R&R’s followers may recall, in 2015, along with historians Bob Edmonds and John Blythe, we took thousands of images of historic properties in rural McCormick County, S.C. One of our favorite sites was the Rosenswike farm. Enjoy seeing it at: Rosenswike Farm, not only were we taken back by the simplicity of this historic property but it was also architecturally intact – what a gift! We determined this was a place of special needs, one having a story to preserve and share for generations.
Following the visit, we contacted a descendant living in New York City. She was receptive to our desire to know much more about her family farm and her family’s heritage. She emailed a brief note with some information. Over the following months we stayed in contact and each time we spoke, this delightful lady, informed us of her interests but nothing came out of these chats or emails. Routinely there was always something going on; a trip to Europe, selling real-estate, health problems, etc. R&R felt sure it would never receive further information. Low and behold, about a month ago, the donor sent a large box of wonderful family materials. We promptly digitized the collection and added 80% of it to the website. This past week R&R returned her collection of family images, surveys, written documents, etc., and received the following response; “Received the package today and everything is in good shape. Thank goodness for people like you at Roots and Recall; keeping history alive so younger generations can learn about their and other peoples’ heritage. Great talking to you and we will be in touch when I get to my brother’s house and go over the South Carolina schedule.” She has also recently offered to write a detailed history for posting.
The McCormick farm of the Rosenswike Family – 2015
Her note was deeply appreciated and it goes to show, individuals do truly get excited with efforts to preserve local history. Personally, I have already used her family’s webpages to teach my eight year old granddaughter, about slat boards, outhouses, and so much more. But the greatest reward in preserving local history on R&R is not the final product but the journey it offers both the volunteers and donors! And it seems likely that R&R’s co-founders will be traveling to McCormick County in October, to personally meet the donor, who is traveling to her home-place for the first time in over thirty-five years.
We hope to be providing an update on the Kibler Cabin preservation project very soon, the blog series on the cabin was read by thousands and we have not forgotten about keeping you informed on its progress!
From the Porch – Blog @ RootsandRecall.com – 9.17.16
