Pictures are important and we need to share them, although our first inclination is to pack them away and only take them out at family reunions and special occasions. This experience has changed my view on this idea.

Hanna has been the glue of our family. She has taught us that family is the most important thing and we should always stay connected. We should get together often and stay close.

She recently visited her brother’s home which had recently passed away. He was the picture taker of our family and was always making us pose and photograph when we were together. He was also the gatherer of family information.

As she visited, she fondly remembered memories of him and others and felt close to them while there. She was about to leave when she was prompted to go to an area of the home which had been mostly cleared out. She found a box and in them were over 200 pictures of family members from all generations of time. She brought them home to Nebraska and as she and her grandson went through them, found a treasure trough of pictures that have literally never been seen by anyone before.

We found ancestors that were apart of a group of women motorcyclist. We found family members that we only knew through doing genealogy, who now have a face and memories that we can attach to them. There were pictures of family get togethers and of Germany before and after the Berlin Wall, where our ancestors are from. We learned that our ancestors enjoyed dinner parties, vacations with friends and family and that they lived huge lives. They enjoyed life, their countries, both Germany and America and their travels. They believed in dressing up for church, gatherings, parties and many more ideals. There was even pictures of early missionaries who visited my ancestors. We have heard stories of our German Great Grandmother, as a single mom, bringing them into their home in Germany, even though it wasn’t always safe to do so. They hosted David O McKay and other church leaders in their home.

From this experience we see the need to get out our pictures and share them with each other. We are grateful for our aunt who listened to the prompting and found these precious pieces of our family history and that she chose to share them with everyone.

These amazing photos are now shared on our families Facebook groups for everyone in our family to see. Now that they are posted we are all going through the photos, sharing who are in the photos and giving the context behind the photos. Now we all can learn and come to know our ancestors even more.

Commitment: Start a Facebook group for you family and create a photo album to post everyone’s in the groups photos they have in their storage. Encourage those in the group to comment on the photos to help give clarity and context