A trip down memory lane without leaving home

MOST of Ballarat has been in isolation for seven weeks, so you may be thinking you’ve run out of home projects.

But Mount Pleasant History Group president, Max Duthie has some ideas to keep you busy, if you’re wondering what’s next now the weather’s turned cold.

“The kitchen cupboards may be organised… Bedrooms tidied… Records and DVDs sorted…So what comes next?” Mr Duthie said.

“If you are like most of us, you have stacks of family photos and memorabilia stuck away in cupboards and boxes. Now is an excellent time to get them out, sort and identify them and go for a trip down memory lane.”

The first job is to look at what you have, and arrange everything into categories like printed photos, newspaper copies or cuttings, slides and digital shots, too.

Mr Duthie suggests the first proper project can then focus on printed photos more closely.

“If they are already labelled, great. If not, get hold of a proper photo marking pencil, available at craft shops, or a 2B pencil. Do not write on the back with biro, as it can bleed through to the print side,” he said.

What you then have can be sorted into specific family groups, and generationally. If anything is uncertain, it can put in a group to the side, before the labelling process starts.

“Remember, labels like ‘dad or mum’s cousin’ don’t tell us much. Use given names and surnames where possible. If you can, assign a date to them.

“Even a decade or group of years will help. Try a bit of detective work to help work out what year it was. ‘We’re standing in front of the FB Holden so it must be after 1960,’ etc,” Mr Duthie said.

“If you have the facility, even a phone camera, take an image and send it to other family members, especially for the ones you can’t identify.”

Everything that is identifiable can be put into generations in photo storage boxes, which are available in variety stores, and arranged with card indexes.

“You can also organise them by places you have lived, sports you have played, vehicles your family have owned,” he said.

While you’re looking through everything, Mr Duthie encourages notation of memories stirred, which can be shared with family and friends, close or distant, via social media.

“There are many local history pages for Ballarat suburbs, like History of Mount Pleasant – Ballarat, Loving Soldier’s Hill & Ballarat, and Sebastopol Historical Society, and they are always seeking contributions from past or present local residents,” he said.

Mr Duthie places a “special” emphasis on very old photographs of ancestors, or places where they lived, but ultimately has one final message.

“Store them separately and if possible, arrange to have digital copies made for current generations. Remember that digital copies can be enhanced to make them clearer and sharper,” he said.

“Above all, enjoy the process of delving into your past via images and the memories and stories that they evoke.”