October 5th - Disaster strikes - what do you save?
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| Photo by Hush Naidoo on Unsplash |
It was wildfires in the West this summer. Now it is flooding in the Southeast this autumn. I am watching the devastation on the news and listening as people talk of leaving their homes and their belongings to save themselves and their loved ones. I am listening as they tell reporters that they have lost photographs, documents, and mementos of their lives.
And I am thinking - if told I had 15 minutes to grab what was important to me and leave my home, what would I take? Have all of us planned to make sure that copies of our important documents, records, photographs and memories are safe and sound somewhere else?
I don't know about you but if told I had 15 minutes, I would make sure my family was out the door and that I had my mobile phone, my wallet, and one of my external hard drives. I have made a point over the past 3 years to back up all my important documents, my genealogy, all the family slides and photographs, and my current work and home projects on external hard drives. One of my sisters has copies of everything except current projects and we have shared the media (slides and photographs) with all our siblings who live in various parts of the country.
Of course I know that the most important thing is our personal safety but I have given thought to that 15 minute warning and done a little planning. Have you planned for disaster - is your family history part of that planning? Why not make sure your Legacy family files and media (whether kept in Legacy or outside the program) are safe from fires, floods or other natural disasters. My thoughts and prayers go out to all who are dealing with the flooding in the Southeast - stay safe.
As the rain has continued to fall and the water rise, I have thought of these things too. Our roads are closed in and out of our neighborhood but we have stayed dry. Others in the community have not been so lucky. This has made me really stop and think about my records. Yes, my family will be first, but what more do I need to do to keep all my precious pictures and records safe. It can happen to anyone, anywhere.
ReplyDeleteStay safe. Hoping the flood waters recede quickly.
ReplyDeleteI live in Calaveras County in California - in the center of the Butte Fire burn zone. As a volunteer fire fighters my husband and I had minutes to get our cats and anything we could carry out of the house, before the fire was going to reach our area and possibly our home. I grabbed one of our cats (couldn't find the other) my external hard drive and my husbands laptop (mine was at the shop luckily). By luck as we were driving out I saw the other cat in the window, and we were able to get him out before driving like hell to get ahead of the fire. Afterwards, I thought - I should have put my binders with certificates and stuff in the fire proof safe, but I hadn't.
ReplyDeleteWe were lucky, the house is still standing (although it really shouldn't be) but we lost all of our outbuildings. What never even crossed my mind until the shed was gone - was all of my personal "keepsakes" and the container of family keepsakes were in the shed, along with all of the photo albums I had (mine, my mothers, my grand parents), almost all of those photos had been scanned so I should still have copies, but losing the albums is painful. Also lost is my grandfather boy scout sash with all his badges, the silver dresser set that belonged to my great grand mother, and so many other "treasurers" that is makes me cry to think of them all. The volume of all these items didn't allow for me to "fire proof" them, but I wish I had done a better job of taking pictures/scans of these items to document their existence.
So in my loss I hope there is a lesson for all you genealogists out there - it isn't just about the documents, but the items, if all else take pictures/scans of them so even if the item is lost you still have something to remember it by. I think you maybe surprised at how many "family heirlooms" you have running around your home or stored in your home.
thanks for sharing that Terry Stone - important that you and loved ones were safe but yes we do need to think about how we protect (and scan to at least have the photographic memory) our mementos.
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