Saving Local History

Means

Dumpster Diving and Trash Picking

 

I got this out of the trash one in Ridley Park one day. One of the very few I have ever seen.

  Saving local history can me a lot of different things. Just recently a lady contacted me about a scarp book she had found in the trash. The book contained newspaper articles of a local business that still exists. I was so happy she thought of me. I still remember when I first began to collect passing a church on trash day. The church was being torn down and a new church built on the site. I asked my friend who was driving to pull over were actually on a date going miniature golf. The first thing that caught my eye a photo of the church well over 100 years old. I was so shocked it was in the church trash. I picked up a few other things too, my date had no idea what to think, but we are still best friends.

  Remember you never know what businesses etc. will toss out. Not only pictures and scrap books but minute books etc. You never know what you will find. A friend called me one day that his business was cleaning out minute books etc. He thought I was crazy, I jumped in the and spent a half hour digging and found some great stuff.

  Always keep your eyes and ears opening when collecting local history or whatever is your interest.

   Same thing goes with family genealogy especially your own. Some families save everything others save nothing. I do not understand it. I was working on a centennial history of a local history of a local boro and I was good friends with the family who had lived in the boro the longest. Their grandfather was the town father and I was sure they would have a lot of family history. They had nothing, zilch. Their great aunt was still living and occasionally visited them. I asked them the next time she visited I wanted to interview her and they said ok. One day I stopped by their house to drop off some church items, we both went to the same one, and the great aunt was there!! I told her who I was and she said she had been trying to meet me to talk about her family and the towns founding and family and I told her I had been trying to meet her!!! My friend’s wife got up from the table and stormed out of the room mad as could be that I was going to ruin her day!!’Her husband left too, but he gave me pen and paper before he left. This is a true story.

  Family history can be the same way. Items lost and tossed. One big problem with family history can be identification. A friend told me his grandfather’s youngest sister was great. She would come to family get togethers bring pictures and talk about the family history. What shocked the family was when she died. The family got all of her pictures but she had never written down a thing, no stories and pictures of the family, who was who. The family knew many of the pictures but at the same time many they did not. So please take the time and sit down with grandmom and identify and write down your families history. Future generations will love you!!

  Lastly always listen to possible gifts from someone even if it doesn’t sound like much. I man told me he had a “little something” for me from Westinghouse. He had worked there his whole life. What shocked me was his gift. It was a custom made photo album of Westinghouse being built in 1917 and 1918. The pictures started when Westinghouse was nothing but farm fields. I asked him where he had gotten this one of a kind book? He shocked  me when he said he was the secretary to the first president of Westinghouse in Tinicum and one day he got the book from him.

  So always look, trash pick, dumpster dive etc. You never know what you will find or get.

P.S. I still collect booklets, pictures etc. and I pay good prices. Please email me if you have something for sale, keith106@rcn.com. If a local church etc. is putting out a local history or another organization please let me know, Sometimes I do not hear about them!! Thanks