Kiss and Tell Scrapbooking

The Century Scrapbook Project: 1940 & Valedictorian at Mount Allison University!

Isn't it weird how you can discover things about people you knew, that you never knew!  Yesterday I was looking at the obituary for  my "Nana" (grandmother) Ruby Grieve Fenderson and noticed that she had been the Valedictorian of her graduating class at Mount Allison University in Sackville, New Brunswick, Canada.  I emailed the school to find out what year she graduated and they responded right away with the answer: 1940!

Journaling:  "Dear Nana, I remember you mentioning that you had been a math teacher and I knew you went to college, but I didn't know where - so cool that it was Mount Allison (my daughter's name is Allison) - or that you were Valedictorian!  Love Katie."

I scanned in her photo and used a reprint for this page.  I found the old postcard print of Mount Allison University on the internet, I think it is good to put these events - like graduating as valedictorian - into context of place - especially since I maybe saw this university once as a child but maybe never did; anyway - a picture is worth a thousand words right - it is nice to see what the place looks like.  I have been finding lots of photos old schools and churches on the internet for The Century Scrapbook Album.

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I am attaching her obituary printout to the back of this layout:

Saturday, July 24, 2004 - Bangor Daily NewsBANGOR and CALAIS Ruby E. Fenderson, 85, wife of the late Frank Fenderson, died July 22, 2004, at a Bangor hospital. She was born Oct. 25, 1918, in Harvey Station, New Brunswick, the daughter of Frederick and Sara (Wightman) Grieve. Ruby graduated from Mount Allison University in Sackville, New Brunswick, as Valedictorian, following college she taught mathematics in St. Stephen, New Brunswick, where she met Frank at a skating rink while "White Christmas" was playing. She was married on Feb. 9, 1944. Ruby was an active volunteer and mother; she enjoyed gardening, painting, and collecting antiques. She was devoted to her husband, Frank, through 54 years of marriage until his death in March 1998. She is survived by one daughter, Carolyn and her husband, Ray Lapointe, of Glocester, R.I.; one son, David Fenderson of Veazie; her daughter-in-law, Margrette Fenderson of Veazie; six grandchildren, Kathryn Scott of St. Petersburg, Fla., Jennifer Fenderson of Springfield, Mo., Cherilyn Palmer, Catherine Stone, and Crista Fenderson, all of Sarasota, Fla., Craig Fenderson of Grande Prairie, Texas; nine great-grandchildren; a nephew, Laverne Swan and his wife, Bonnie, of Harvey Station, New Brunswick; and special friend, Mildred Butler of St. George, New Brunswick. In addition to her parents, and husband, she was predeceased by two sisters, Hazel Cameron and Doris Grieve; brother, Stanley Grieve; and her son, Robert Fenderson. A service of remembrance will be held 11 a.m. Monday, July 26, at All Souls Congregational Church, Bangor, with the Rev. Dr. James L. Haddix, Pastor and Teacher, officiating. The family invites relatives and friends to share conversation and refreshments in the Hearth Room immediately following the service. Graveside services will be held 5 p.m. Monday, July 26, at the Calais Cemetery, with the Rev. Dianne Graham, pastor of the First Congregational Church of Calais, officiating. Gifts in her memory may be sent to the Alzheimer's Association, Maine Chapter, 163 Lancaster St., Suite 160B, Portland, ME 04101. A service of Brookings-Smith, 133 Center St., Bangor.

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P.S. I got an email from Allison University today stating that Ruby was NOT actually the valedictorian :

"Hi Katie,

As Brian mentioned your grandmother graduated in the Class of 1940.  I have copies of the convocation programme but the valedictorian appears to have been Alexander MacIntosh.  Your grandmother graduated magna cum laude with an arts degree.  Her picture appears on page 33 of the Allisonian yearbook but I have been unable to locate other references to images of her.

I can make photocopies or scanned reproductions of the items but there is a charge of 29 cents a page with a $5 handling fee.

Let me know how you wish to proceed.

Thanks,

David Mawhinney
University Archivist
Mount Allison University"

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So now I'm wondering how to change the scrapbook layout!

The Century Scrapbook Project: 1931

I found this Identification Card for my Great-Grandmother Anna Rebecca McElroy Fenderson(1894-1975). 

I scanned it in and used the scan on this scrapbook page:

Journaling: "Anna Rebecca McElroy was born in 1894 in Brookline, Massachusetts to Robert McElroy and Anna Linton McElroy who migrated from Belfast, Northern Ireland in 18575.  Anna McElroy was one of eight children.  Big Family!  Anna McElroy Fenderson was my "Big Nana" and we lived with her when we moved back to Maine from Georgia (where I was born while my Dad was in the Army) in 1972."

Anna would have had this card to cross the border from Calais, Maine, USA to St. Stephen, New Brunswick, Canada; her card was well worn.

The Century Scrapbook Project: 1920 & a Photo-less Layout

The Elim House on Massachusetts Avenue in Boston in 1920 was called "Elim" referring to Exodus 15.27 and Numbers 33.9 in the Bible.  I printed this Census out very large so that the names and information are legible on the print since they include Howard Fenderson (my great-great-grandfather) and his wife Mary Fenderson (my great-great-step-grandmother) and since it also includes the leader of the Shiloh Movement in Maine: Frank Weston Sandford.   Howard and Mary Fenderson were listed as "lodgers" and as "evangelists".  Frank Sandford was listed as "Lodger (and then they crossed out Lodger) and wrote "head"; his occupation was listed as "Man Of God" while his wife, Helen Sandford (who was herself an evangelist and from a very wealthy family) didn't even get an "evangelist" as an occupation and instead she is listed as "none"; I wonder how she would have felt about that title, they didn't even list her as homemaker or mother.

I used one strip of patterened paper (Studio Calico - this one is scrapbooker Celeste Smith's favorite btw) and I kept the embellishments to a minimum and added a cross and a few brads:

I decided to break my rule about only one page per year of the 20th century and I made a follow up page all about Elim, perhaps I'll use this as a 1902, 1919, or 1900 page since the information on the page references those dates, but for now, it is just going on the backside of this census page in The Century Scrapbook:

Text (copied & pasted from a site about Shiloh, Maine):

2-19-1898 Mr. and Mrs. Cummings decide to devote their  boarding home at 545 Massachusetts Ave., Boston, to Christian work. While a convention is held at the home for the previous 7 days, Mr. S and the students take the home in faith. The Cummings still have a $150.00 per month mortgage to pay on the home. At some point Mr. S. took on the mortgage payments. Mr. S says in reference to 545, "...He (God) gave us the privilege of beginning the purchase (in advance)...".

545 and 547 Massachusetts Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts, or "Elim".  Actually, only 545 was acquired at this time, 547 being purchased in the summer of 1903.

In the lead article of Everlasting Gospel , Aug 7-31, 1902 Ralph Gleason [having releaved Charles Holland as overseer of work in North American during Mr. Sandford's absence] indicates the following:

"God has given me a royal company of workers to stand by me in the great financial battle at Elim.  It is greatly on the heart of Mr. Sandford that this home should be entirely paid for and royally furnished by Oct. 2nd.  When we bought this house there was a mortgage on it for about $12,000 which we could not buy until it should expire.  As we would not run in debt we would not accept a deed for the property until the mortgage should be paid."  The previous issue, however, lists Elim at 545 Massachusetts Ave., Boston as one of the movement's centers.

The mortgage is ultimately paid off by the church on 7-4-1919. p35TF 3-1-98 & p181H & p115TF 7-1&15-1900

On this same date (2-19-1898) Mr. S says, "I feel sure that God wants a temple capable of seating ten thousand people in the city of Boston, and that the great, mighty God who said, "Go to," has started a fund with this end in view." p35 TF 3-1-98. (This temple never materialized.)

2-25-1898 Sandford, in a sermon at Elim in Boston, discusses at great length the appearance of Elijah, and the sharing of his authority during the millenium. p.244H, TF May15,1900-June 1,1900 p.96

Elim (Hebrew:) was one of the places where the Israelites camped following their Exodus from Egypt. It is referenced in Exodus 15.27 and Numbers 33.9 as a place where "there were twelve wells of water, and seventy date palms," and that the Israelites "camped there near the water".  From the information that can be gleaned from Exodus 15.23, 16.1 and Numbers 33.9-11, Elim is described as being between Marah and the Wilderness of Sin, near the eastern shore of the Red Sea.

 

The Century Scrapbook Project: 1990 & Scraplifting Jen Jockisch

I put together a bunch of "half-baked" layouts yesterday meaning I scraplifted the base of the pages.  I used Jen Jockisch's Bonanza as the basis for this page:

Journaling:  "1990:  My Grandpa Allen Hastings Cunningham never really retired fom being an accountant.  But his passion was for ART!  This is his upstairs studio at 62 Wilson Street.  He was a True Artist!" 

He was my favorite. 

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Aside:  I'm going to hit on one of those topics you aren't supposed to talk about - religion!  I am not particularly religious, but I do feel connected to God in a personal way and on a daily basis and I pray with my children every day; that said, I do feel like I should bring the kids to church more often.  Meantime, I am also a fan of lots of different perspectives on God including the LDS Church or more commonly known as the Mormons.  They have a bi-annual General Conference and I watch it on YouTube.  Here is a link to the talk on family history research, it explains why Mormons are interested in family history research and why family history research has become so easy with the current technology.  Here's the Link:  Link to Family History Talk by Richard G. Scott at the October 2012 LDS General Conference.

The Century Scrapbook Project Episode #13: One Sketch / Three Layouts & 1964

Here is a video about how I started three pages from one sketch.  The 1964 page up top is #2 of the 3 layouts on the same sketch.  (P.S. I rambled a bit.)

Video streaming by Ustream 

The Century Scrapbook Project: 1946

This is one of the three layouts I started in the last ustream video.  My house was super busy tonight so I didn't get to spend as much time as I would have liked on this one and I sort of laid down those letters and then decided that I didn't like them, but I got called away and by the time I got back it was too late to peel them up, so I just went with them where they were.

Journaling: "This little baby is my mother Christine and it is so fun to see my Grandpa Allen and Grandma Grace so delighted and adoring.  It is obvious how happy they all were."  Post War Family Fun. 

There is a hint of green in the journaling block although I don't think it shows up well in this image.

 

The Century Scrapbook Project: 1973 & Welcome Baby Sister

I haven't done any scrapbooking in several days so this page took an unusually long time to make.  I have made more than 25 pages for the Century Scrapbook Project so far, but in order to get this project finished, I need to speed up the production.  I have a goal of getting it done before Thanksgiving!  So that's at least 75 pages to go since I am making one page for each year from 1900-2012.   Presenting 1973:

Hopefully, I'll have some more start to finish videos up soon.

The Century Scrapbook Project Episode #12: Organizing Your Photos Chronologically

I came across lots and lots of old photos at my mom's house and, since she didn't want me to take them and said we'd scan them "someday", I took the opportunity to photograph them with my point and shoot camera to make sure they are saved at least somehow.  The duplicates aren't perfect, but at least I have them.  Here's how I quickly organized them:

Video streaming by Ustream 

Dozen Day - October 2012

A quick video review of a dozen or more (20) scrapbook layouts made over the past month for my Century Scrapbook Project:

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The Century Scrapbook Project: 1960 & Stamp Collecting

This is the product of the research I did in The Century Scrapbook Project Episode #11 - I tucked the research and a few of the original envelopes in the pocket.

The Century Scrapbook Project Episode #11: Research Your Family History Online

I took these letters that my Dad, Bob Fenderson, had in his stamp collection files and I researched the addressee Bernard L. Cheney and found a lot of information online including where he lived in 1940, his life story, and his living relatives.  I made a ustream video while I did the research so you can see how I got there from here.

Video streaming by Ustream

 

The Century Scrapbook Project: 1950 & Old Home Movies

I used my October Counterfeit Kit Challenge Kit to make this simple and unembellished page about my Dad and his family in 1950 when he was about 3 years old: 

I took these photos on my Sony Disc camera in 2002 by playing the old family movie and taking pictures of the television.  You might say I was doing a bit of hybrid scrapbooking back in 2002 because I did that collage back then.  I'm not totally happy with the margins on the old collage but I decided to use it anyway for this page.  I'm also guessing at the date since my father, Robert Thomas Fenderson was born in August of 1947, he looks like he is about 3 in these photos. 

I must say it is very satisfying to be getting pages done for my Century Scrapbook Album - it finally feels like I am making some progress into my family history and the organization of all of the records and photos.  Even if the rest of it is not completely organized, it will be so wonderful to have one scrapbook album that encompasses a century of memories.  I am hoping to have it finished before Thanksgiving so that I can share it with my family then.

If you are working on family history scrapbooking, please leave a comment with your tips or questions.  I would love to hear from you.

Two Tips for Family Research:

1. The British Version of "Who Do You Think You Are" is now on YouTube!  It is incredibly interesting.

2. You can find lots of bits in the Brown University Library - I found that High School Graduation programme from 1903 there. 

 

The Century Scrapbook Project: 1903 & Proof of New Bedford High School Graduation

"When Aunt Cary showed me this photo of Albert P. Cunningham, my great-grandfather, she mentioned that he was a smart man who never graduated from high school, but I noticed the emblem at the bottom of the photo "NBH" New Bedford High '03 or 1903.  I found proof that Albert Cunningham did graduate!  Hecompleted the 3 year commercial course (rather than the 4 year college course)."

I did a search on the internet and happened upon the Brown University Online Library and found the programme for the New Bedford High School Graduation Exercises on Wednesday, June 24, 1903 at the New Bedford Theatre.  Albert Preston Cunningham is listed under the Commercial Course (three years).  He went on to be successful in the banking industry in New Bedford.

This is the scrapbook page I made for the year 1903:

I also found the 1900 Census which showed that Albert Preston Cunningham lived with his parents and three sisters at 242 Chancery Street, New Bedford, Massachusetts.  Albert Cunningham was born in December 1885.  I added some of that information on the journaling card to the right of the photo.

I have now completed 20 pages in The Century Scrapbook Project! 

 

 

The Century Scrapbook Project Episode #10: 1922 & Bachrach Photography

My Grandfather had his portrait taken by Bachrach in 1922, he was six.  Bachrach Photography Studios started in 1868 and is the oldest continuously operating photography studio in the world!  Founder David Bachrach took the only photo of Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. 

So this page and the story is all about Bachrach Photography and I printed out a few bits from the internet and slipped them in the pocket.  The light bulb sticker was perfect for the portrait of Thomas Edison - also taken in 1922 by Bachrach.

I used a homemade kit to make this page, watch to see how I put it together:

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Get It Scrapped Post: Menswear

I like using muted colors or neutrals with bright colors; I like the contrast.  On this page, I didn't use color for contrast, instead, I wanted to use the houndstooth pattern as a contrast to the doilies, flowers and butterfly.   I like this contrast because this was 1943: a time in my grandmother's life when she had graduated from college and had just married my grandfather but contrast with that it was an uncertain time because of WWII.

I scanned in the photo and the back of the photo so that I used her name in her own handwriting at the top right.

Journaling:  "This is Grandma Grace Zita Flavin Cunningham.  She was born on March 3, 1918 so she would have been 25 years old. This photo is probably her college graduation photo, but it could have been shortly afterwards.  She went to college in Boston and so did Grandpa Allen and she used to tell me stories about when she'd sneak out her dorm room window to go on dates with him!"

Supplies:  Jenni Bowlin rub on butterfly; Jenni Bowlin, Basic Grey & October Afternoon Papers.

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Go to Get It Scrapped to see more Menswear Prints Inspired Layouts from Kiki Kougioumtzi, Amy Kingsford, Barb Brookbank, Ashley Horton, Deborah Wagner, Amber Ries, Corrie Jones, Kim Watson, Tiffany Tillman, Christy Strickler, Leah Farquharson, Doris Sander, Amanda Jones, and Audrey Tan.