JUNE ORGANIZATION CHECKLIST Congrats! You have made it to the half-way mark in your "year to finally get organized." Just look at what you've accomplished! After completing last month's assignments, you have now successfully collated all supporting documents into the notebooks or folders designated for each surname, and placed them behind each relevant family group sheet. For the first time, it is possible to show someone your family history without having to go here and there throughout your computer room (or entire home) to get the relevant items proving each person's connection to your family tree. Whereas last month we began to handle the soft goods like quilts, old christening dresses and sun bonnets, this month we'll tackle the old medallions, etc. Remember that $5 gold piece great-grampa always kept in his pocket? The pocket watch from great uncle Arnold? How about that curious turkey bone with the tatted lace overlay! (I have one, and have yet to understand it's significance!) There are uniform buttons and swords from the Civil War, as well as stripes and ribbons from later military conflicts. Other precious items might include: tiny baby-name bracelet, a ring, evening purse, a ladies fan, collar stays, a punched paper book mark, a bow tie, old spectacles, a shaving brush and bowl, a ladies' lace collar, a tiara (not too many in my family), old keys, a pocket knife, a leather golf ball, a few old postcards, a marble pouch, a set of jacks, a single crystal goblet or silver baby cup, a special plate, an old flour sack, a pillow with tatted lace trim, a crazy quilt piano shawl....oh the list goes on and on! Here's the PLAN: ASSIGNMENT AMERICA.... #1 Let's create a shadow box or two, using these precious items. I have a curious looking button with a blue ribbon attached which reads CONRAD WEISER DAY. I received it at the 90th anniversary of the dedication of his homestead as a park in Wolmelsdorf, PA in the late 1980's. I have also collected several printed summaries of his life. I plan to use these with a replica calligraphic letter "W" created by the women in the 1700's at the Ephrata Cloister. In this religious setting, Conrad and two of his children lived several years of their life, dedicating their efforts to God. I plan to create a very nice grouping in a shadow box to display these items proudly in my family room. I can place the shadow box on the fireplace mantle next to my trailing ivy or mount it directly on the wall next to the book case. Why not decorate our home with these unique collections? What conversation pieces! It also takes those items out of that old great grandma's trunk or secretary desk into the light for the whole family to enjoy?!! And speaking of that old trunk, why not use it as a coffee table or end table? This is a great idea, UNLESS it is a camel-back trunk! In that case, I'd recommend you open it, and place plexi-glass across the opening to protect a display of larger family heirlooms like entire uniforms, stuffed teddy bears and the like! For the family reunion, you might consider making a decorative flower box out of that old wooden child's wagon. First protect the wood with a heavy plastic bag liner. Arrange several ten inch plastic pots of impatiens or bright geraniums and marigolds in the bed of the truck. Use spangum or spanish moss around the edges to hide the pots, and increase the humidity for the continued growth of the plants. Put this wagon somewhere along the walkway to your front porch for all to enjoy. You might laminate a sign created with old-timey lettering on your computer, and place it on a stake near your creation to let everyone know the history behind the wagon! You might even go so far as to accept: ASSIGNMENT AMERICA #2 Remembering all you've read of your compiled family history, why not plant some of your ancestor's favorite flowers in your garden or window boxes? If Grampa Joe used to talk of the rope swing in the oak tree, why not make one for the kids to enjoy this summer? (Hopefully you have access to an oak tree.) Flowers like bachelor buttons, delphiniums, and tall purple bearded iris are frequently mentioned in my mother's writings. Why not plant an apple tree, so future generations can actually see where those red things come from? You might make it an event at the family reunion. Something like an ANNUAL PLANT A TREE PROJECT. If you are blessed to actually have a front porch, why not make a wooden porch swing? Hang out a few "parlor ferns!" Build a rose trellis, and be sure to get "climbing" and not "bush" roses to plant on each side! You wanted to make the yard prettier this year, why not decorate it with the colors and scents familiar to our ancestors? While only a select few have cuttings from the actual plants our ancestors once tended carefully, others will have to settle for the best readily available at local nurseries.