As many of you know, this past fall we moved my mom from her Luverne, MN home trailer into a retirement community apartment. The trailer had broken water pipes from the previous winter, and it wasn’t worth fixing. During said move, Mom handed me a box of old 8mm film reels that she said were home movies. Wow!
Ray Gibson
It was both with excitement and trepidation that I sent those reels, along with VHS tapes and heritage photos, to FOREVER for digital conversion.
I was excited to see what was on them but feared that they were damaged and there would be nothing. Sadly, this type of media ages with time and mishandling. Imagine my surprise and amazement at what was discovered. Turns out my dad loved that old vintage video camera. So much so that there is a video of me around age one using the potty chair, with our faithful dog Tiny to assist. And then my Mom holding me up for the entire world to see my bare bottom. Well then!
Grandma & Grandpa
And on that same reel was my Grandpa Pete. Grandpa Pete was always just old to me. You see, he married late in life (40s) and was 15 years older than my grandmother. So, by the time the grandkids came along, he was just old. And I never remember him smiling. So, it made me laugh to see my grandpa, not only smiling, but laughing and playing cards. Unfortunately, this reel doesn’t have sound but still what a sight to see.
Some of the old media has sound, others do not. My only sadness is that as my Dad took most of the home movies, there are few with him in them. But there are some with him talking as he’s shooting, and as it has been 12 years since my Dad passed, hearing his voice again brings back such sweet memories of an amazing man.
Tiny & Beth
And now I’d like to share with you the video of “Beth on the Potty” (around the 3-minute mark). Thanks Dad!
And remember, FOREVER can help you reclaim your memories by scanning and converting all of your photos, slides, VHS tapes, film and more and then upload these memories to your FOREVER account. To view online in your account (or on your mobile device) you will need to buy the video plan.
What a blessing to have these precious family memories back in my life!
Call or email us today. Let’s get started: 612-616-1215; beth@gettingorganizednow.com