I don’t automatically send my blog posts to Facebook, but more people in my family are likely to read my Facebook status than read my blog. So if I want certain cousins to know I’ve posted about a common ancestor or relative or if I’m hoping they will chime in with more information, I link the blog post on my Facebook page. And sometimes it does get a conversation going.
Last week, I linked my blog post The Civil Rights Summit and a Family Story? to my Facebook page and tagged cousins whom I hoped would read it and maybe even add more to the story I’m trying to research. I know at least one cousin came here and read the post because she left a comment. I’m not sure about the others, but the photograph thumbnail that showed on Facebook did spark some conversation.
Here’s the picture…
And here’s the conversation:
Sue: I love seeing this picture of you and Fred. And the picture on the wall of Dorinda and the other picture, mostly out of sight, of Wilda.
Kathy: Like being back in the house on H Street…
Bea: Love Daddy’s bow tie!
Yvonne: All of the above and the cage with “Pretty Bird” !!!
Yvonne: Kathy, was this 1954?
Kathy: I have a few other pictures taken that day and none are dated. Must be early 1954. Mid Oct. birthday + still wearing hat and sweater.
Yvonne: Of course, in Iowa you might need that hat and sweater in May! I too was figuring from your birthday.
Kathy: True! Especially this year! I’m guessing I was maybe 5 months old?
Yvonne: And I was just turning 11 and was always excited about relatives coming from out of town.
Wilda: This is off topic, but I love this photo for more reasons than one (or two). I see Dorinda Rupe as a child (my photo got cut off) but also the bird. I had forgotten about the bird. Was it Zam’s or Aunt Lottie’s? I sort of think it came at the same time as Pedro, and Pedro was, I believe, Aunt Lottie’s dog. I’m trying to remember the name of the canary. I have a name in my head for it, but am not confident I’m right.
Yvonne: I love it for many reasons, too, Wilda. Read through the preceding messages. I think the bird was Grammy’s and that she called it “Pretty Bird.”
Wilda: I think you are right – “Pretty Bird.”
Kathy, I really like your idea and will try to use it with some of my own posts on Facebook. Like you, I don’t post all of my stories, but some do really resonate with people.
i don’t use WordPress for my blog, though I signed up to do it at one time. Blogger seems to work just fine for me. However, from time to time, I have the same experience you do with spacing and formatting. It can be frustrating. I find that the glitches often have to do with hidden formatting, so I delete everything and type it in again. That usually works. Others may have less labor-intensive solutions.
It happens every so often and I can never figure out what I have done to cause the change in formatting. Sometimes (like this time) I just give up and let it go as is. Let it go, let it go!
You can paste into Notepad then format and paste where you want. I gets rid of the hidden formatting that is causing the problems.
It’s great how a photo can spark memories. And it’s fun to look closely at our ancestor’s photos and find clues and interesting things. One of my ancestor’s photos had a clock in the background. Another had a calendar on the wall.
It is one of the things that participating in Sepia Saturday encouraged me to do – look for the little details in a photograph. And so many don’t show up until you see them blown up on your computer screen.
Kathy,
I want to let you know that your blog post is listed in today’s Fab Finds post at http://janasgenealogyandfamilyhistory.blogspot.com/2014/05/follow-friday-fab-finds-for-may-23-2014.html
Have a great weekend!
Thanks Jana!