I have been trying to find time to write this message to the Bradford County listers, I guess the best thing to do is just start writing and let what ever else that has to be done wait. It is endless paperwork now. I feel this is of utmost importance. Every person, genealogist type or not should know exactly what to do in the case of a fire, and what to do to prevent a major loss of materials. Your house is a haven, a refuge, maybe even can be compared to your spouse. There is no place like home, I know it can not be replaced. It is your life but do not take it for granted, it might be gone in 30 minutes through no fault of your own. The first thing I do is recommend that you submit your materials to the Genweb sites so other people can enjoy them and in the case of a fire or an unpredicted loss of the photo or data, you can go obtain it readily. All you have to do is go to the site and find it. You learn so much from other people who contact you because they found a long lost family member, or think they have. I know I have to look through disks sometimes just to find a photo I jpegged 3 years ago, instead l just go look on the site for the photo first. Now that I have lost the actual photos, I find some comfort in looking at Grandpa Hooses photo on the site, knowing I am preserving his history for others too. We all have a story to tell and what better place than on Joyce's site, or which ever county it belongs on. Remember Genweb covers the whole USA. No one expects your grammar or writing to be perfect, we are all human. Please share your data before it could be lost to a natural disaster like a fire or flood, or even theft. One never knows when it could happen. I would also like to say that everyone should back their materials up daily. I do several times a day when I work for a few hours at a time.I recommend to store those CD"S out of the house in a dry place. I store mine in one of the vehicles, and in the spare house which we have to live in now. This farm had two houses, most folks are not quite so lucky. Store them someplace where you can get to them easily as I recommend backing up every day as you make changes to your files usually. Share those CD'S with others to store, but keep them backed up and away from the main computer or house. This works well if your computer crashes too, you have all your materials at hand easy restore and if you back up daily, you won't loose much of your hardwork. The best rue of thumb is to back up at least once an hour. I would hate to loose much more than that. Another little trick is to copy your address book, place it in an email and send it to your Hotmail or Yahoo account so you can! always find it. Those accounts can not crash nor burn with your computer. You should also copy the front and backsides of your crecit cards and store elswhere too. Now I would like to touch on something else we are thought as a child. Get out of that house if there is a fire, do it FAST and do not go back in for anything, nothing is as important as your life. If you have followed these simple rules about backing up your files, your genealogy or other precious files and photos will still be there. I do suggest you check and make sure your CDR is working correctly by reinstalling them once in awhile just to check. I would also like to add that if you have ammunition in the house, find a place in another building or behind a car or under a hill, just some place to act as a barrier as ammunition explodes and can be deadly in a fire. Protect yourselves above all, your genealogy records will be safe if you followed these simple instructions. Mine were. My daughter took them home to send photos to the insurance agent to prove I had all these antiques and items which I claimed to own. Use those digitals and shoot photos all over your home, back them on CD'S and if the worst happens like it did to us, you will be prepared. Scan all those photos in those old photo albums and share them, but most important back them up on CD'S which are stored somewhere else. I think the best solution is to share them on websites where everyone can enjoy. If you loved your ancestors, share them and keep a little piece of them alive. I had scanned some of my books and put them on the web and on CD'S and I didn't loose them. Share your photos, records and precious books it is the best way, but keep backed up so your loss is at a minimum. It took allot of stress off me to know I still had something precious to me even when the originals were gone. I would like to everyone for all the kind words and letters and cards I have received. I have faith in our God and I know he will help us trough this though time. Just be prepared if it happens to you. God bless all of you Carol Brotzman

One more place - if you have it - at the bank - safety deposit box. I am going to place even every piece of my business invoices on CDs. I'm tired of having to check through organized files looking for just one invoice to check on an old order that was from 1997. And an absolute warning - NOT TO DO - put labels on CDS themselves. They are the worst enemy because the chemicals in the gummed side of labels corrode the layer where the data is stored. Use indelible Sharpie Ultra Fine point permament marker and write info on the CD slim cases and put CD inside the cases. This information is from very recent research done by scientists who were puzzled over the rapid loss of data and the number one culprit was the use of gummed labels on the CDs. Number two culprit is in moist and sunny location. I have hundreds of photos from 1920s to scan to CDs and still a big headache sorting them out before putting on the CDs for good. Hint for photos: Never scan the photos for less than 350 dpi setting because you will want a print later to get same quality result as if you had the negatives developed and prints made. I know this from my own experience. W. David Samuelsen brotzman wrote: > I have been trying to find time to write this message to the Bradford County listers, I guess the best thing to do is just start writing and let what ever else that has to be done wait. It is endless paperwork now. I feel this is of utmost importance. Every person, genealogist type or not should know exactly what to do in the case of a fire, and what to do to prevent a major loss of materials. Your house is a haven, a refuge, maybe even can be compared to your spouse. There is no place like home, I know it can not be replaced. It is your life but do not take it for granted, it might be gone in 30 minutes through no fault of your own. > The first thing I do is recommend that you submit your materials to the Genweb sites so other people can enjoy them and in the case of a fire or an unpredicted loss of the photo or data, you can go obtain it readily. All you have to do is go to the site and find it. You learn so much from other people who contact you because they found a long lost family member, or think they have. > I know I have to look through disks sometimes just to find a photo I jpegged 3 years ago, instead l just go look on the site for the photo first. Now that I have lost the actual photos, I find some comfort in looking at Grandpa Hooses photo on the site, knowing I am preserving his history for others too. We all have a story to tell and what better place than on Joyce's site, or which ever county it belongs on. Remember Genweb covers the whole USA. No one expects your grammar or writing to be perfect, we are all human. Please share your data before it could be lost to a natural disaster like a fire or flood, or even theft. One never knows when it could happen. > I would also like to say that everyone should back their materials up daily. I do several times a day when I work for a few hours at a time.I recommend to store those CD"S out of the house in a dry place. I store mine in one of the vehicles, and in the spare house which we have to live in now. This farm had two houses, most folks are not quite so lucky. Store them someplace where you can get to them easily as I recommend backing up every day as you make changes to your files usually. Share those CD'S with others to store, but keep them backed up and away from the main computer or house. This works well if your computer crashes too, you have all your materials at hand easy restore and if you back up daily, you won't loose much of your hardwork. The best rue of thumb is to back up at least once an hour. I would hate to loose much more than that. Another little trick is to copy your address book, place it in an email and send it to your Hotmail or Yahoo account so you c an! > always find it. Those accounts can not crash nor burn with your computer. You should also copy the front and backsides of your crecit cards and store elswhere too. > Now I would like to touch on something else we are thought as a child. Get out of that house if there is a fire, do it FAST and do not go back in for anything, nothing is as important as your life. If you have followed these simple rules about backing up your files, your genealogy or other precious files and photos will still be there. I do suggest you check and make sure your CDR is working correctly by reinstalling them once in awhile just to check. I would also like to add that if you have ammunition in the house, find a place in another building or behind a car or under a hill, just some place to act as a barrier as ammunition explodes and can be deadly in a fire. > Protect yourselves above all, your genealogy records will be safe if you followed these simple instructions. Mine were. My daughter took them home to send photos to the insurance agent to prove I had all these antiques and items which I claimed to own. Use those digitals and shoot photos all over your home, back them on CD'S and if the worst happens like it did to us, you will be prepared. Scan all those photos in those old photo albums and share them, but most important back them up on CD'S which are stored somewhere else. I think the best solution is to share them on websites where everyone can enjoy. If you loved your ancestors, share them and keep a little piece of them alive. > I had scanned some of my books and put them on the web and on CD'S and I didn't loose them. Share your photos, records and precious books it is the best way, but keep backed up so your loss is at a minimum. It took allot of stress off me to know I still had something precious to me even when the originals were gone. > I would like to everyone for all the kind words and letters and cards I have received. I have faith in our God and I know he will help us trough this though time. Just be prepared if it happens to you. > God bless all of you > Carol Brotzman >