Today, I returned to Ferguson Falls to visit my mom and accompany her to the By the Falls Musical Social, a free, monthly concert in the village near my mom's farm. It's such a nostalgic way to spend an afternoon.

As usual, Wendy Roberts from Archives Lanark was on hand to share valuable resources from the Archives. Today, she brought books from the Archives' collection to sell. I purchased two:

I dipped into both books, fascinated by the history of the Ottawa River and excited to get ideas for gathering stories for a family history. The Family History book explained why interviewing an elderly relative or friend creates meaning:

Such a project meets a deep need of most older persons to tell their story for posterity, and it fills an equally strong need in younger people to hear and know about the past and to find their place in the continuity of their family's experience. And the experience for you, the interviewer, in conducting these sessions, is priceless. Feelings and stories you may never have touched on or heard about will come up in these sessions, in a context that has great meaning for you and for the other members of your family. If you undertake such a project with a parent or grandparent or other relative, you will never regret it.

While at my mom's today, I perused a few of her treasures, including her mom's recipe booklet. It was delightful to read recipes for biscuits au gingembre (ginger cookies), fèves au lard (baked beans) and beignes (donuts), written in my grandmother's handwriting.

Activities like today truly do meet my need to hear and know about my past and to find my place in the continuity of my family and my community.