Bit by bit, the scenes came to me.
After I closed down my ancestry account with over 500 family photos and about 25,000 entries, I found that I had no appetite for the chase. Once you hit over 10,000 entries, you realize that you will not research much further; rather, you will piggy back on the research of others, sucking in 40 to 50 new members at the push of a few buttons.
Then and there, I decided to concentrate on a generation whose accomplishments I could discover, whose courage I could reveal and whose footsteps I could prove: the generation of my maternal grandfather, Raoul Poulin and his siblings.
I narrowed down the scope of my interest to the 1907 journey that Raoul made with his oldest brother, Nazaire Poulin, and their reunion in Dawson with two other brothers.
Once I retired, I started to research, and then to write.
I wrote out my cards – the dreaded cards, which weren’t so dreaded at all.
And re-wrote scenes with my trusty tool: scissors.
After a few years, I needed a little help to stay the course, so it was time for an additional monitor.
