Serving Others.

Clayton Library for Genealogical Research in Houston. Having an activity on how to preserve photos. 

Today, I was having some fun on Pinterest.  It is a place I save things I want to go back to later. I have repinned some provident living things that I knew would be helpful for making sure I would not be found wanting.  In doing so, I began to see a trend of people posting things to help themselves against disasters.  I did not see any one posting things that would be serving others, thus I have started a board called "Ask Not What Your Country Can Do For You".  I decided to start sharing and keeping places that people help each other.  Here, I will emphasize Genealogy service.  I can not share one of my favorite sources twitter, because it is too wide a river of information. There are many who share helpful genealogy information all the time. I give a big shout out to all my gen friends on Twitter.  I will share some Genealogy helps I have come across.
Facebook has a new version of RAOGK  They also have many genealogy research communities and research groups.  If you are interested in helps for Genealogy Societies, and tips on research, We Tree  is an example of genealogy service.  There are several technological helpers in the blogging genealogy community 4YourFamilyStory ,  Modern Software Experience , and geneabloggers.com are examples.  If you just Google 'genealogy societies bulletin', or something similar, you will find a wealth of genealogy societies that have websites and information on what they have to share.  I only shared a very small example of awesome bloggers of genealogy helps.
I am glad I am in the genealogy world. I love the way they help us learn, and research. It is uplifting to watch how they encourage each other to continue their research. Other areas of society would do well to watch and learn from them on how to build people up.
If you are interested in helping this link is about volunteering.  Check with  your local genealogy library they can use volunteers too, as their budgets may have been cut reducing their staff.

Sentimental Sunday The Hero and The Waitress

Back in 1969, the Hero was a bit arrogant.  My aunts passed judgement on him the first time they met him saying.  "A bit of a know it all wasn't he."  He had been part of a winning debate team and was in the habit of "knowing it all". 

He had a favorite hamburger called a Master Burger.  We had to drive a bit to get to the restaurant.  You can tell, it was a special trip.  One evening we went and it was getting late, but when it came to his Master Burger he held high standards.  There doesn't seem to be any Master Burger restaurants in Houston any longer so I can't give you a visual.  I have a clip art hamburger that will make you want a juicy hamburger.

 After we ordered, we sat and talked and talked and talked.  He became aware the food had not arrived and no waitress in sight.  He waited, then went to the entrance and inquired on what had happened with our order.  He was assured that it would be out quickly.  Well, if you call another 15 minutes quickly.  The Hero was getting annoyed.  The waitress delivered the food without an apology.  She didn't even smile. Our drinks were nearly gone because we had been waiting so long.  Did she ask if we would like more drink? NO.  It continued.  Class D service.  We finished our meal the food was good, but the Hero was hot under the collar.  He decided he would leave a penny as a tip to let the waitress know he did not approve of her service. 
We paid for our meal and went to the car.  He opened the car door for me (he was a gentleman for all our married life). As I sat down, he leaned down and said "a penny is too much."  With that, he closed the door and I saw him walked back into the restaurant. The waitress had just gone to our table; he was right behind her.  As she started to clean, he reached past her and took the penny. 
The look on her face as he stalked out the door was priceless.  I don't know if he said anything or not (he never told me), but the body language was enough.
Grandchildren, should he have done that?  Let me think, as I said he was arrogant in those days and felt his perception was correct all the time.  The waitress did not give good service and bad behavior should not be rewarded, on the other hand insulting someone is not the best either.  You will have to make up your own mind.  He felt that he was justified.  Maybe so.  Good night.  Love you all.

Two Men How Very Different

I am grateful to these men for very different reasons. The man on the left is the brother of Henry Crawford Reynolds (on the right), who is my mother-in-law's grandfather. Archibald Spencer Reynolds was difficult for me to find when searching for Henry's family because he was first listed by his mother as Spencer on a census. Later I understood why, that was his grandfather's name. The rest of his life he was known as Archibald. He became a Reverend and loved being a minister of the gospel. He married twice, live in Alabama, Florida, and Texas. He loved his family. Now, why do I write these things, because one of his great granddaughters emailed me to say she thought that her great grandfather was the Spencer I was looking for. How did she know that? She had a autobiography that he had written and given to his son. What a wonderful gift! It gave me all the information that confirmed the family I had been leaning towards and answered many questions I had.
My own husband had a year before we knew he had cancer started on his personal history. I would say, "you have plenty of time why the hurry". He would say, "I feel I must get it done." Now that he is gone, I am grateful he took the time. Sharing feelings, information, and life experiences with others in the family by way of writing is a gift of great love and eternal worth.
Back to Henry. Henry chose first to be a farmer, then felt the call to be a doctor and went to school to become a doctor. He was not a well known doctor. He lived in Wharton, Texas and was a "country doctor" . His pay many times was a chicken, vegetables, etc. He too loved his family, was married to his life long sweetheart, and raised his granddaughter, my now 90 year old mother-in-law. How do I know these things? Not from him, I can't even find his medical records. It was my mother-in-law who loved him and her grandmother so very much. It was not hard to get her to talk about them. When Martha (the grandmother) first saw Henry, he had just ridden up on his horse to her grandfather's house looking for work. She was hiding behind a bush at the fence "looking". She said of him "He was as pretty as a picture". I am grateful to him for being an honorable and sincere man who tried to help others and taught the same to his granddaughter. I hope that I have learned from both men and will be able to offer history, love, truth, and service through my family research.