   I will combine the skills of a private detective with those of a historian/genealogist and look at identifying characteristics in the photo such as background, hair styles, clothing styles, jewelry, uniforms, quilt patterns, make of automobiles, etc. and even facial resemblance if necessary, to begin solving the mystery of when and where the photo was taken and who is pictured. Ill compare findings against any known family history or if additional genealogical research is necessary that can be discussed.  
  • I’ll give you my findings in a telephone conversation which will be recorded; after the call, I’ll send you a copy of an mp3 file so that you have the recording for yourself to listen to over and over again.

I hope we will have the opportunity to work together to
solve the mysteries of your historical photos!

Scan Photos to Digital And Keep Your Memories Safe

Scan Photos to Digital And Keep Your Memories Safe

 Tips On Disaster Preparedness

haitiThe recent disaster of the devastating earthquake in Haiti has sparked an enormous response from Americans. Volunteers from across the globe continue to travel to Haiti to provide much needed health care, cleanup, and other services, while millions of Americans have donated money to aide the relief efforts. Even during this difficult time, the people of Haiti remain hopeful that there are better times ahead, and many world leaders, including President Obama, have expressed hope that the recovery process will grow into a full-fledged rebuilding process for the Haitian nation.

Indeed, there is great precedent for growth after tragedy. After World War II, a war-torn Japan had to rebuild nearly all of its factories and businesses; as a result of this forced modernization, Japan has become a world leader in cutting-edge manufacturing and technology. Other examples hit closer to home. The Great Chicago Fire destroyed four square miles of the windy city in October of 1871, but also spurred a rebuilding effort that help turn Chicago into one of the most populous and economically important cities in the United States. But more recent disasters, such as Hurricane Katrina, have allowed us a closer look at the kind of personal devastation that befalls on their victims. News coverage of Hurricane Katrina showed the tragedies of countless people whose homes – and all the memories held therein – were swept away by the flood waters.

So as we reach out a helping hand in Haiti, we should also stop to think about how to prepare ourselves for unexpected natural disasters, which may strike at any time. One way to protect and preserve precious memories is to scan old photos to digital formats, and store them online. This way, these treasured memories cannot be lost in an earthquake or other natural disaster. In addition to scanning photos to digital, it can be useful to photograph all the valuable items in your home, such as antiques, electronics, furniture, and appliances. This often-overlooked step can be very important when dealing with insurance claims. Make a plan with your family so everyone knows where to go and what to do in the case of various emergency situations, such as earthquakes, tornadoes, fires, and floods. Finally, it is always a good idea to keep a stash of emergency food, water, flashlights, and medical supplies in an easily accessible location in your home.

When it comes to natural disasters, you can never know what to expect. The important thing is to prepare yourself the best you can, and lend a helping hand to those in need when disaster does strike.

Video: Why Preserve Memories?

Check out this great video from our friends at Lasting Links-

Lasting Links is a great new site that provides information about preserving your memories. To learn more, you can visit their site Lasting Links or chat with their CEO on Twitter.

6 Tips to Take Control of Your Inbox by Melissa Stacey

mailbox-overstufffed11. Clean Out Your Inbox Daily

The best way to avoid email overwhelm is to clean out your inbox daily.  The only emails that should be in your inbox are those emails that are pending action.

2. Delete, delete, delete

When you receive junk mail, advertisements or duplicate information… delete them.  If you have emails that have nothing to do with you, are trash or not worth your time…delete them.

3. Take Action

When you receive an email that will take 2 minutes or less to deal with, than take the necessary action immediately.  Then delete or file the email.

4. File It

If you need the email for reference in the future and this information is not available anywhere else, than file it in an email folder.  Be sure that the folders you set up are easy to understand so you can find the email later when you need it.

5. Clear Out Email Backlog

If you have 3,000 emails in your inbox, then start taking the steps to clear out the backlog.  Start with the most recent emails first and work your way back.  Each day spend 15 minutes working on this project until it is completed.

6. Create a Junk Email

Use this email address to order things online or sign into random websites.  Once this email address starts to get overloaded with spam, you can shut it down and create another junk email address.  This will help contain the junk email so it won’t take over your real email.

Melissa picAbout Melissa:

Melissa Stacey started Feeling Organized because she truly loves organizing and planning. She says, “I also love working with people to find creative solutions to their organizing problems. I named my company Feeling Organized because the key to organization is how YOU feel. When you feel organized, you have less stress, are more productive and have more time to do the things that you love.”

Contact Melissa:

To contact Melissa for more organizing tips, visit Feeling Organized. To receive her monthly organization tips for yourself, just email Melissa@feelingorganized.com for the add! You can also find Melissa on Twitter, where she also shares great organizing tips.

Scan My Photos To Create One-Of-A-Kind Cards For Valentine’s Day

Use Old Pictures To Send Vintage-Style Greeting Cards To Loved Ones

Recipients Will Appreciate The Thoughtful, Personalized Gesture

greeting cardRemember the Valentine’s Day cards you received as a child? How teachers made every classmate give each other one so no student would feel left out? Thankfully, those rules don’t apply anymore.

As an adult, personalized greeting cards on February 14th are the ideal way to express your affection. And though the holiday may still be a few weeks away, now is the best time to begin assembling the things you’ll need to craft a meaningful message. This vintage picture, for instance, is a unique way to send a greeting.

Rummage through old albums for pictures to scan. My photos?, you’re probably wondering. Yes, because on Valentine’s Day, your loved ones will want a picture of you or at least one that includes you. Rather than a current-day digital image, which is much too easy to snap and share in seconds via email, photo sites and social networking, take the time to dig up old but treasured pictures that loved ones can enjoy reminiscing or chuckling over. If you’ve just started dating someone, for instance, he or she may relish the chance to see a childhood photo of you. Customized cards also work well for parents, grandparents or aunts and uncles. (When it comes to relatives, you can give them all copies of the same card or create an individualized design for each, such as a photo of you and Aunt Alice at your first birthday.)

Sending images to ScanDigital to be transferred to electronic format allows you the freedom to edit your pictures before creating the card. Rather than place a faded or yellowing image against a red or pink background, you may color correct it so the contrast is complementary. This does take a little advance planning, so think now about which images are good candidates. Tell yourself, I need to scan my photos. Your gift may not be worth millions, but it’ll be a keepsake for years to come.

Scan Photos To CD To Organize A Successful & Fun High School Reunion

Relive Traditions & Memories Through Nostalgic Yearbook Pictures

A Hunt For Old Photos Can Ignite Old Friendships

yearbookPeople say laughter is the best medicine – and few things can make you laugh as hard as the silly haircuts, lame trends and awkward moments of your youth.

That, in a nutshell, is the beauty of the high school reunion.

Such reunions give us a chance to look back on this period through rose-colored glasses. The month of January is a great time to begin planning, whether you’re leading the effort or just pitching in. People want to get organized now, and they’ll be eager to help.

You must feature yearbook pictures, of course. Scan the photos to CD to make them easy to manipulate. Perhaps you’ll want to blow up poster-size images or work them into the programs – having the pictures in digital format now will make this a breeze down the line.

Collect photos throughout the process, but especially in the beginning. Nothing jogs the memory like a picture of time gone by. Round up your old yearbooks to start the process, but also reach out to former classmates for their personal photographs; you will find this act is the best way to renew friendships and advertise the reunion through word of mouth.

The pictures you transfer to digital form are simple to tidy up and enhance. Once you’ve converted your photos to CD, they can be used in emails, featured on Web sites and printed on reunion-related publications, from name tags to place cards. Oh, and about that Web site? It will help you track down missing classmates. Rather than depend on names alone, you can post or email their pictures to kick off the search. Enlist your committee members to help you. Also, a number of companies specialize in building reunion sites, so you don’t have to exert too much of your own effort on technical development.

High school is typically a period of growth, but thankfully, yesterday’s embarrassing moments are often today’s barrel of laughs. So break the ice with former classmates by sharing funny, old photos and traditions.

Scanning A Photo To Digital Can Illustrate A City’s Rich History

Thanks To The Olympics, Vancouver Increases Its Appeal As A Vacation Spot

Four Things To Do In Vancouver

vancouverVancouver is a cosmopolitan city well-known for its vibrant culture, fresh culinary scene and beautiful surroundings. With its prominent role as host of the 2010 Winter Olympics next month, the city has moved to the forefront of touristy spots to visit.

So if you go, what is there to do? Here are four can’t-miss attractions.

-          Spend the afternoon in the park – but not just any park. Natives and visitors love the thousand-acre Stanley Park. Previous visitors, who may have converted their vacation photo to digital for preservation, know this spot as a lush and green retreat, encircled by a six-mile walkway along the water. Just walking along the seawall, as shown in this picture, you can observe the changing of the seasons. At the park, plan on participating in activities such as swimming, tennis and even tea time (as in sipping afternoon tea). There’s an aquarium and petting zoo to keep kids occupied, too.

-          Experience Vancouver’s street life. On Commercial Drive, you’ll come across vintage clothes and cafes (not to mention protests and petitions). Peruse art galleries in South Granville, or spend all day shopping on Robson Street.

-          Take in the view. Vancouver Lookout, at the top of Harbour Center, boasts a 360-degree view of the city, which combines downtown buildings, expansive greenery and blue waters. The spot is open every day of the year and offers a view 430 feet above the ground.

-          Visit an island. Granville Island, that is. Its Public Market is a foodie mecca for all things fresh and delicious, and the revitalized neighborhood features street music, craft stores and microbreweries. There’s a free Water Park for kids as well. 10 ½ million people flock to this island each year, though it hasn’t always been such a popular draw. Transferring a photo to digital can highlight the area’s dramatic transformation. Old images reflect its worn, industrial past, one that’s a stark contrast to today’s tourist-friendly appeal.