As I sit her tonight, I have pretty well completed wandering through my father’s files. He has been described as being a careful man. He collected receipts, statements, journalled activities and generally left more of a trail than an archivist could hope for.
The real thing was to decide what stayed and what didn’t. Generally published material that is held elsewhere could be discarded. Any general correspondence with addresses or personal identifiers was shredded. Any unique materials that help to explain my parent’s life was considered for keeping.
And when all is said and done – I guess there is an art to archiving. I’ve taken the idea that, should I decide to write my father’s story, what would I need? Lots can go, but some has stayed. I’ll just have to see if I can get it all packed in the car!