OLD YEARBOOKS

What does one do with old yearbooks? I have a bunch. I suppose I am not the only one with a yearbook collection, but I am likely the only one who cares anything about the ones I have. It’s not like I look at them regularly. The fact is I never look at them. However, it feels wrong to throw them out. I know my daughter will throw them out. My photo appears only in the individual class photos of my high school yearbooks. In my one-year at Omaha University (now the University of Nebraska at Omaha) my photo appears nowhere. That would likely be the easiest one to release. I’m not sure why I have it in the first place. I probably had to pay extra for it.

When I got to Bible College my photo appears much more frequently. It’s on nearly every page the year I was the layout editor (that’s a joke). It was a small school and so most had at east one extra shot of their selves on some page or other. I have looked at these from time to time. But it’s been awhile. Then I taught at the same school for six years and have a yearbook from each of those years as well. I have actually looked at these a little more often. That’s because my memory sucks. There have been times when someone has mentioned a name I recognize but can’t place and I go looking for his or her photo. I’m not sure that does much good as we have all changed so much, but it helps.

I am cleaning out things. I no longer live in a large place where I can keep boxes of things I will never touch just because I have the space and do not want to go through it all. I really do not have the space. I am trying think of my family. What do I have that will interest them. I kept the file of all my daughters wedding expenses. She will be interested in that especially when here kids get married.

I also have a file of every newsletter I published while at the district office. That was one every six weeks for thirteen years. It was there that I developed Pastor Russell, my cartoon pastor that ran for several years and eventually became of book of cartoons that no one wanted. I guess they finally burned the left over pile. He came about while I was bored in church one Sunday. I was doodling on the bulletin (see they are good for something) and turned the pastor into a cartoon. He was very recognizable but happy to be the source of my cartoons. He even supplied some ideas.

This newsletter went through the mail and at some point (don’t remember when) I turned the mailing information on the back page into a humor column. It was written in small print (8pt.). I never announced what I was doing, because I don’t believe I thought it would become a regular feature. However, it ultimately became the first thing many people read and the most talked about thing in the paper. When people discovered it they felt like they had discovered a little jewel I was sharing only with them. It was usually a single run on sentence describing where the office was located. Here’s a sample:

The newsletter is published by the Pacific Northwest District of the Christian and missionary Alliance Box 1030, Canby, OR 97013, (503) 266-2238, or FAX (503) 263-8042 where everyone is anxiously awaiting the next big project (it doesn’t matter which one it is, there will just be another to take it’s place), so we can get on to summer vacation plans and try to put out of mind the next big project even pretending the next big project does not exist and even if it does exist we probably shouldn’t put too much effort into it since no one will probably come, give, read, or even care about the next big project which always causes us to wonder why we are putting so much effort into the next big project, so why not put that effort into vacation plans — which we would do, if the last big project hadn’t taken longer than expected, turned out better than expected, was of greater value than expected, changed more lives than expected and — we can hardly wait for the next big project, I think!

This kind of writing convinced people I was truly off my rocker and convinced me that people had a weird sense of humor. It was generally total nonsense. So what do I do with these things? They are of no value to anyone I can think of. The District Office saved copies as well and they are still there unless some administration following me dumped them all and in that case they don’t want more from me. Bu the way, none of the address information is correct any longer. They moved the office to another town.

Now you can see the awful dilemma in which I find myself. I should have left everything for my daughter to kept or destroy when I’m gone. She will have no difficulty at all. Oh, my poor things — off to the trash heap I’m sure!