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Reznicek Farms History Video

This past July my family celebrated our heritage by gathering for a family reunion. My Dad had the idea of putting together a short video demonstrating how drastically farming practices and equipment have changed through the years. What we originally planned as a short 3-5 minute video, became more of a love story for the family farm. We wanted to share what it feels like to be a part of a family farm. The fun, the toys, the work. This video travels through the decades giving each era a moment to shine. Beginning at its inception in the 1930s watch the farm evolve into the modern operation it is today.

This video isn’t perfect, as video is not my expertise, but I’m happy with the turnout! We watched it as a group at our family reunion this past Saturday and there were lots of tears and laughs. The grit and determination of our ancestors do not go unnoticed.

I’m sharing this, because if you are considering putting some time into your family history – farming or not – just do it! You won’t regret it. Here are a few things that helped me persevere and digitize content:

VIDBOX Video Conversion

  • Use this device to connect an old VCR to your computer to digitize old VHS tapes. So easy to use, and worth every penny!

Slide Converter

Scanning

  • Use an actual scanner for old photos if you can! The quality is much better than spending time trying to not get a glare taking a picture of a picture with your phone.

Label – Label – Label

  • Write on the back of photos along the way as you identify what they are. Label VHS tapes, letters, photos, and digital files. Somebody in the future will thank you!
  • I try my best to label all my digital files in the following format: month.day.year_description (my description often includes name, event, action, or location or all four) When I print my photos at Mpix, the digital file name prints on the back of the photo, so if my digital files are named properly the physical copies will be labeled properly as well.
  • Container Store Photo & Craft Storage Carrier This product comes in many shapes and sizes, and is helpful for organizing loose-leaf photos, or ditching albums altogether. I label each individual box within the case to mark the decade and/or category. https://www.containerstore.com/s/iris-16_case-4%22-x-6%22-photo-and-craft-storage-carrier/d?q=photo%20organization&productId=11004246

LegacyBox

  • Send in VHS tapes, reels, and slides if you don’t want to do it yourself, they do it for you.

https://legacybox.com/

I learned so much while working on this project. I’m far from done and will continue to dive into the family history when my time allows. Do you have any tips about preserving family history? Leave your suggestions in the comments, I would love to hear them!

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Time Well Wasted

“Shhh,” I gently reminded my three-year-old daughter, Riley, as we stepped into the barn. We were on a mission to find the kittens. We knew they were there. We just weren’t sure where. The barn is full of excellent hiding spots for their Mom to tuck them away.

Over the past couple of weeks, mama cat was showing all the signs that she was definitely carrying a litter, and suddenly her tummy shrunk and I knew the kittens had made their way out into the world and likely to a warm bed in the barn surrounded by hay.

We walked quietly. Naturally, our first step was to follow the mom, but she wasn’t going to help us. Rather, she led us on several false trails in other outbuildings on the farm with no kittens to be found.

Surely they were tucked away in the barn loft full of hay. Securely hidden behind some bales keeping them safe from outsiders. We tiptoed around the loft quietly listening for tiny meows. After maxing out a three-year-old’s ability for silence we gave up!

As we trudged down the stairs in silent defeat, loud meows escaped from somewhere near. “Shhh,” I said again, “did you hear that?” The biggest grin crossed Riley’s face and I knew the sound wasn’t a figment of my imagination. Meows then came loud and clear and they were right to our left. Following their cries, we found them where? In the cat cage. Apparently, mama cat isn’t that sneaky. They were right under our noses.

After that, we sat. We sat in silent wonder as we watched these tiny babies crawl around their new home. We laughed as they let out baby hisses not trusting these new strangers who invaded their peaceful place. I picked them up and their purrs came quickly when they realized we were their friends.

Searching for kittens that day brought a slew of memories from my own childhood. I spent hours as a kid exploring the farm, seeking the thrill that any encounter with something other than my dog would provide.

Simple things can bring such joy, we wasted an afternoon that day, but it was time well wasted.

A few weeks later after the babies had grown.
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Picking Pumpkins

I finally picked all my pumpkins! A rainy fall delayed the process a bit, and a few of my pumpkins have a little green on them but with the sun shining they will all be bright orange just in time for Halloween. It also gave me a chance to practice my self-timer settings on my camera.

 

Harvesting pumpkins is easily one of the best workouts of the year.