Books preserve family memories

Betty Munn's life is neatly bound between the pages of four scrapbooks.

The acid-free protective pages are filled with carefully trimmed and labeled photos, newspaper clippings and love letters.

"I have really had a lot of fun with these people who put it together," said Munn, who saved photos that were passed down to her from her parents and images of her family and friends throughout her life. "My husband was very involved in the process."

For more than a year, volunteers at Brandon Wilde have been arranging the images that illustrate the family history and life stages of the colon cancer survivor and mother of three.

Volunteer Jackie Bye helped preserve the collection of photos that Munn has kept throughout her life.

"We started putting the scrapbooks together in April of last year," Bye said. "Mrs. Munn has some photographs that date back to 1902."

When they began the process of restoring Mrs. Munn's deteriorating scrapbooks, her husband, William, helped label the photos.

"Dad was great at putting things in chronological order," said Kathy Resseguie, Munn's youngest daughter. "He remembered lots of stories and had wonderful memories. They sat and reminisced about the photos and had a wonderful time."

Though Mr. Munn died in January, Mrs. Munn has memories of more than 60 years of marriage on decorated photo pages in their anniversary scrapbook. Sylvia Huyck helped assemble a scrapbook about the cabin that the Munns built at Bellaire Lake in Michigan.

"The best thing about doing this was the fellowship and getting a glimpse into the past," Huyck said.

Esther Dickey, also a resident at Brandon Wilde established the Caroline Detwiler Dickey Endowment to create scrapbooks for residents at the center. The endowment is named in honor of her sister-in-law who died of Alzheimer's disease.

"The scrapbooks are for anyone who needs the mental reminders," Dickey said. "It gives them life that they would not normally have...and a way to preserve memories."