The Suitcase

 

Quite some time ago I wrote a blog about a mystery box full of family history items that I received from my grandparents. At the time I was impressed and astonished by what I had received. Along a similar topic and from the same location, I ended up with something similar to the mystery box, but just as interesting. I received a 24 kilogram suitcase full of family history records from New Zealand when mum returned from New Zealand.

 

There was quite a mix of records that was in the suitcase. If the kitchen sink could have fitted, then it might have come along too. At the time my grandfather had moved into a nursing home as he could no longer look after himself. Some of the records I had come across when we were cleaning up the house as no one knew when anyone would actually be there again. It wasn’t exactly an easy task. There were plenty of interesting records and there were many things that I never knew about as well.

 

Amongst the records I ended up with a large collection of slides that included overseas holidays and the house my grandfather built from the late 1970s and 1980s with additions over the years being included, photos, old bank passbooks that are no longer used and before decimal currency, several talking tapes that are like 8mm film, but are audio. Letters between my grandfather and his brother while he was in the USA, which would be pretty cool when I read them. An old 1945 newspaper that I have not opened up as it is fragile, a certificate from World War One about the loss of a family member on the Western Front. A certificate to say my grandfather had crossed the equator naming the vessel he was on at the time, and an old visa for Nepal that was part of an epic journey that began in France with friends.

 

Months later I am still going through the records as I have ended up digitising the 8mm film even though they are really fragile and prone to breaking. I have scanned most of the slides that include the house in various stages of being built, from when he was part of the North Kirra surf club in the early 1970s I think it was, various journeys that included to Iran, France and parts of the USA. Some of the photos I have of my grandfather, I placed into a photo album and was actually surprised I found some from his 21^st birthday. I have ended up with a little bit of a timeline. The good news about the slides are that they have dates and even marks pointing to the correct way up. Some even have where they are from, which is lucky.

 

I am taking my time organising the rest, but they will be sorted out eventually. The slides, photo negatives and 8mm film were something I thought I should focus on first. There is still something of my great grandfather’s that I still have to get developed, but unsure if it is film or photo reel from 1959. You never know what your grandparents are holding onto and could be of great personal value to yourself and others especially with the changing technology.