“We are the sum of those who came before us. Their choices, struggles, and triumphs echo in our lives today. Thank you for walking alongside me through these chapters of our shared history.”
There’s a deep satisfaction in learning about the people who came before me—piecing together their lives through faded photographs, handwritten notes, and historical records. My grandmother, Ruth (Hilarides) Vince Orban, was the keeper of a vast collection of family pictures, many of which she inherited from her mother, Flora (Cross) Hilarides. Flora had carefully written notes on some of them, and Ruth added her own thoughtful annotations over the years. When my grandmother passed away in 1999, the collection was passed to my mother, Sharon (Vince) Bull, and then she let me borrow them so I could scan them into the computer. I spent years scanning each photograph into my computer—one by one—carefully preserving every detail.
My goal is to bring each image to life, enhancing the details and sharing them alongside the stories of our family. I purchased the domain GrandmasPictures years ago with the dream of creating a space where these stories could live and be shared with others. Recently, I’ve taken this dream more seriously, using AI to help organize and refine my storytelling. It’s a learning process, and while my early stories might not be perfect, I hope each new one gets a little better.
These aren’t just my grandmother Ruth’s stories—they belong to all my grandmothers, and even those ancestors whose faces I’ve never seen. Through research and imagination, I try to fill in the spaces where photographs or written records are missing, weaving together fragments of history into a narrative worth sharing.
I love the process of researching, restoring pictures, and writing. My writing style is still a work in progress, but I’m dedicated to improving, studying creative nonfiction techniques, and leaning on AI for guidance when I need it.
I hope you find some joy, connection, or even inspiration in these stories—because I’ve found immense joy in uncovering and telling them.
Crystal (Morrison) Lampl Gessele