A quick review of Helpers & Hearts, it was an eventful week, with sadness, surprises and the helpful library staff who helped me out. It sure was a pleasure and a welcoming environment.
Saturday.
My last morning was as expected – packing for the return journey. I checked out of my accommodation. My flight wasn’t until late afternoon so I spent the morning at the library. I looked at various books. I found more interesting information. To put it into words, I had an enjoyable time prompting many memories. It will enable me to add context to my story especially regarding showtime in the 1960s.
The Return.
I had a lovely lunch at the Dispensary Café then a stroll through the streets that held many memories. I headed back to the motel and picked up my luggage.
A short taxi ride took me passed many places where I used to play sports and then the wait for luggage check-in to open at the airport. I sat around in the airport lounge until my flight was called. It was a short flight down to Brisbane. The meal served was shameful. I thought I was in some prison with five or six broken crackers and salsa. There were some “tasty” bits that nearly broke my teeth! At least, I was able to wash that down with some apple juice.
Soon home! Well, I got an earlier train which I didn’t realise meant I had to change trains. The joys of train travel on a Saturday night is not fun. Eventually to the last station then a car ride home. An exhausting but eventful week.
Outcomes.
It’s now 2 June 2025 as I write this. I have been home 2 days. I have not really had the chance to unwrap my findings. There is a lot to unwrap! It will take me some time to go through what I found and what may still need some investigating. Doing the research is only part of the process. The outcomes, the results and then what’s next.
Final Process.
As I go through the final process, I have sorted everything to make it easier. All newspaper articles have been copied from my USB drive to my laptop. All photos/videos taken on my phone have also been copied. A back-up has already taken place! I created an Excel spreadsheet, adding details from each of my daily research sheets. Basically, it’s a combined summary of what I achieved on my adventure. So that you get an idea of how long it took, for a small amount of return or was it?
Statistics.
Here are some statistics: I spent nearly 7 hours looking at and through books. There were 22 books of interest. I now have a lot of photos to look through where stories will emerge. Nearly 25 hours was spent viewing newspapers on microfilm which involved just over 60 rolls of film being looked at, during this time.
My challenge was to find the details from the lists I’d created with the assistance of AI, as mentioned. From the possible 148 instances, I was able to research about 36.5% or 54 records. Of course, I didn’t locate everything.
Of this percentage I was able to extract about 57.4% or 31 records. Oh, and I did find additional records which are not recorded here. You know I have more to do, don’t you?
What do you think about my results for five and a half days of looking through historical records of newspapers and books? Please make a comment and let me know your thoughts.
This ends the series: Planning the Mission; Digital Strategy; Helpers & Hearts and Tales & Tallies.
Update: 15 June 2025.
All records have been updated in my offline family history database. I realise I have found a large number of relatives belonging to the family members who I found in death and funeral notices. These will be added eventually.
The adventure continues…
Upcoming Post.
The next scheduled post will be the 100th. I will be taking a short break prior to this special posting. You will all see changes to the site.
See you all on 10 October 2025.
Acknowledgements:
Photographs: The first three were taken by me on Saturday 31 May 2025. The other pics are from WordPress Pexel.
Ancestor Family 