Declutter #8 - Lou's yearbooks!

So this isn't a huge declutter, but it feels like a tremendous victory! In the seven boxes of my in-laws' stuff that I got, I found three yearbooks belonging to my father-in-law. They were from his sophomore, junior, and senior years at Grand Island High School in Nebraska. I went through them thoroughly and took pictures of him in football, choir, etc. It was interesting to see these yearbooks!

The quality isn't the best, but I love how much Lou looked like Charlie (his grandson) back in the day. 

 

Here's a better one along with one from Charlie. Also, super interesting that Lou went by "Charles" as a teenager. I knew that, but have never asked him why his middle name became how he was known. (Even his report cards have him listed as "Charles LaMoore.")

 

After I took images of all Lou's pictures, I brought them over to his house to ask him about the yearbooks. He's 92 years old and I got twelve minutes of video of him talking about high school. (That's another project - upload to YouTube and add captioning.) In any case, he said he didn't feel a need to keep those yearbooks and told me I could donate them.

 

I went to the Grand Island H.S. website and found a "contact" button. I emailed the person asking if the school was interested in yearbooks from 1946, 1947, and 1948. I waited a week, but didn't hear back. Then I found out that GI is in Hall County, Nebraska and I called their number that I found on their webpage. No way to leave a message, so I sent them a notecard via snail mail asking if they were interested in the yearbooks. I didn't hear back from them, either.

Then last week, I decided to call Grand Island H.S. The voice mail system gave me different options and I chose #4 (the registrar). What a blessing! Gabriela Ryan Jaramillo answered the phone and was super friendly and helpful! She got my contact info and said she would ask around and let me know. She got back to me in just a few hours! They had a 1948 yearbook "in the vault," but would love to have the two older yearbooks. Woohoo!

She also gave me some Facebook groups where I could try selling the 1948 yearbook. I decided to just send it to the historical society with a note. They can do what they want with it! I just wanted to be done with these. This little declutter has taken me almost a month! Now I can tackle my mother-in-law's yearbooks . . .

2023 - Declutter #5 - Small Steps Forward Are Still Heading in the Right Direction

I was on a roll for a while, but the past few weeks have seen more things enter my life than leave. Rather than get frustrated, I'll share about a small declutter. 

 

Last fall, I got seven boxes of items that had belonged to my father-in-law and mother-in-law. My sister-in-law had intended to go through them, but hadn't found the time and was getting ready to move. It takes a fair amount of time and energy to go through things like that and it's never a high priority. So I'm trying to take a little at a time. Last week, I took out a small bag and put a few little things in a Goodwill bag. I laundered and put a "Lone Ranger" bandanna on Louie's dresser. (I wanted to try selling it online. I'm pretty sure it's from the 60s or 70s, but my husband wanted to keep it.) 

 

And there was a bag with some pins. 

The ones on the right I threw in the garbage. I'm not sure what they were for, but they didn't look worth keeping or donating.

The ones in the lower left I added to a donation bag. The "Winnipeg" pin is probably from their honeymoon in 1957. (That's what Louie thinks.)

The "Lillie" pin (pictured below) probably belonged to Betty's mom, Lillie Mohr. It is so beautiful! I thought about giving it to a family member and Louie suggested his cousin Lisa's daughter Lily. Perfect! I'm going to wrap it carefully and get it in the mail to Alaska.

 

 

In addition to these pins, I took photos of Lou from his old yearbooks. I visited him (and took a 12 minute video of him talking about high school) and asked if he wanted the books. He doesn't and so I'm going to contact Grand Island High School in Nebraska to see if they want yearbooks from 1946, 1947, and 1948.
 

It's not much, but it's something!