Sometimes You Forget

That's an exaggeration of course, we don't really forget.

I don't know if I've mentioned it on this blog before, so I'll let it out here: I'm taking courses at the National Institute of Genealogical Studies. I just started a few weeks ago, so I'm pretty much in methodology 101. It is a tad boring, but it's required and refreshers never hurt.

Something great that has come out of going back to the very basics, is revisiting my early research. Stuff I likely have not looked at in years. Going back to that time brings up memories of ancestors I actually, physically knew. I touched them, I hugged them, I laughed with them. My great-grandfather Chester Wesley Campbell, who died seventeen years ago last month, is a fine example.

Great-Grandparents Norma & Chester
Campbell

Grandpa Lincecum sent me this photo almost seven years ago. I found it today while digging through Great-Grandpa Campbell's genealogy file (a physical one, no computer involved). I cannot tell you the last time I looked at this picture. I'll bet I smiled as big as I did the first time I saw it. The pictures of Chester in my mind are of a much older man, and this photo reminded me of how cute he was!

This brought back memories of backyard chicken coops (stories for another day), which then prompted me to go look at another photo, one that hangs in a collage on my wall. It's my favorite of Great-Grandpa Campbell. In it is Chester showing a young boy who happened to grow up to be my father the ins and outs of milking a cow. To me, it's a priceless treasure. Below is a photo of the photo - not perfectly clear - but you can get the idea.

So today's genealogy "homework" turned out to be a nice stroll down memory lane. Getting back to the basics is a good thing!