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| The Storytellers |
| The Storytellers In each family, one is called to find the ancestors, To put flesh on their bones and make them live again. One is called to tell the family story. Doing genealogy is not a cold gathering of facts but, instead, Breathing life into all who have gone before. We are the storytellers. Those who have gone before speak to us: Tell our story. So, we do. And, in finding them, we somehow find ourselves. It goes beyond just documenting facts. It goes to who we are and why we do the things we do. It goes to pride in what our ancestors were able to accomplish, How they contributed to what we are today. It goes to respecting their hardships and losses, Their never giving in or giving up, Their resoluteness to go on and build lives for their families. It goes to an understanding that they were doing it for us, for the future, That we might be born who we are, That we might remember them. So we do, With love and caring and scribing each fact of their existence. Because we are them and they are us. So, as scribes called, we tell the story of our families. It will be up to the ones called in the next generation to answer the call, To take their places in the long line of family storytellers. -- Author Unknown |
| The photos on this page were taken in the Philippines. With each picture I chose and with each story I came across while searching, I thought of my e-friend, Rue Rivera Ramas, who lives in the Philippines and who has done a wealth of historical research regarding her community of General Santos City, located at the southernmost tip of Mindanao Island. Her family members were among the original 62 settlers brought to the area by the National Land Settlement Administration in 1939. Her father was the agronomist for the group and they were tasked with the mission of cultivating agriculture in the area. The city now boasts a population of over 500,000 and is the center for commerce and industry in the region. Rue authored “The Pioneers Songbook,” containing the lyrics of songs of the settlers, along with snippets of history. Her family's story and the history of her community are both very dear to her. It was because Rue was on my mind that I chose this page's theme. She is one of "The Storytellers" who keeps history alive, who makes sure it is honored and remembered. -- Nancy |
