NOTE: This article is not about any of the "normal" topics of this newsletter: genealogy, history, current affairs, DNA, and related topics. However, I find it interesting. Also, genealogists often are "book people."

According to an article in Slashdot.org (at https://tinyurl.com/478h7rcd):

"Fake Books Are a Real Home Decor Trend 

"If it looks like a book, feels like a book and stacks like a book, then there's still a good chance it may not be a book. From a report:

Fake books come in several different forms: once-real books that are hollowed out, fabric backdrops with images of books printed onto them, empty boxlike objects with faux titles and authors or sometimes just a facade of spines along a bookshelf. Already the norm for film sets and commercial spaces, fake books are becoming popular fixtures in homes. While some people are going all in and covering entire walls in fake books, others are aghast at the thought that someone would think to decorate with a book that isn't real. "I will never use fake books," said Jeanie Engelbach, an interior designer and organizer in New York City. "It just registers as pretentious, and it creates the illusion that you are either better read or smarter than you really are."

Ms. Engelbach said she has frequently used books as decor, at times styling clients' bookcases with aesthetics taking priority over function, which is a typical interior-design practice. 

"At Books by the Foot -- a company that sells, as its name suggests, books by the foot -- one can purchase books by color (options include 'luscious creams,' 'vintage cabernet' and 'rainbow ombre'), by subject ('well-read art' or 'gardening'), wrapped books (covered in linen or rose gold) and more. The tomes are all 'rescue books,' ones that would otherwise be discarded or recycled for paper pulp, said Charles Roberts, the president of Books by the Foot's parent company, Wonder Book. During the pandemic lockdown in 2020, remote work created increased demand for the company's services. While it mostly specializes in the sale of real books, the company has also dabbled in the world of faux ones."

If you want to purchase some "books by the foot,"" go to https://boothandwilliams.com/all-shops/color-by-the-foot/.

I think I will pass.

May is Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month.

The Library of Congress, National Archives and Records Administration, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Gallery of Art, National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution and United States Holocaust Memorial Museum join in paying tribute to the generations of Asian and Pacific Islanders who have enriched America's history and are instrumental in its future success.

Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month is a celebration of Asians and Pacific Islanders in the United States. A rather broad term, Asian/Pacific encompasses all of the Asian continent and the Pacific islands of Melanesia (New Guinea, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Fiji and the Solomon Islands), Micronesia (Marianas, Guam, Wake Island, Palau, Marshall Islands, Kiribati, Nauru and the Federated States of Micronesia) and Polynesia (New Zealand, Hawaiian Islands, Rotuma, Midway Islands, Samoa, American Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu, Cook Islands, French Polynesia and Easter Island).

Like most commemorative months, Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month originated with Congress. In 1977 Reps. Frank Horton of New York introduced House Joint Resolution 540 to proclaim the first ten days in May as Pacific/Asian American Heritage Week. In the same year, Senator Daniel Inouye introduced a similar resolution, Senate Joint Resolution 72. Neither of these resolutions passed, so in June 1978, Rep. Horton introduced House Joint Resolution 1007. This resolution proposed that the President should “proclaim a week, which is to include the seventh and tenth of the month, during the first ten days in May of 1979 as ‘Asian/Pacific American Heritage Week.’” This joint resolution was passed by the House and then the Senate and was signed by President Jimmy Carter on October 5, 1978 to become Public Law 95-419 (PDF, 158kb). This law amended the original language of the bill and directed the President to issue a proclamation for the “7 day period beginning on May 4, 1979 as ‘Asian/Pacific American Heritage Week.’” During the next decade, presidents passed annual proclamations for Asian/Pacific American Heritage Week until 1990 when Congress passed Public Law 101-283 (PDF, 166kb) which expanded the observance to a month for 1990. Then in 1992, Congress passed Public Law 102-450 (PDF, 285kb) which annually designated May as Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month.

The month of May was chosen to commemorate the immigration of the first Japanese to the United States on May 7, 1843, and to mark the anniversary of the completion of the transcontinental railroad on May 10, 1869. The majority of the workers who laid the tracks were Chinese immigrants.

This site presents only a sample of the digital and physical holdings related to Asian/Pacific heritage available from the Library of Congress and other participating agencies.

Executive and Legislative Documents

The Law Library of Congress has compiled guides to commemorative observations, including a comprehensive inventory of the Public Laws, Presidential Proclamations and congressional resolutions related to Asian/Pacific Heritage Month.

About the Site

The Web portal at https://asianpacificheritage.gov/about/ is a collaborative project of the Library of Congress and the National Archives and Records Administration, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Gallery of Art, National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution and United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. The contents of this site highlight only a small portion of the physical and digital holdings of the participating partners.

The following is a press release written by Vivid-Pix:

Savannah, GA, May 1, 2023 – Vivid-Pix, www.vivid-pix.com, is recognizing National Photography Month and National Mental Health Month in May by showcasing the joy and healing power of photos.

According to the National Institutes of Health, “Reminiscence Therapy (RT) involves the discussion of past activities, events and experiences with another person or group of people, usually with the aid of tangible prompts, such as photographs, household and other familiar items from the past, music, and archive sound recordings.”

Vivid-Pix is hosting classes, specials and giveaways throughout the month. Class topics include photo organization, photo restoration, storytelling, genealogy and photo reminiscence therapy: https://www.facebook.com/vividpixfix/. Relive Your Memories giveaway details can be found at: https://www.vivid-pix.com/giveaway/. Family history enthusiasts will enjoy the mystery game What Happened to Great Uncle George? https://www.vivid-pix.com/unclegeorge/.

Value of Pictures to Reduce Stress

Ever look at a photo prompting a memory and a smile to flash across your mind and face? It’s a physiological reaction. When looking at photos, cortisol levels are lowered, and this reduces stress. According to WebMD, the hormone cortisol manages the body’s stress levels. If you’re constantly under stress, cortisol can derail your body’s most important functions, leading to health problems, including anxiety and depression. With the psychological impact of social distancing, missing holidays with loved ones, isolation, fear of sickness, and financial issues from closures, reminiscing about cherished memories is more important than ever.

Experts Use Photography Reminiscence Therapy to Help Depression, Dementia, & Alzheimer’s

Experts have been using Reminiscence Therapy for years to help depression, dementia, and Alzheimer’s. As reported by NPR, “Researchers find that dementia patients who engage in activities such as gathering photographs and talking about family see improvements in their quality of life and are less agitated,” said Shirley Wang, NPR.

Vivid-Pix, CERTUS Institute, achi, and the National Institute for Dementia Education research provides insight into how different types of photos affect those with memory loss and their benefit with important daily tasks such as taking medicine and interacting with others.

Europe-based Researchgate reported that Reminiscence Therapy is an effective way to increase self-esteem and decrease behavioral disturbances in those with dementia, and their research proved that photography was the best therapy. “Eighty percent of the subjects (12 out of 15) showed more attention to their personalised reminiscence photo video than to the other two types of TV shows, thus suggesting the effectiveness of personalised reminiscence photo videos for reminiscence intervention.”

Taking a daily photo also improved well-being through self-care, community interaction, and the potential for reminiscence. According to ScienceDaily.com, U.K. researchers said it’s “an active process of meaning making, in which a new conceptualisation of wellbeing emerges.” “[If] I’m ever feeling down or something, it’s nice to be able to scroll back and see good memories. You know, the photos I’ve taken will have a positive memory attached to it even if it’s something as simple as I had a really lovely half an hour for lunch sitting outside and was feeling really relaxed,” said a study participant.

About Vivid-Pix

Vivid-Pix helps individuals, families, friends and organizations with their most treasured memories by inventing and harnessing technologies. Vivid-Pix Solutions assists family historians, as well as paid and unpaid caregivers, to assist with cognitive decline and dementia through Photo Reminiscence Therapy. Vivid-Pix patented software has been sold in over 120 countries, improving photos and documents.

This article will probably interest a small percentage of the readers of this newsletter. However, if that includes you, you will be very interested in it.

I spent 8 years living near the "Old Man of the Mountain" and was in my automobile most every day repairing mainframe computers installed in customer sites all over Vermont and New Hampshire. I drove past the "Old Man" several times most weeks and I always looked up to see the "Old Man" in all his glory. I also climbed the mountain (on foot) several times. Then, one day, he was no longer there!

The iconic Old Man of the Mountain fell to the ground on May 3, 2003. (I happened to drive by his location the next day.)

“The Old Man” as he stood for hundreds (thousands?) of years

You can read more about this in an article by Amy Olson published in the Dartmouth College web site at: https://home.dartmouth.edu/news/2023/05/interactive-3d-model-recreates-old-man-mountain. 

Make sure you watch the video at: https://youtu.be/te0NRSWsC3U and another video at https://youtu.be/fqft0248O2k.

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The Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies has been invited to join an international effort to raise greater awareness and dissemination of Holocaust testimonies worldwide.

At a recent two-day conference in London, the UK Holocaust Memorial Foundation announced plans to build a web-based portal of the United Kingdom’s collections of Holocaust Testimonies by spring 2024. The proposed working group will also include the Association of Jewish Refugee Voices, British Library, Imperial War Museum, and University of Southern California Shoah Foundation.

Read more about the proposed working group at: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/lord-pickles-launches-holocaust-testimony-portal-working-group/.

Starting today, May 1, the Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission (PHMC) will begin accepting applications for the Historical & Archival Records Care (HARC) grant program. The application deadline is August 1, 2023.  

Funding is available to historical records repositories such as: historical societies; libraries; universities; local governments; and school districts for collections care, including surveying; inventorying; preserving; arranging; and describing historical records significant to Pennsylvania, as well as for records reformatting and equipment. 

Visit the HARC webpage for more details.   

Register for an upcoming webinar to learn more about the program, eligibility, and suggestions for a successful application. 

- Tuesday, May 16, 10:00 AM: Meeting Registration - Zoom

- Thursday, May 25, 2:00 PM: Meeting Registration - Zoom

Please direct any questions to Grant Manager Natasha Margulis (nmargulis@pa.gov; 717-705-1676)

When:  Saturday, May 27, 2023

Time:  11:00 am - 12:00 pm  EST
Where: Online

Price:  FREE to AGS members or $10 for nonmembers

Click here to register:  https://www.augustagensociety.org/

The registration deadline is May 25, 2023

Limited seating to view the virtual presentation will be offered at Adamson Library. To reserve a seat, please call (706) 722-4073.

This session will discuss the practical realities, excitement, and pain of researching a "new" family. We will look at the invaluable information that can be revealed to adopted people through DNA testing. Reunions may not go as well as expected, so some adopted people can find a lot of satisfaction in finding other relatives or constructing an ancestral tree, all of which can help with the impact on identity and personal narratives. Penny will reflect briefly on her own adoption story and discuss the variety of ethical dilemmas that can arise.

ww.searchmypast.co.uk.

A program flyer is available at https://filedn.com/lwhnSvLzTkI41rItzEOPak0/graphics/2023%20May%20Dr.%20Penny%20Walters-Adoption.pdf

The Dutch government is planning to throw open information about 300,000 people investigated for their collaboration with the Nazis, in a move that could accelerate a reckoning with the Netherlands’ Holocaust record.

For the past seven decades, only researchers and relatives of those accused of collaborating with the Nazis could access the information held by the Dutch archives. But a law guarding the data is set to expire in 2025.

In February, The War in Court, a Dutch consortium devoted to preserving history, announcedthat it would make the records available online when the privacy law expires. The effort drew additional attention this week when a New York Times article explored concerns the hopes and concerns held by people in the Netherlands who have an idea of what lies within the sweeping repository.

“It’s a sensitive archive,” Edwin Klijn, project leader of The War in Cort, told the Times.

“For years, the whole theme of collaboration has been a kind of taboo,” he added. “We don’t talk about collaboration that much but we’re now 80 years further and it’s time for us to face this dark part of the war.”

The Netherlands has world’s second-highest number of documented saviors of Jews, but it also had many collaborators who, aided by the topography and Holland’s proximity to Germany, helped the Nazis achieve the highest death rate there among Jews anywhere in Nazi-occupied Western Europe. Of 140,000 Dutch Jews, more than 100,000 were murdered. As is presumed to have happened with the most famous victim of the Nazis in the Netherlands, the teenaged diarist Anne Frank, many were given up by their neighbors and acquaintances.

You can read more in an article by Jackie Hajdenberg  published in the jta.org web site at: https://tinyurl.com/2s3r95j5.

New and Updated

Here is a list of all of this week's articles, all of them available here at https://eogn.com: