Guest Author - Lawanda Kress

The one-year anniversary of 9-11 is upon us, and with heavy hearts we remember the tragedy that hit our country one year ago. Many people who have been affected personally by our nation’s most tragic day in history have found a way to help heal their pain. They make beautiful memory scrapbooks, which help comfort their wounded spirits.

Scrapbooking (the craft of putting pictures, journaling, and various other pieces of memorabilia on the pages of a "scrap" book to document memories) is the trendiest hobby in America and is rapidly growing in popularity.

One reason for the current interest in the craft may be because of the therapeutic effect that it has on the person who does it. Scrapbooking is a relaxing pastime, as well as a creative outlet. It is also an enriching way to record and maintain personal family history (heritage) and memories.

Also, since the tragedy of 9-11, people who have never thought about scrapbooking are beginning to realize the importance of preserving their memories. As priorities turn toward family, they recognize the need to document the experiences of their lives so that they can be recalled. Thereby leaving a special legacy for later generations.

People across the country have started convening to scrapbook their pictures together. The fellowship of these "crops" can be compared to quilting bees of former times. This tradition is continued today with scrapbook pages replacing the quilting squares. The pages of a scrapbook are like squares of a quilt in that they tell a story and are made by loving hands.

Women today put aside their every day responsibilities and gather to scrapbook, share, talk, support and enjoy one another. Crops can be as simple as two scrapbookers getting together or as tremendous an event as an overnight or weekend convention with various workshops such as a scrap camp.

(One such weekend crop is WV Scrap Camp, which I referred to in my last article.)

Whether or not you have ever considered scrapbooking as significant, everyone has a box of pictures under the bed, or in a closet somewhere! Take a moment to read this poem, and understand the passion of scrapbookers across the country.

"Stranger in the Box"

By Kim Harazim

Come look with me inside this drawer,
in this box I’ve often seen,
At the pictures, black and white,
faces proud, still and serene.

I wish I knew the people,
these strangers in the box.
Their names and all their memories,
are lost among the socks.

I wonder what their lives were like,
How did they spend their days?
What about their special times?
I'll never know their ways.

If only someone had taken time,
to tell who, what and when.
Those faces of my heritage,
would come to life again.

Could this become the fate,
of the pictures we take today?
The faces and the memories,
someday tossed away?

Make time to save your pictures,
seize the opportunity when it knocks.
Or someday you and yours could be
the stranger in the box.