Speakers’ Corner Preview: Jennifer & Barbara Talk “Letters & Old Lace”

Projectkin Live: The View from Kathy's Corner

Thank you Kyla Bayang [https://substack.com/profile/316733498-kyla-bayang], Marian Beaman [https://substack.com/profile/49691247-marian-beaman], Danine [https://substack.com/profile/3142548-danine], Laurie MacIntosh [https://substack.com/profile/182484229-laurie-macintosh], Jim the Historian [https://substack.com/profile/25723678-jim-the-historian], Linda Teather [https://substack.com/profile/185449888-linda-teather], Traveling Close to Home [https://substack.com/profile/350254096-traveling-close-to-home], Lori Olson White [https://substack.com/profile/61971012-lori-olson-white], Jason Stephenson [https://substack.com/profile/150447927-jason-stephenson], Jill Swenson [https://substack.com/profile/17281869-jill-swenson], Gwendolyn Copeland [https://substack.com/profile/79261291-gwendolyn-copeland], Dr. Mary M. Marshall [https://substack.com/profile/21244770-dr-mary-m-marshall], Lisa Rex [https://substack.com/profile/17961514-lisa-rex] and so many more of you for joining Kathy Stone [https://substack.com/profile/177868959-kathy-stone] and me today. I can’t tell you how much it means to us to see you join us from around the continent. Thank you for your added ❤️s to help others see this conversation, too. Thank you. Did I miss you? Add your thoughts in the comments below. Projectkin [http://projectkin.org/] programming is offered free with the kind support of our Patrons [http://projectkin.org/patrons] worldwide. Explore our story and join us 👇. This Week Kathy Looks Back to the Future Our conversation today gave us a preview of Thursday’s special program with Kathy’s guest, Lori Olson White [http://substack.com/@loriolsonwhite] of The Lost and Found Story Box [http://loriolsonwhite.substack.com/], to talk about preserving today's stories and being a better ancestor. This is a perfect fit for her new series, “Building My Bridge to 2076 [https://loriolsonwhite.substack.com/p/building-my-bridge-to-2076-episode-34c?r=10w950],” which shares how she is implementing a new approach, the Century Safe Method [https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GW5N89D5/ref=cm_sw_r_as_gl_api_gl_i_PGP62MEHZNPT5JM53RBS?linkCode=ml1&tag=houstonnewmom-20&linkId=e7a25fd6d2a905edf2d9313945e8825e], which Lori developed while researching Annie Diehm, a Civil War widow who sealed a safe containing stories at the American Centennial. Remember, Thursday’s program is held via Zoom, so you will need to register for your personal link. Because this is a “Preview” series on Sundays, we get to wander into other related… and not so related topics. As my cat Zarabeth swished her way back and forth, we hit on a few topics I wanted to provide references to: * Historical events & our personal memories: This is a topic that comes up frequently in conversations among family historians. Events like the end of the Vietnam War in 1975 conjure strong memories for many Americans. Recalling where they were at the time brings up a great deal of context about their lives leading up to that moment that aren’t captured in textbooks. This conversation today was in response to Denyse Allen [https://substack.com/profile/200267749-denyse-allen]’s moving post, “Your Bicentennial Memories Are Here: The Ones Who Didn’t Come Home [https://open.substack.com/pub/bicentennialmemoryproject/p/vietnam-war-memorial-day-1976-the-ones-who-didnt-come-home?r=2tc6pc&utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web],” in the context of tomorrow’s Memorial Day here in the US. * Technologies & storage devices As human beings, we’re “wet ware” in the sense that we are made of flesh and blood. Our input media are simple eyes and brains. The devices we use to store our stories for future generations need to anticipate mediation to reach their intended audience. Does that mean, as Jill Swenson asked, that media like USB drives are a bad idea? Well, yes, and no. Yes, because you can’t count on any input format we use today (floppy disk, diskette, CD, DVD, or USB) to be used or even accessible 50 years from now. The same goes for file formats (WordPerfect, anyone?) Factors include * Physical media (electronic, parchment, ordinary paper, ink, magnetic media, analog media like celluloid film, glass negatives). * Applications, file formats, even .doc, .xls, or .pdf * Writing styles, languages, and more. * Then there’s the larger topic of what future generations might be interested in. * Historical topics (e.g. Vietnam War) * Cultural topics (what we wore, what they thought, believed, and did) * News topics (current news events) There are so many ways to spin this and get motivated to start being a better ancestor. Is this the kind of post you think your friends and followers might appreciate as well? Kindly add a recommendation so they know how you feel. You’ll be doing us the favor of spreading our work. Thank you. I truly wish I could be there on Thursday to join in on the fun. As I shared in the program, I’ll have to catch up by watching the recording. You’ll find them at Kathy’s Corner: Projectkin.org/kathys-corner [http://Projectkin.org/kathys-corner]. About Kathy Stone Kathy has been the “cornerstone” of Projectkin [http://projectkin.org/] since we were a “Rōnin [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R%C5%8Dnin]” gang called “PostPonga.” That was just over three years ago, just after RootsTech 2023. Her commitment to the physical artifacts of family history now inspires our whole community. Learn more about what Kathy is doing today at her own publication: As Projectkin, we’re here to help families tell their stories in any form. I feel strongly that our collections of photos and other artifacts are key to our memories and, in turn, our stories. Do you have friends or family members who may benefit from this? Please share our work and invite friends and family to join us: Get full access to Projectkin at projectkin.substack.com/subscribe [https://projectkin.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

Stories250 with Anne Wendel of Grandma's Granny's Family Album

Thank you, Jennifer Jones [https://substack.com/profile/260013785-jennifer-jones], Linda Teather [https://substack.com/profile/185449888-linda-teather], Mary Boehm [https://substack.com/profile/256047081-mary-boehm], Jim the Historian [https://substack.com/profile/25723678-jim-the-historian], Kyla Bayang [https://substack.com/profile/316733498-kyla-bayang], Diane Burley [https://substack.com/profile/183003391-diane-burley], Kristin Rapinac [https://substack.com/profile/322547068-kristin-rapinac], Anne’s Family History [https://substack.com/profile/177362406-annes-family-history], The Wicked Sommelier [https://substack.com/profile/477392485-the-wicked-sommelier], Jane Chapman [https://substack.com/profile/99426408-jane-chapman], Becky Hetchler [https://substack.com/profile/186505689-becky-hetchler], Phyllis Robinson [https://substack.com/profile/117078498-phyllis-robinson], and so many more for joining Anne Wendel [https://substack.com/profile/278076361-anne-wendel] and me today. I can’t tell you how much it means to me here on the American West coast to see all of you joining from across the Pacific in Australia and New Zealand, across the American states and Canadian provinces. The little ❤️s you drop keep us motivated and give this series a little more visibility. Feel free to create clips from this post to share with your friends. Projectkin [http://projectkin.org/] programming is offered free thanks to the kind support of our generous patrons [http://projectkin.org/patrons] around 🌏 the 🌍 world 🌎. The War of American Independence Today’s story pulls us into exactly the kinds of personal perspectives on this bitter British civil war that some of us call the American Revolution. From her home in Virginia, Anne Wendel [http://Substack.com/@https://grandmasgrannysfamilyalbum] of Grandma’s Granny’s Family Album [https://grandmasgrannysfamilyalbum.substack.com/] shares just a few of the many stories she’s collected in her family history with deep roots on both sides of this war. From the start, Anne took us down the rabbit hole to turn the tables on the close of the war as she shared her personal connection to Shelburne, Nova Scotia. Her post about Captain Joseph Durfee captured a kid’s perspective on this incredible place and how she was able to make it part of her family again. The pictures perfectly set the stage for the story she tells in the recording. Other Stories250 posts from Anne Anne has been among our most prolific storytellers in this series. She touched on several of the stories in our conversation, in addition to the tale of Captain Joseph Durfee, 1725 - 1801 [https://grandmasgrannysfamilyalbum.substack.com/p/captain-joseph-durfee-1725-1801]. Among the other stories: * A German Teenager in the American Revolution [https://grandmasgrannysfamilyalbum.substack.com/p/a-german-teenager-in-the-american] * The Map Our Ancestors Forgot [https://grandmasgrannysfamilyalbum.substack.com/p/the-map-our-ancestors-forgot] * Attack! and Fall [https://grandmasgrannysfamilyalbum.substack.com/p/attack-and-fall] * Isaac Van Wart, 1762-1828, Revolutionary War Hero [https://grandmasgrannysfamilyalbum.substack.com/p/isaac-van-wart-1762-1828-revolutionary] * Revolutionary War Cowboy [https://grandmasgrannysfamilyalbum.substack.com/] * My 5th Great-Grandparents, Mary Coon and John Rushton, in the Revolutionary War [https://grandmasgrannysfamilyalbum.substack.com/p/my-5th-great-grandparents-mary-coon] If you’re not already familiar with her publication, here’s an easy link to subscribe: About Stories250 Learn more about the series at Projectkin.org/stories250 [http://projectkin.org/stories250], view all recordings and posts, then explore the posts in an interactive timeline [http://projectkin.org/stories250-timeline]. You’ll find this post of Anne’s here: Last week, I shared more details about our two special programs on July 9th. This is in addition to the commemorative magazine I’m producing to include all articles in the series. Learn more: If you have stories to share, please join us. More at Projectkin.org/stories250 [http://projectkin.org/stories250]. The window to submit posts will remain open until June 30th. As Projectkin, we’re here to help families tell their stories in any form. I feel strongly that our collections of photos and other artifacts are key to our memories and, in turn, our stories. If you have a publication of your own, and you think your friends might find this interesting, why not let your friends know with a recommendation? This nifty button, “your.substack.com/publish/recommendations [http://your.substack.com/publish/recommendations],” takes you to your own recommendations dashboard. (Seriously, try it!) Naturally, I’d love a recommendation, but I also encourage everyone to be generous in sharing recommendations for the publications you enjoy. It helps us find each other as family history buffs in the nicest possible way. 🥰 Oh, one more thing — if you think this post might interest a friend or colleague, why not just pass it along? These are public posts, and our events are free because sharing your stories is that important. Let’s get this started! See all coming events in our calendar at Projectkin.org/events [http://projectkin.org/events]. Get full access to Projectkin at projectkin.substack.com/subscribe [https://projectkin.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

Projectkin Live: Emma Explores Preview » Our Theme This Month: Twos!

Thank you. Pip69 [https://substack.com/profile/410293814-pip69], Jason Stephenson [https://substack.com/profile/150447927-jason-stephenson], Nina Gafni [https://substack.com/profile/330969185-nina-gafni], Kyla Bayang [https://substack.com/profile/316733498-kyla-bayang], David Shaw [https://substack.com/profile/23453968-david-shaw], The Wicked Sommelier [https://substack.com/profile/477392485-the-wicked-sommelier], Diane Burley [https://substack.com/profile/183003391-diane-burley], and so many more of you for joining Emma - Journeys into Genealogy [https://substack.com/profile/174917624-emma-journeys-into-genealogy] and me today. I can’t tell you how much it means to me here on the American Pacific coast to see all of you joining from the UK continent, across the American states and Canadian provinces. Your thoughts, comments, and encouragement are the glue that holds this community together. The little ❤️s you drop keep us motivated and give this series a little more visibility. Feel free to create clips from this post to share with your friends. Projectkin [http://projectkin.org] programming is offered free thanks to the kind support of our generous patrons [http://projectkin.org/patrons] around 🌏 the 🌍 world 🌎. Emma Explores: 2nd Anniversary! After a brief holiday, Emma returns to share more stories woven from themes she’s discovered in her own family story. In homage to the 2nd birthday of the series, she’s weaving stories around “twos,” things she’s discovered in pairs. If Emma Explores is new to you, here’s the archive for the series. In today’s preview, we ended up talking quite a bit about how we arrived at a series for Emma Explores, her Journeys into Genealogy Podcast, and more. The 100th episode of Journeys into Genealogy [https://emmacox.libsyn.com/celebrating-4-years-and-100-episodes-of-journeys-into-genealogy-plus-whats-in-store-for-2025] is a terrific way to survey the podcast. Themes! The genius of a thematic view of family history is that it encourages you to look beyond the strict facts of family history. Picking a theme has you thinking about the deeper ties that can create connections with your audience as a family history storyteller. It has to be a real connection, though, not something contrived by an artificial prompt or driven to a deadline. We talked about the example of Stories250 [http://projectkin.org/stories250], something I’m passionate about because of my own history as an American. It didn’t resonate for Emma, nor was there a story in the different ancestors she explored at the time. Migration stories, however, a new series we’ve planned for this fall, sounds like an interesting hook for many new themes for Emma Explores [http://projectkin.org/emma-explores] later this year. Perhaps with a tie-in to our planned All About That Place [http://projectkin.org/aatp] sponsorship in October 2026 [https://tockify.com/eventscalendar/pinboard?search=aatp&startms=1777618800000], we might even pull a few strings for thematic topics there, too. Join us, Thursday, May 21st You won’t want to miss next week’s program. Our Emma Explores [http://projectkin.org/emma-explores] programs are held via Zoom, which allows you to join in on the conversation that follows each presentation. Zoom requires you to register to get your personal link: I’m able to offer these programs for free because of the generous support of our Projectkin Patrons. Learn more about each of them, their publications, and their work at Projectkin.org/patrons [http://projectkin.org/patrons] To see these livestream posts on the go and keep up with the latest stories and conversations in the community, join us in the Substack app. If it gives you any trouble, just ask. You’re among friends and fellow travelers in the world of family history storytelling. Get full access to Projectkin at projectkin.substack.com/subscribe [https://projectkin.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

Speakers’ Corner Preview: Jennifer & Barbara Talk “Letters & Old Lace”

Thank you, Ersula Odom [https://substack.com/profile/44811540-ersula-odom], Kyla Bayang [https://substack.com/profile/316733498-kyla-bayang], Kathy Stone [https://substack.com/profile/177868959-kathy-stone], Jim the Historian [https://substack.com/profile/25723678-jim-the-historian], Lisa Rex [https://substack.com/profile/17961514-lisa-rex], MamaCarole [https://substack.com/profile/297279964-mamacarole], Dr. Mary M. Marshall [https://substack.com/profile/21244770-dr-mary-m-marshall], and so many more of you for joining Jennifer Jones [https://substack.com/profile/260013785-jennifer-jones] and me today. I can’t tell you how much it means to me here on the American Pacific coast to see all of you joining from the UK continent, Australia, and across the American states and Canadian provinces. Your thoughts, comments, and encouragement are the glue that holds this community together. The little ❤️s you drop keep us motivated and give this series a little more visibility. Feel free to create clips from this post to share with your friends. Projectkin [http://projectkin.org/] programming is offered free thanks to the kind support of our generous patrons [http://projectkin.org/patrons] around 🌏 the 🌍 world 🌎. Today’s conversation took us into the theme for Thursday’s Speakers’ Corner [http://projectkin.org/speakers-corner] episode with Cynthia Boatright Raleigh [https://substack.com/profile/34129658-cynthia-boatright-raleigh] and Helene | Letters from LaBelle [https://substack.com/profile/34870574-helene-letters-from-labelle], “Of Letters & Old Lace.” The theme brings together two writers who have written extensively about collections of handwritten materials. For Cynthia, it was a remarkable series she did on her research into an autograph book she found in a flea market. The first in that series is below, but… …our focus for Thursday’s program will be on a new story she hasn’t yet shared 👀. For Helene, the theme relates to discoveries in a cache of handwritten letters her great-grandmother left behind in the nineteen sixties and early seventies. Letters give us such a direct personal view into what’s in someone’s mind and what affects their daily life. In handwriting and choices of paper, ink, and stamps, they can convey a larger story. We shared personal experiences with extended writing partners and how collections of letters have affected our research. * I mentioned the 2024 Projectkin talk with author Kathryn Graven, the voice behind Memoirs of a Mask Maker [https://www.kathryngraven.com/the-book], as she worked on her new project to tell the story of her grandmother’s year in India in 1923. In the age of email and texting, letters are more important than ever. Join us to be inspired: Of course none of this would be possible without our remarkable showrunner and storyteller, Jennifer Jones. If you haven’t already, you’ll want to be sure to follow her work at Tracking Down the Family. Do you have friends or family members who may benefit from watching this program or viewing our other posts? Everyone is welcome here. Please share our work and invite your friends to join us. As Projectkin, we’re here to help families tell their stories in any form. I feel strongly that our collections of photos and other artifacts are key to our memories and, in turn, our stories. Have stories to tell? We’d love to have you share your story as part of the Speakers’ Corner. Get full access to Projectkin at projectkin.substack.com/subscribe [https://projectkin.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

Projectkin Live with Lisa Maguire: Themes in Global Migrations

Thank you, Jennifer Jones [https://substack.com/profile/260013785-jennifer-jones], Bill Moore [https://substack.com/profile/51729824-bill-moore], David Shaw [https://substack.com/profile/23453968-david-shaw], Linda Teather [https://substack.com/profile/185449888-linda-teather], Jane Chapman [https://substack.com/profile/99426408-jane-chapman], Denise Hoagland [https://substack.com/profile/254624599-denise-hoagland], and so many more of you for joining Lisa Maguire [https://substack.com/profile/29373378-lisa-maguire], and me today. It’s great to have you part of the conversation. I can’t tell you how much it means to me here on the American Pacific coast to see all of you joining from Australia, New Zealand, and across the American states and provinces. Your thoughts, comments, and encouragement are the glue that holds this community together. The little ❤️s you drop keep us motivated and give this post a little more visibility. Feel free to create clips from this post to share with your friends. Projectkin [http://Projectkin.org] programming is offered free thanks to the kind support of our generous patrons [http://projectkin.org/patrons] around 🌏 the 🌍 world 🌎. Migration Stories Series Coming in September In contemplating a follow-up act to Projectkin’s Stories250 [http://projectkin.org/stories250] series, I realized that Migration Stories was the perfect fit. Several practical elements make the collaboration a bit of a challenge, however. I mentioned the idea in my livestream with Jennifer Jones a few weeks ago, and you can see it’s already started to take shape. To continue to develop the idea, I invited Lisa Maguire [http://substack.com/@ancestory] of Ancestory [https://ancestory.substack.com/] to join me today. Her post on Micro History, “Family History Asks Large Questions in Small Places [https://projectkin.substack.com/p/special-lisa-maguire],” from August 2025. As you’ll see in the recording, Lisa understood the assignment. Lisa jumped right in to underscore how genealogy helps us understand how our story was part of a larger historical arc. In talking through some of the push/pull dynamics that motivated our ancestors to pick up stakes, we explored the complexities: * Forced migrations (enslavement, indentured servitude, famine) * Experimental / adventure seeking * Family unifications … as a few examples. My hope is to create a way to invite writers to submit posts they’ve already written and published on their own sites for presentation with posts of others that follow the same themes, migrations to/from the same places, or perhaps for similar reasons. In reviewing the stories in context, we can all learn more from each other. An idea! 💡 During the conversation, we also hit on the idea of me creating a simple submission form where community members can post stories or themes they would LIKE to see. The submitter might optionally share their contact info for follow-up. Projects Can Be Messy As you might see in the video, Lisa and I had a fun time in the conversation. One important example as a theme was the story of America’s Great Migration, the decades-long migration of African-Americans from the Jim Crow laws of the South for the promise of a better life in the industrial North. In that context, Lisa referenced Isabel Wilkerson’s brilliant epic, “The Warmth of Other Suns [http://warmth.isabelwilkerson.com/].” The brainstorming effort then made us a little punchy. As David Shaw raised the example of ethnic German families in the late 19th century to South Dakota, we fell down a rabbit hole reminiscing on an American 1960s-era variety show, The Lawrence Welk Show [https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLS2iQCYIw0fkQoAl5R-WheaeeuLUJleaC&si=p4j3sAfIYzqW4QLW]. For those of you who may not get the reference, here’s just one of the episodes available now on YouTube. (Wikipedia corrects us to report that Lawrence Welk (1903-1992) [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_Welk] was a native of North Dakota who was born to German immigrants from Russia [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Sea_Germans].) Many thanks to Lisa Maguire If you aren’t already familiar with Lisa Maguire’s [http://substack.com/@ancestory] own stories, you’ll find them here on Substack, Ancestory: Do you have friends or family members who may benefit from watching this program or viewing our other posts? Everyone is welcome here. Please share our work and invite your friends to join us. As Projectkin, we’re here to help families tell their stories in any form. I feel strongly that our collections of photos and other artifacts are key to our memories and, in turn, our stories. Get full access to Projectkin at projectkin.substack.com/subscribe [https://projectkin.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]