Saving old memories

In 1981, I made a collage for my parents, in celebration of their 40th anniversary (in 1980). I didn’t know what I know now about photo preservation, and used rubber cement to glue down the (precious, old) photos to the (gasp!) cardboard included with the frame I bought. Were I doing this today, I would have done it very differently, but I didn’t know then what I know now!

So, when I decided to send the original photos to Forever to be converted to digital images, it took a little work. I wanted to add them to my account and to my brother’s account (he is the genealogist in the family, as I am the photo historian!).

So, I started with a large collage, mounted on cardboard and adhered with rubber cement. First, I gently pulled off the photos that were barely holding on.

Then, I got out the tools of the trade: a hairdryer, a “Multi-Purpose Tool”, which is a slick sort of spatula made by Creative Memories, dental floss, which helps pull the photos away from the cardboard, an Exacto knife, and a ruler, which provided a flat surface with which to gently pull the photos off the cardboard.

Some of the photos released easily and were removed from the cardboard, but others were tenacious and refused to budge. I hit them with the hairdryer. I pulled and coaxed with the ruler. But they still held firm. So, I used my trusty Exacto knife and cut through the photo and the underlying cardboard and removed the photo and the cardboard. Better safe than sorry!

This one wouldn’t let go of that bit of cardboard; so I kept it!

Newspaper article – kept it stuck to cardboard to protect it.

There was one photo that I ripped as I was removing it; that will be send to Forever with a note asking them to repair it and give me a digital image. There will be an extra charge for it, but it is the only one I have, so it is worth it.

Forever will digitize all of these photos and the images will end up in my account and in my brother’s account also. What a gift, to have the digital files for these priceless photos.

Want to know more? Go to www.forever.com/ambassador/PhyllisO for more information.

Until next time,