Family Home Movies

As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been
demon-possessed begged to go with him.   Jesus did not let him, but said,
“Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you,
and how he has had mercy on you.”   So the man went away and began
to tell in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him.
And all the people were amazed.
Mark 5:18-20

 

My parents are passing down a legacy of memories that my brothers and I, and our children, will forever cherish.  From my earliest recollections as a small child, all the way up into my adult years, the brightness of the light bar and the sight of my mom or dad taking home movies was a natural part of life nearly as much as was my Daddy and his coffee. 

Wells Christmas 1961

Click below to watch this clip from 1961
1961 Wells Christmas

 

Over the course of 30 some years, reel after reel of 8 mm and Super 8 mm films were recorded and added to the collection that could always be found in a box in the front hall closet.  Many years ago while still living in my parents’ home, I began to organize this wealth of family heritage as I clicked out on the family’s old typewriter detailed notes of each individual reel.  This very rough but fairly accurate list of information was kept with the reels so whenever someone suggested on a lazy holiday afternoon that we watch home movies, we randomly pulled out several reels and could read the corresponding notes.

With the ever-changing quick tempo of technology and all that it offers, my parents’ movie camera eventually became a thing of the past.   It was replaced by the next generation’s VHS cameras and now digital video.  But in the bottom of that closet still laid priceless footage of our family and friends.  My mom often thought about transferring these antique memories into something more user-friendly, since it was always quite a chore to get out the projector, the box of films, and then to set up the movie screen.  After much research on Google and then inquiring phone calls to specific businesses, a final decision was made to use Digmypics.com, a company in Arizona, to transfer our home movies into DVDs.  For a few months in the spring of 2008, I made regular visits to my mom’s house where together we took my original typewritten notes and verified dates, special occasions, and familiar faces as we went through thousands of feet of movie film.  Once reels, lists, and instructions were fully updated and organized, all 7,500 feet of our family’s memories were boxed up and shipped Fed-Ex to Arizona.  Long story short, there was a fire in Arizona around 2 a.m. on the same morning that our box arrived on site.  Due to the complete loss of the facility just 6 hours prior, the shipment was refused and sent back to us inIndiana.  Our family was stunned at the near devastation of losing our priceless memories, so we once again put the box of reels back into the closet. 

Jay's 14th birthday

Click below to watch this clip of my brother Jay’s 14th birthday

Jay’s 14th birthday

 

Life for all of us kept its usual fast pace, but this past spring, mom decided it was time to send the box back to Arizona.  Digmypics.com has since rebuilt, and is now the largest web based photo scanning and video transfer service in America.  They were extremely gracious in dealing with us by charging our order from the 2008 price sheet.  Within a few short weeks of receiving our films, they had processed each reel, cleaned the films, and then uploaded them to a website which we could access in order to view, organize, and to title.  What a thrill it was to open the very first chapter and see my own mother at the age of 6 years old with her two big brothers, out playing in their side yard in Nashville,Indiana.  Within moments, there was my Pappy driving up the big hill to his parents’ home in his ’36 Chevy.  Reminiscing has a way of stealing my time, so I lost a few hours here and there while finalizing our order from Digmypics.com.  Grandparents, aunts and uncles, my gazillion cousins, friends, neighbors, church family, my own Daddy  ~  Christmases, birthdays, vacations, graduations, births  ~  Cars, trucks, fish, water skiing, dogs, cats, school buses, …   

I have come to a deeper appreciation for my Mother over the past few months as I have spent many hours working on this project in an attempt to provide something precious and most valuable to our families.  Thank you, Mom, for taking the time and making the effort to often pick up the camera and the light bar  …  and for giving us all this priceless gift that we will cherish for as long as life gives us breath… and for generations to come.

Vacation in Holland, Michigan 1971

Click below to watch this clip from our summer vacation in 1971
Summer vacation in Holland, MI 1971

 

 

The project is now complete.  We have 9 full DVDs, divided into 139 chapters.  We also ordered a portable hard drive so we can edit the unabridged version and share with extended family and friends.   Watching these memories come back to life will bring laughter, tears, and a lot of different emotions … but my prayer is that each person will be in awe of how God has had His hand of protection, His hand of comfort, His hand of love, and His hand of mercy on our families through the years.  May we not fail to go away and begin to tell how much Jesus has done for us. 

As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been
demon-possessed begged to go with him.  Jesus did not let him, but said,
“Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you,
and how he has had mercy on you.”  So the man went away and began
to tell in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him.
And all the people were amazed.
Mark 5:18-20

 

Until next time,
Debbie

 

For my friends who subscribe to Morsels of Mercy and automatically get a copy sent to your email, check out the blog on my website to see additional photos of my family         https://morselsofmercy.wordpress.com

**  Blog photo of a home movie clip  ~ my Daddy and I in our new backyard 1962.