Preserving precious memories

Subject: Preserving precious memories
From: wilbyhillbilly
Date: 03 Nov 05 - 12:34 PM

PLEASE, do not read this if you get bored easily.


As some of you know, I transfer vinyls and tapes to CD and its now about 18 months since I put my website up.

Its been progressing nicely and I am getting several repeat customers which is always a good sign, anyway, the reason I started doing this was that I had old reel to reel tapes of the kids from way back, (early 60s) and I thought it would be nice to present them with a CD of their performances 40 years on as well as preserve the memories for myself, so after having finished them I spread the word amongst friends etc. and eventually ended up where I am now, a website with all kinds of stuff coming in. I love it!.

Anyway, a few weeks ago I had an elderly gentlemen email me to say that he had a reel to reel tape that was very, very precious to him as this was the only record of his youngest brother as a very young child who unfortunately was tragically killed when he was 8 years old.

The sound had deteriorated and his mother and father (now 80 years old) had difficulty in making out what was on it so could I do anything.

Well I duly cleaned and transferred it and sent it back, it was a real great tape of family gatherings, sing songs, nursery rhymes, jokes etc.

TODAY I received this email, (which gave me goosebumps when I read it)

"Hello Again John

Just thought I would let you know that your work has been very much appreciated.
I let my Mum & Dad hear it as you know who are in their 80's .The tears streamed down their faces and I thought this is going to be to much for them so I asked did they want me to stop NO came the reply. So they listened to it right through and at the end they both said that you had done a wonderful job and brought floods of happy memories back to them and then it was a wander down memory lane telling us stories of this Aunts & Uncles Grans & Granpa's and about my brother.
John from the bottom of my heart THANK YOU. You made two old people very happy and I dont mind saying I had a tear in my eye also.
Singing all of your praises to relatives - hope it brings you some more transfers.

Kind Regards David"

Now I've obviously had some nice letters and emails (even some from mudcatters) but this one just seemed to me to hit the nail right on the head as it were, this was EXACTLY why I started doing what I do and its made me feel so humble, and proud, that I can contribute a little something that brings somebody a little pleasure.

And to think I was having a real bad day until now, hell, its really made my day.

Sorry about this, but I JUST HAD TO TELL SOMEONE!

Subject: RE: Preserving precious memories
From: Ebbie
Date: 03 Nov 05 - 12:38 PM

Wow. Imagine the joy you are spreading in this world. Thanks for sharing the story.

Subject: RE: Preserving precious memories
From: Jerry Rasmussen
Date: 03 Nov 05 - 12:45 PM

Greeeeeeeeeeeat! And huzzahs for you! It's funn that you should post this thread because in looking through old tapes yesterday, I came across a couple of my family... one long message tape of my Father talking about his childhood. This Sunday, my oldest son is coming by and we'll set up my new computer and CD burning software, and I've been gearing up to transfer recordings of my gospel quartet onto CD. When I get set up, I'll make a CD of the message tapes from my Father and Mother of years ago and make copies for all of the family.

This Saturday, I'll be going to the NOMAD festival. Last year, I did a workshop titled A Family Album Of Songs. It came about because I did a family photo album for my Mother (and my wife and I) of photos that related directly to songs I'd written... a photo of my Father in his Old Blue Suit, the railroad bridge I used to fish off of, from Living On The River, etc. It was a wonderful project and I included lyrics from the songs in the book across from the photograph they referred to. It was a demanding job, and now all the family wants copies.

Some may leave stories well tuned in the telling
Some may leave jokes that can still make you laugh
Some may leave lessons, hard in the learning
And some just a smile in an old photograph

And for those of us who are especially fortunate, some may leave their voice on a tape...

Good for you!

Jerry

Subject: RE: Preserving precious memories
From: Janie
Date: 03 Nov 05 - 02:19 PM

Wonderful!

We had close family friends who had many reel-to-reel home movies of their kids and us starting in toddlerhood, and ending when we were in our twenties. When my sister died at age 43 from breast cancer, they sent the movies off and had them put on video. (No sound to them, of course.) Each of us has a copy, and it is precious indeed. You are offering a wonderful gift in doing this for people.

Janie

Subject: RE: Preserving precious memories
From: wysiwyg
Date: 03 Nov 05 - 03:20 PM

It doesn't surprise me at ALL that you HAD to share this-- you big ole heart, you.

~A Grateful & Well-Preserved Memory :~)

Subject: RE: Preserving precious memories
From: open mike
Date: 03 Nov 05 - 03:39 PM

i have some treasured memories digitally preserved, too.

i have some 78's of my dad that he recorded in college..

some interesting drinking songs, and other performances

of choral and clarinet music. the old family 8mm films

are so cumbersome in their orignal form--requiring screen

and projector....which are becoming difficult to get parts

for (bulbs, drive bands, etc.) lthey are so convenient in

VHS form--and now that medium has been left in the dust by

DVD. I have been working on getting a 78 rpm phonograph to

work by replacing needles, cartridges, etc. for hopeful use

in transferring some old pre-vynal (sp?_) discs...you know,

the ones with music on BOTH sides....good for you tp do this!

I know you did transfer some of Katlaughing's dad's cowboy

songs to disc and it is great to be able to listen to them!!

I have a bunch of reel to reel ausio tapes that are in line

for the same process....if i can find the time. why only 24

hours in a day (except for last wunday when daylight savings

time changed and there was an extra hour) My father inspired

me many years ago when he brought a reel-t0-reel (Webcor) tape

recorder to a family reunion and interviewed some of the old

timers....i must locate those recordings. Irreplaceable!!

Please post your web site, Willy Hilly Billy (John). Thanks!

Subject: RE: Preserving precious memories
From: alanabit
Date: 03 Nov 05 - 04:15 PM

I see this sort of thing as being very much the motivation for the folk world in general. Folk songs tell the stories for people who can't always tell them themselves. That was really worth doing and I understand the pleasure it gave you. What a great thing to be able to do!

Subject: RE: Preserving precious memories
From: wilbyhillbilly
Date: 03 Nov 05 - 06:43 PM

I'm glad I posted this, it just goes to show that there are a lot of people with a lot of lovely stories, and a lot of precious memories.

Thanks for sharing them.

open mike, the site is here

Subject: RE: Preserving precious memories
From: katlaughing
Date: 03 Nov 05 - 06:54 PM

Just made a copy of the one you did of my dad's "cow songs," today, as it happens, for an unsuspecting friend.:-) You did a beautiful job. I am really grateful you've shared this with us...just wonderful...what Mudcat is all about and more.

luvyakat

Subject: RE: Preserving precious memories
From: Kaleea
Date: 03 Nov 05 - 08:13 PM

We should all take a lesson from this story. The Musical memories & stories told by our elders and family members are treasures. When I was but a young teen I once asked my Granny how she & my Grandad met. A few decades later, I mentioned this in passing to an aunt and found out that none of my 10 aunts and uncles had ever heard the story. I no longer remember the details, just the general idea. Now I'm wishing that I'd taken a tape recorder for that visit. Perhaps a good hypnotist could help me recall the details.

Subject: RE: Preserving precious memories
From: alanabit
Date: 04 Nov 05 - 07:29 AM

My favourite Mudcat thread, which I ever started myself, was A Wonderful Story. Maybe you have something to add Willybilly?

Subject: RE: Preserving precious memories
From: wilbyhillbilly
Date: 04 Nov 05 - 09:03 AM

Thats a great thread alanabit, I'm lucky really, a lot of the tapes I get to work on are obviously very personal, so its like taking a peek into other peoples lives and there has been quite a few that stir up the old emotions, thats probably why I love my work so much, real human stories.

Some tragic (like the first one), some just really happy, like granma and grandpa's golden wedding anniversary party in Ireland in 1958 with everyone singing, telling jokes, and discussing various family memories, and by god, some of the singers are spectacular considering it was in someones front room, singing into a little plastic microphone.

One in particular I remember doing was a tape with a Christmas message from America (there's a song title for you) in the 60,s from a grandson, obviously adult, to his grandmother in Ireland in which he admitted not believing some of the stories he had been told about his grandfather's whaling days, and it was only now that he had seen some old photographs of his grandfather standing outside his cottage with the huge complete jawbone of the whale leaning up against the wall that he realised the tales had to be true. He spoke of the tales he had heard from his mum and dad of their journey from Ireland across to America in the "old days" and the various members of their now quite large family, and I quote, "to give you some idea grandma of what's going on here in New York at the moment I'm putting the Andy Williams Christmas Show on here for you". The complete show then followed with Bing Crosby and other guests.

There are so many different stories like, the lady who in 1954 when she was a wren, walked into a music "shop" in Scotland to record two songs which involved a pianist sitting in the middle of the room, and being told to project her voice towards the mic on the other side, ended up with a "record" god only knows what it was made of ,I think it must have been before shellac 'cos the deterioration was the worst I have had to deal with so far, but she ended up happy.

All these things take me back , and remind me of things that I had forgotten long ago, and now I'm an official "old age pensioner" its great to look back and remember, if you know what I mean.

Crumbs! just realised how I've been rambling on, I'll go now, Promise.

Subject: RE: Preserving precious memories
From: wilbyhillbilly
Date: 05 Nov 05 - 05:38 AM