Through Fifty Years of Genealogy

What a wonderful walk 

down memory lane!

I am very fortunate to be both attending and presenting at the BYU Conference on Genealogy and Family History, which is celebrating 50 years on this campus.

BYU assembled a wonderful display of genealogy through the past 50 years.  Located near the Vendor Hall, it was frequently filled with people exclaiming, "Oh, I remember those!"

So, let me show you some of this wonderful display...

The Entrance

This old card catalog brought a flood of memories to my mind.  I have spent hours hunched over drawers, where the items I was looking for were usually on the bottom.

We were each given a card like the one above.

If we completed three activities, we were awarded a BYU brownie - the best in the world.

The above two cards are given to each patron. 

They outline the services that are available from BYU.

 Now, this is where I literally got a lump in my throat.  I used to spend hours and hours copying information from pedigree charts and family group sheets that my parents had painstakingly recorded.  Those copies would be sent to Salt Lake City, or given to relatives who may have asked for them.

 My dad was so excited when he could finally afford a wide-carriage typewriter!  He only typed with his two index fingers, but he was as fast as me!

 Kerry had to try his hand at the old standard typewriter.  When I helped my parents fill out their information, part of the pedigree chart had to be folded under.

 Paper!  We used lots and lots of paper!  Actually, I still do.  I miss those old Research Outlines that were sold for twenty-five cents at Family History Centers.  And, I still have them for ever state.

 Oh, the reference books.  I actually own every single one of the books on this chart.  Some of them were printed when my parents were first beginning their research in the late 1940's and early 1950's.

 I still have my overhead projector and my slides.  When I first began speaking back in the 1980's, I actually lugged it around with me, along with 3-ring notebooks filled with my overhead "slides" that were in sheet protectors.

I learned early on that they needed to be housed in a notebook in sheet protectors after dropping a stack of them.  They went sliding like they were on ice.

 Displays are often found on charts in living rooms as people proudly display their heritage.

 Oh, my aching right arm!  I, along with hundreds of thousands of other genealogists, can remember the cranking of the microfilm reels.  They even had readers for left-handed people.

When patrons in the Family History Center would ask for advice for their first visit to the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, I told them to bring along a bottle of Tylenol for their back and arms and shoulders.

Before the advent of Family History Centers, all microfilm had to be viewed in Salt Lake City.  None could be sent anywhere.

 With the advent of computers, processing became faster.  I used to own a computer similar to the one above.

Just look at that screen!

 Studies have shown that children do better in life when the feel a connection with their past.  I have never seen such a time when so many children have been involved!

I was raised going to cemeteries and courthouses, and I'm grateful to see the younger generation getting on board.

 Family history now takes center stage in people's homes.  Or rather, it can take center stage.  There are many tools and apps available at our fingertips to sharpen our knowledge and skills.

The home base for genealogy and family history is now our own home.  The days for travel to the actual place where our ancestors lived have lessened.  Research and processing and recording can be done in a quiet corner of our home as we recall the stories associated with our ancestors.

This display was such a delight to walk through.  It brought back memories and "aha" moments as I realized I have used every one of these tools to get to where we are today.

What about you?

Do these spur some memories in your life?