Be Careful What You Throw in the Trash

This weekend, Patty and I, with the help of grandson Robby (age 4), and Tucker (our lab – age 5) spent what seemed like unending hours loading a large trailor with yard & garden debris, as well as tree trimmings. Using two chain saws, and two sets of loppers, we cut and disposed of more yard waste than we’ve dealt with in years. Sunday night about 9 pm we finally gave it up as it got too dark to do anything more.

Early Monday morning, our son, Lee, came by with his truck and picked up the trailer for a run to the Bountiful land fill. As we were unloading, Lee and I both noted the number of pictures that were thrown around the dumping area. I saw a full album of photographs that someone had tossed in the trash. It wasn’t “old,” and considering where it was lying, it never would be… I commented to Lee that someone must have gotten divorced. Whether that was the case, we will never know. This got me to thinking about photo albums and family memorabelia that gets tossed. I’ve seen lots of items that got scheduled for the land fill when a divorce took place, and the same thing happens when folks die. As genealogists, we need to impress upon our friends and relatives that keeping the family memorabilia might be a good idea… Even if these items don’t seem important at the time.

About Leland Meitzler

Leland K. Meitzler founded Heritage Quest in 1985, and has worked as Managing Editor of both Heritage Quest Magazine and The Genealogical Helper. He currently operates Family Roots Publishing Company (www.FamilyRootsPublishing.com), writes daily at GenealogyBlog.com, writes the weekly Genealogy Newsline, conducts the annual Salt Lake Christmas Tour to the Family History Library, and speaks nationally, having given over 2000 lectures since 1983.

One Reply to “Be Careful What You Throw in the Trash”

  1. Leland: But then, every so often good things happen. Two weeks ago my sister (Boston) arrived at my house (Akron OH) with thirteen family photo albums. I am the keeper of the genealogy for my mother’s paternal side and most of the albums were for that family. Some were for my father’s parents 50th wedding anniversary, nice to look at and remember faces, and others were of my siblings and I, still good for the genealogy that I work on, etc.
    So, as I said, good things do happen.

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