The adventure of memories

I'm in the process of fine-tuning boxes of keepsakes that were given to me after my dad died and maternal grandma died.  Since I had a house with ample storage space, I stored them.  Now I need to get them into a little car to move out of Corvallis.  I'm down to 6 boxes which is do-able. I've got high hopes of archiving for my nephew and distant relatives in Missouri and elsewhere, but I suspect it is a tall order at this time of my life. I have letters in these boxes written in the late 1800s!

I've also found precious letters from friends that I've since contacted (via email and facebook) and asked if they want me to send them back to them or what to do with them???  There is so much personal history in addition to a intimate description of the place and time in their lives (and mine), I find them valuable myself.  Some want me to send them - others want me to do whatever I want - and one friend wants to get together when we are in our 80's and read our letters to one another!  So some are being kept, some into the recycling after being read and others moving back to their writers.  I like the old stamps and postmarks and finding pictures of shared times I've forgotten that the writers lovingly had slipped in with their letter.

I've contacted places to send some of the artifacts I've stored and they want them for their archives.  Pretty cool that I can contribute materials published in the 1940's and send them back to people who would really appreciate them.  Some of the materials are already in google, open book, and university archives - already digitized and ready for some researcher to find and explore them.

I'm digitizing photographs as well, but some I can't bear to discard - so these keepsakes pictured before are going to my nephew - who probably has a place in his heart to see them.  There is nothing like holding the "real thing" in your hands.  An adventure of memories that he doesn't even know about.

My grandpa on my dad's side served in the United States Navy from 1944 to 1945
He was a cook.

He served on the USS South Dakota and was in Tokyo Bay for the signing of Japanese surrender

He was a proud member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and when I was at his funeral service he received a salute and I was given a flag to honor him.  He also ran a gas service station that he had to leave in the hands of a capable manager while he was overseas.