The following is by my friend, Edith Wagner, editor of Reunions magazine.
Family history is the one thing everyone at a family reunion has in common.
Celebrate it!
If, as a genealogist, you’ve always wondered how to share the family history you’ve collected, your family reunion is a captive audience.
Genealogists often originate reunions to take advantage of the opportunity to share their outcomes and excitement. Prepare your materials for display and sharing at the reunion. Family trees, charts, photos, books including Bibles, spreadsheets, print outs, maps, memorabilia, tools, toys, crafts and scrapbooks are obvious displays. Or use these ways to highlight fascinating family history …
- Collect and organize pictures of ancestors and their homes.
- Plan visits by bus or caravan to the very places they lived, went to school and church, worked and played.
- Visit cemeteries and take the opportunity to tell family stories.
- Collect ancestors’ clothing and artifacts and add explanations about what they are/were used for.
- Assemble oral history tapes from family elders.
- Bring a computer to enter new and update information.
- Use a scanner to copy photos and documents.
If you’re planning a reunion as beginner or have been planning reunions for years, Reunions magazine and Reunions Workbook along with an enormous web site, can answer questions, provide motivation and inspiration and give you many ideas. Request a sample (http://www.reunionsmag.com/survey/sample.asp) or qualify for a free subscription (http://www.reunionsmag.com/reunionarticles/form_help_us.html).
