I’m guessing these items were distributed with some degree of thought and didn’t hold a particularly lofty status in your collection of belongings. What about your parents, though? Or your grandparents? Or your great, great grandparents? How can you be sure they took the same care you did when you were downsizing? (You did take care, right? Of course you did!)

What if Grandpa gave away that  early 1900s family photo? What if your aunt decided the only copy of the 1958 yearbook your father appeared in wasn’t worth holding on to? How do you get those items back?

Joy Shivar, founder of JustaJoy.com with Dan Hiestand of Houstory at FGS 2012 in Birmingham, Ala.

Enter JustaJoy.com Family Heirloom Exchange.

Joy Shivar is the owner of the company, and is a frequent vendor at family history, genealogy, and antique shows around the country. I first met her during the Southern California Genealogy Jamboree in June 2012, and re-connected with her at the Federation of Genealogical Societies conference last fall. Joy’s service is a valuable one for those who seek to add texture to their family trees.

According to her Web site, JustaJoy.com Family Heirloom Exchange is the link between ”orphaned heirlooms” in the hands of antique dealers (and collectors) and the families who would cherish them. The service is $20 per year, and includes:

* Complete information about thousands of family-related items listed by quality antique dealers associated with nearly 50,000 families

* E-mail alerts when new items are added related to your  family  (Up to 20 surnames)

* Members can list, buy and sell for free

* No buyer’s premiums, commissions, listing fees or final value fees.

* Sold items remain on the site for research purposes.  No charge for  printing pictures or documents.  (Individual researchers only. Commercial applications are protected by copyright.)

For more information, check out the video below. Have you ever used Joy’s service or anything like it to find family heirlooms? Do you see any value in a service like this? Let us know what you think!

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Mother’s Day 2013.

By Mike Hiestand, Houstory Founder 

One of the things we hear from folks when we tell them about The Heirloom Registry is, “But, I don’t have any heirlooms.”

It’s unfortunate that we had to attach a name to our registration service, but we did. And “The Heirloom Registry” just sounded catchier than “The Special Things in My Life Registry.”

But either would work. It’s not the age of an item that makes it an heirloom. It’s the story behind it.

The Heirloom Registry is simply a place to record the stories about the special things in your life. Those things can be old — or brand new. The key is that they have a story that gives them meaning. The Heirloom Registry simply ensures that story will always be easily accessible.

For Mother’s Day, my daughters created and gave their grandma a hand-painted hanging mobile. Of course, my mom absolutely loved it. An instant heirloom! By affixing a small tag and registering it, I was able to briefly tell its story and attach a couple photos (there is room for up to six) of my daughter painting it and presenting it to my mom on Sunday. It took 10 minutes. But now, if my mom would like to show it off to her friends tomorrow — or if my daughter inherits it 50 years from when she’s the grandma who “fills the world with joy”  – the story of how it came to be and the memories of a very special day are as close as the nearest computer.

It is an official, irreplaceable part of Hiestand Family History

An example of the Certificate of Registration — which users can view or print for free after registering an item on The Heirloom Registry — is below.

Registration Certificate from The Heirloom Registry

The post Instant heirloom: A heartfelt Mother’s Day gift appeared first on The Houstory® Hearth.

By Dan Hiestand, Houstory Publishing Marketing Director

For the better part of two decades, my grandparents lived in paradise. To find this “Eden,” pull out a map of the contiguous United States, and let your fingers inch up, up, north to the Canadian border; then left, left, west to the Pacific.

You’ll know you’re in the right place when you reach the part of Washington state that isn’t there. Or rather, only bits of land are visible  – tiny dots amid the cold, salty waters of the Puget Sound. It was on one of these specks, among the San Juan Islands on a place called Lopez Island, that I spent some of my most memorable childhood days.

Gommy in the garden on Lopez Island.

Lopez is a little less than 30 square miles in area, and is a biker’s paradise because of its relatively flat landscape. During the ’70s and ’80s, when my grandparents Tom and Gerri Walsh lived there, it was still a relatively unknown place compared to the vacation home-laden landscape of today — a retirees’ paradise where everyone (quite literally) waved to everyone they might pass on the road.

For me, what defined paradise as a kid was simple: spending summer days skipping glacier-flattened rocks on Fisherman’s Bay; upturning boulders to search for scurrying rock crabs; sailing to town for warm french fries and cold cokes with my brothers; hot dogs by the fire on the beach…you get the picture.  

Food, of course, was a centerpiece of my memories. I suppose that’s what having fresh Northwest berries with nearly every breakfast (picked straight out of my grandparent’s garden), or dining on crab caught just an hour earlier will do.

I still remember, very clearly, Gommy (“grandma,” for our audience) baking bread in the kitchen, and Gompy (grandpa) picking long, fresh green beans for the night’s dinner.

What brought all this up for me was a video I recently watched over at the Genealogy Gems YouTube channel. In the piece, genealogist Lisa Louise Cooke interviewed Gena Philibert-Ortega, who authors the blog “Food.Family.Ephemera,”which looks at how food history and family history intertwine. You can hear the full interview at the Genealogy Gem’s podcast page (episode 137).

As Gena and Lisa discussed, knowing what past generations incorporated into their meals brings a family’s history alive in a way other bits of data (such as census records and obituaries) simply cannot. The “Rhubarb Torte” recipe that Gommy submitted to The Lopez Island Cookbook – a 189-page community effort flowered with the dishes of the island’s citizens — is now my “Rhubarb Torte.” Anytime I want to take my taste buds back to the driftwood-lined beaches of Fisherman’s Bay, I’m but a few ingredients away.

Through her palate and her cookbook, a vital part of my grandma’s legacy is alive. Now, it’s up to me to make sure my heirs receive this message.

It’s been more than 20 years since Gommy and Gompy sold their house on the island, and the Lopez of today has a much different feel than the one I grew up with. I think it simply doesn’t feel quite as small as it once did.  I’m glad I have my grandmother’s cookbook to remember it the way I want to.

The back page of my Lopez Island Cookbook.

For Gommy’s “Lopez Island Cookbook” Rhubarb Torte recipe, as well as some more photos, please visit our Facebook page. Do you have any family cookbooks that have been passed down, or you plan on passing down to your heirs? How about any family recipes? Please share it with our readers, and let us know what you think of our blog. Thanks!

The post Legacy through the stomach: Family cookbooks and family recipes as family heirlooms appeared first on The Houstory® Hearth.

“Sponsored by Family Search, the RootsTech Conference was held for three days at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. More than 6,700 people from 49 U.S. States (why was no one there from Delaware?) and 17 countries were in the Salt Palace Convention Center for the opening day of the RootsTech Conference on March 21. I never heard the final attendance numbers, but I saw a long line of people on the opening day waiting to purchase tickets at the door. Obviously, the final number was higher than 6,700.”

To say it was big is an understatement. And apparently, it’s only going to get bigger. Much bigger.

We saw and met lots of new friends at the conference; took in sounds of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir (an event sponsored by RootsTech), mingled with genealogy’s bigwigs and heard an interesting presentation about the growing interest in genealogy of youth at the invitation-only VIP Breakfast sponsored by FamilySearch,  and simply enjoyed hearing tons of great stories behind family heirlooms and houses that attendees  shared with us.

The concept of preserving stories NOW before it’s too late was also a prevalent theme at the conference — and obviously something that resonated deeply with us. Below is a snapshot of some of the highlights. For more photos and info on the event, check out our Facebook page.

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Deb won a very impressive collection of products, including a Flip-Pal™ mobile scanner and books from genealogist Janet Hovorka and Antique Trader. Mike and I want to thank everyone who participated during the week, including our sponsor blogs. We hope to put together a hunt again in the near future. We also hope that you continue to follow all of these blogs that add such important voices to the family history and antique worlds.

If the concept of saving the stories behind your family heirlooms resonated with you, don’t miss out on your chance to follow The Heirloom Registry on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Google+ and Pinterest. We’ll keep you up-to-date on the family heirloom/antique/family history universe, keep you aware of fun contests such as the scavenger hunt and provide exclusive discounts on our product line.

And remember: It’s not an heirloom without a story.

-Dan Hiestand, Houstory

The post Grand Prize winner announced for Heirloom Registry Scavenger Hunt! appeared first on The Houstory® Hearth.

She will be awarded a prize package valued at approximately $70 that includes products from Marian Pierre-Louis, The Heirloom Registry, Antique Trader magazine, and Denise Levenick (“The Family Curator”). 

The grand prize winner will be announced on Wednesday, March 13, so make sure to check back then. Everyone who entered the hunt will be eligible to win.

The post Third Heirloom Registry Scavenger Hunt winner announced appeared first on The Houstory® Hearth.

In fact, more than $300 in great products are still up for grabs — including a Flip-Pal® mobile scanner.

As you may have heard, we’ve already given away a lot of good stuff this past week for Leg 1 and Leg 2 of the hunt. These final two remaining prize packages include a collection of items fans of family history, genealogy and antiques will truly appreciate. Your chance to win ends tonight when the Scavenger Hunt concludes at 11:59 PST, so don’t miss out.

Unless you don’t like cool, free stuff.

For more information and to play, visit the Heirloom Registry Scavenger Hunt page. Good luck!

The post Last day of The Heirloom Registry Scavenger Hunt; grand prize announced! appeared first on The Houstory® Hearth.

She will be awarded a family history prize package valued at approximately $185 that includes a pool of products and services from Maureen Taylor (“The Photo Detective”), genealogists Caroline Pointer and Marian Pierre-Louis, and The Heirloom Registry.

By entering, she is also in the running for the grand prize to be announced next week. Congrats to Caroline!

For the rest of you, more than $300 in prizes still remain in the mix — including a Flip-Pal® mobile scanner. The third and final leg of the hunt is currently underway — but will end Sunday at 11:59 PST, so don’t miss out on your chance to enter.

For more information and to play, visit the Heirloom Registry Scavenger Hunt page. Good luck!

The post Another day, another Heirloom Registry Scavenger Hunt winner! appeared first on The Houstory® Hearth.

Well, it’s been a fun week at Houstory. We’ve had a lot of hunters join us along the way, and we’ve given out some great prizes.

Today marks the opening of the third and final hunt of the week. By entering this hunt, you will also automatically be entered into the drawing for the grand prize next Wednesday, March 13.

In other words, what are you waiting for? Get hunting and don’t miss out!

For more information on the four (4) blogs you’ll need to visit during this final hunt — which runs today through Sunday — please make sure to see our official scavenger hunt page.

Hunt No. 3′s prize package includes:

* How to Archive Family Keepsakes (electronic version)

* Antique Trader Antiques & Collectibles Price Guide 2013

* Plan Your Way to Research Success – Webinar-on-CD

* Heirloom Registry Standard Stickers (5-Pack)

Entries for Hunt No. 3 must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. PST on Sunday, March 10. Good hunting!

The post Your last chance: Houstory’s Heirloom Registry Scavenger Hunt week coming to an end appeared first on The Houstory® Hearth.

By entering, she is also in the running for the grand prize to be announced next week. Congrats to Kimberly!

For the rest of you, more than $300 in prizes still remain in the mix — including a Flip-Pal® mobile scanner. Hunt No. 2 is currently underway — but will end tonight at 11:59 PST, so don’t miss out on your chance to enter!

All participants will be automatically entered into our grand prize drawing next Wednesday, March 13, and you are welcome to enter each race one time — meaning you will have multiple chances to win the grand prize.

The third and final leg of the hunt — which runs from tomorrow until Sunday — will close out the weeklong event.

For more information and to play, visit the Heirloom Registry Scavenger Hunt page.

The post Heirloom Registry Scavenger Hunt Week: Leg 1 winner announced! appeared first on The Houstory® Hearth.