By Lois Requist

As I look at a photo I have in my hand, I turn it over and on the back is written Christmas, December 25, 1900, followed by a list of some the nine people standing outside in front of a building with two pillars forming a porch. In black and white, of course, they look much as we’d expect—long dresses on all the women, no one smiling. One of the people listed was Nellie 17. Nellie was my husband’s grandmother whom I never met. Shortly after I started dating Tom Requist, he went out of town to his grandmother’s funeral. She would have been about 80.
Probably they were dressed especially nice for the holiday. Two of the women are wearing large hats and dresses a bit too fancy for everyday wear. One man, with his hands in his pockets, has a very full beard. Two boys about 12 are wearing caps. It’s a rich glimpse back in time.
When my mother died some 20 years ago, I brought two or three cardboard boxes back to California. They were filled with old pictures, books, stock certificates, diplomas. The remnants of a life.
As I’ve gotten older, I’ve developed a lively interest in my family history. Not dates so much, though even those numbers that seemed so dull when I studied history as a child, can take on interest now when I relate them to what was going in the world at the time.
Those boxes of memorabilia sat for a while, but gradually I began looking at everything. Some things were clear as to what they were, however, some pictures—the oldest ones, particularly, often had no name on them, and the people most likely able to identify them were gone by then. Still, I asked questions when I could, and began putting the puzzle together. Eventually, I made five albums—one for each of my siblings—with some history of both of our parents.
Have you thought of doing something with the stuff you’ve collected over the years? Never have there been so many tools available for those who would like to organize and make a story of the memories of their lives, perhaps items from before they were born. The technology has evolved quite a bit since I did those albums in 2001. The process can be daunting, but also rewarding. It’s doing research on you and your family. Of asking, who the heck is that?
As I see it, there are three parts of this recording of the stories of our lives: the records, the pictures and other memorabilia, and the stories that pull it all together. I’ve been working on all three when I have time. People used to draw elaborate trees of family members, scotch taping pages together because, well, these kinds of trees grow in all directions.    Now, various computer programs like ancestry.com and myheritage.com allow you to put the names and data in while they keep track of it all. I was inputting some information when, I failed to put down someone’s date of death. The program popped up and said if that person had not died, they would be 265 years old!
For at least the last 15 years, the pictures I’ve taken are on my computer. Older pictures aren’t, of course, but they can be scanned. It’s probably a matter of sorting, doing some best guessing as to when a picture was taken. I noted, for example, that certain kinds of borders were popular at certain times, and then, later, it was interesting to note when pictures started showing up in color. Websites such as picaboo.com and Shutterfly.com have templates which enable making a picture book and adding text pretty simple. It’s so much fun!
Last fall, I decided that I might never get the one “Big Book of Everything” made for my two sons, so I decided to grab pictures from three parts of their childhood: when they were babies; the years when we built and enjoyed a cabin in the Sierra Mountains; the times they went fishing with their dad and grandad. Using one of the computer programs, I made the 40-page books and presented to them at Christmas. Just the fun they had looking at them that day and showing them to the kids was worth it.
While you’re working with the pictures and ancestry, stories might come to mind. You might take some notes. Some people like to tell stories into some kind of recording device, while others write them down. This might also lead you to sharing some of that history with your family. I’ve heard many people start asking their parents or grandparents questions about their life when it seems the end might be near, but it’s better to do it when they’re feeling better.
This process can add value to your life and meaning for future generations. It’s also something that Carquinez Village might be willing to give guidance in, should enough members ask for it. We continually try to shape our village to be what serves members.
By the way, Carquinez Village will be celebrating our first birthday in April. On April 25, we’re having a celebration at the Benicia Yacht Club from 3 to 4:30 p.m. Everyone is invited to attend, but we do ask that you let us know that you are coming, by calling 707-297-2472. There’s always that business of figuring out how much cake to buy and how many chairs to put out.
If all of your memories stay stashed in cardboard boxes, there’s a chance they’ll be thrown out one day. Hey, maybe there’s something worth preserving.

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