Where to start!

It is often after the loss of a parent or the funeral of a relative that you find a stack of family papers or box of old pictures. The papers are packed together and the pictures are old, and well, you think if only I had...? Who are these people anyway? What do I do with them? Just throw them out? Well, it is never too late to begin putting together a story of the family!

Where do I start? How do I start? What information do I need? How do I get it? What stories lie beneath these stacks of paper and stacks of old pictures?

After more than 50 years of doing my own families' story, here is where I would recommend you to start. Walmart! Yes, that's Walmart. Go to the notebook section of the store and purchase a special type of paper called graph filler paper. It comes in 80 sheets of 10.5 X 8 inch, and is 3-Hole punched. Then purchase a 1/2 inch or 1 inch notebook, a "Basic Economy" will do, color of your choice. This becomes the foundation of your family story.

Now since you are reading this on a blogspot, you must have computer and Microsoft works or word. Type a title page "My Family Story" by...insert your name. This will give you ownership and tell everyone in the family that you are beginning the families' story. Place the graph paper in the 3-ring notebook and you have begun! On the very first page write your name, date of birth, place of birth, and other facts you think are important...next comes the squares and circles.