u/RealisticBike4953

Hey archivists - my mom took a ton of wonderful family photos over the last 70 years. Back in the 60’s she put the prints in albums that had a sticky backing on the pages. The pages were then covered in some form of a plastic film which peeled on and off the pages.

My mother now has dementia. I got the family photos just in time. She cut some of the album pages, but the vast majority are intact. The film is gone on each of the pages, but fortunately, the sticky pages are no longer sticky (at least not at room temperature). There feels like a grainy residue on the exposed area of the pages (where there are no pictures).

I cannot peel the photos off the pages without destroying them. And I cannot cut them out as there are photos on both sides of the page. I think they will need to remain on the album pages. How would I safely store these?

For loose photos I am storing each year’s photos in a mylar bag. Should I put each album page in its own mylar bag? I have archival acid-free boxes to store the mylar bags in.

Oh, also - I am scanning each of the pictures so I have digital copies of everything.

Any assistance would be so helpful. Thanks!

Hai, frens - iz Bella Biscuit en tudai ai knot hab mi ewezyal entirtainmint. Da zip zip birbs iz gon! Meowmy sez da zip zip birbs iz kawled huminkbirfs. Ai no unnerstand acuz ai neber here dem hum. Hoomans iz sew dum! Dey zip zip birbs. Dey zip hear en den dey zip ober dere. Eenywai, now dey gon! Ai knot aprov dis! Meowy sai da zip zip birbs migra…maig…fli souf fur da whenter. Agin, hoomans = dum. Awl da odder birbs stil hear! But ai mizz mi zip zip birbs. Fink ai soo en maik dem kome bac! Ai sew board wifowt dem.

Hai, Frens - Ai iz Bella Biscuit. Sew naice too meetz eberiwon. Toodai mai hoomin goez owt too da sonroomz. Mai hoomin holdz doer fer mi sew ai kan comz owt. But ai not shure. Ai fink bout it cuz catz haz too bi kaerful, write? Sew ai finking it ofers wile hoomin sae, “Comz on. Maike upz youse mind!” But AI stillz finking. Ai wuzn’t taekin to long…meybe faive meenuts. Stoppid hooman gib big cy an den shutz da doer en mai faice! Ai sew mad! Finking mite soo. Sew rude. Ai prolly wood hav maide upz mai mind wifin tirty meenutz. Meybe. But hoomin shud waite fur mai desishun, write? Due ai haz kayce?

Source: https://www.epa.gov/air-research/research-diy-air-cleaners-reduce-wildfire-smoke-indoors

Hello,

An elderly friend struggles to stand. She can only stand up from sitting when she has something pull on. She is a large woman.

We have installed hand rails for her on walls, safely mounting them to studs. But now she is asking if we can install a hand rail on the side of her bathroom vanity so she can pull herself up to standing after getting out of the shower.

We have told her we aren’t making any promises, but that we would explore the options. Are there any? Obviously simply mounting a hand rail on the 1/2” side is a no-go. Needs way more support to handle the weight it will bear. But I can’t figure out how to tie a hand rail mounted on the side of the vanity to a wall stud. Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance for any help you can offer.

This is at my local thrift store. Appears to be in good shape. Priced at $1575, but pink tags are 50% off, so my cost would be just under $800. I appreciate any guidance since I really don’t know much about oriental rugs. Thanks!

I am in the process of cleaning out my mother’s things. In the mix I found this class ring with the initials “RDL” and “75” engraved inside. It does not belong to anyone in our family. It appears the ring is for a graduate of the Recruit Training Command in Great Lakes, IL. There is a number engraved on the side of the ring. It looks like “9-39” but I am not sure on that last number. I’m not sure what this number means. There was no company 9-39 at Great Lakes that year. If it is his birthday, he would have been 36 in 1975, which seems too old for boot camp.

I would like to return this ring to its owner or his family, but I don’t know where to start to find him. I tried posting on the Recruit Command FB page, but my post was removed without explanation.

I’d appreciate any tips you can offer on how to locate this service man/his family. Thank you!