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Author Topic: Finding a piece of history  (Read 1346 times)

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Offline compaqxp

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Finding a piece of history
« on: April 10, 2011, 10:06:24 PM »
Every year we have something called the "big cleanup" when you can put anything at the curb to be picked up and taken away for garbage. I've seen mowers, tvs, computers, fridges you name it. I take a day off this time of year (every year, I can more or less make my own schedule) and go around like many other people to see what I can find, last year making close to 500$.

Today I saw and old reel to reel tape player/recorder and seeing as I couldn't make any reasonable amount of money from it, drove past it not once, but twice and then when I went to the store tonight I decided to pick it up, only to discover a tape inside it.

I expected this tape to be some lame recording of a concert or something but I was amazed when I put it on my good player. This tape contained the interviews and stories of local WW2 vets that were done in the 60s. All of these men are dead now and one was even related to me.

This tape is the the original, if not only copy of this recording left. The label shows the recording dates (different people at different times) and a list of everyone interviewed along with the interviews name.

I plan to get this properly recorded onto a computer by some pros in the city, and then give it to a local military museum who have already told me they would like it.

I quite like finding things like this. Things forgotten and then found again, things that were almost lost forever. This find made my day.
« Last Edit: April 10, 2011, 10:33:45 PM by compaqxp »
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Offline BattleHymn

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Re: Finding a piece of history
« Reply #1 on: April 11, 2011, 12:04:18 AM »
When you get it done, please have it uploaded to the interwebs somewhere.  I for one, would be very interested in watching what you have. 

Congratulations on such a lucky find.   :cheersmate:
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Offline JLO

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Re: Finding a piece of history
« Reply #2 on: April 11, 2011, 02:50:43 AM »
That is quite the treasure!  Are you certain none of them are still alive?  Wouldn't they just enjoy the heck out it, though?   :-)

Glad to hear you are preserving their memories.  Maybe some day it will make it to TV's History Channel, where we can all view.   :popcorn:
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Offline Gina

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Re: Finding a piece of history
« Reply #3 on: April 11, 2011, 04:11:07 AM »
^5 for doing that for history!
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Offline longview

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Re: Finding a piece of history
« Reply #4 on: April 11, 2011, 06:46:32 AM »
How cool!

I'm glad someone did the project originally and that you found it and are preserving it.
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Offline FreeBorn

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Re: Finding a piece of history
« Reply #5 on: April 11, 2011, 10:18:15 AM »
There's hope for you yet, commy! ^5.  :)
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Offline Eupher

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Re: Finding a piece of history
« Reply #6 on: April 11, 2011, 10:28:25 AM »
Nice job, compaqxp!

Reminds me of a series of conversations I had with a bunch of WWII musicians, all of whom were part of the 2nd Armored Division Bands (they had two during the war -- one for Combat Command "A" and one for Combat Command "B") in 1982.

There were about a half dozen of these guys who came to Ft. Hood, TX for the annual 2AD reunion. (Some would call it the "Hell on Wheels" reunion, but a bunch of us called it -- good-naturedly, of course, the "Hell on Wheelchairs" reunion.

Their stories were fascinating -- mostly talking about North Africa and their experiences with the Tunisians and other Arabs (they weren't very complimentary -- I wonder why?? (  :-) ) and what they did when TSHTF.

I should've taped them, but I didn't. I just listened and asked questions.  :bawl:
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Offline IassaFTots

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Re: Finding a piece of history
« Reply #7 on: April 11, 2011, 12:05:34 PM »
That is certainly a good find!  Please keep us posted, I want to hear how this story progresses.
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Offline Splashdown

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Re: Finding a piece of history
« Reply #8 on: April 11, 2011, 12:08:50 PM »
Very cool!

My dad and uncle were WWII vets, and like most of their generation, never talked about their experiences.
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Offline Karin

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Re: Finding a piece of history
« Reply #9 on: April 11, 2011, 01:23:54 PM »
That is a fantastic find!  Many thanks for your efforts in preserving it.  Some people wouldn't give a s&*#. 

Not as great a find as yours, but every spring the woods in the back heaves forth some remnant of history.  This year, I found a fully intact Lydia E. Pinkham's Vegetable Compound bottle.  1920's or so?  I'm imagining that it held hooch in the prohibition years, somebody was partying in the woods and buried the empty. 
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Offline chitownchica

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Re: Finding a piece of history
« Reply #10 on: April 11, 2011, 03:48:37 PM »
Wow - that's a great find! I hope you can upload it where we can all hear it.  Thanks for letting us know about it, as well as taking care of it and giving over to the people who can preserve it.  My mom's  father died in Okinawa when she was five.  My grandmother saved all the letters he wrote home, the telegram she received regarding his  death, and the flag presented to her.  I was so happy she saved those things so we would have a piece of family history.
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Offline JohnnyReb

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Re: Finding a piece of history
« Reply #11 on: April 11, 2011, 05:37:03 PM »
About 3 times a week I spend an hour or so talking with a 94 year old WW2 vet. He was over maintainace in the Third Armored Division (The Spearhead). Today we talked about the many engines that was used to power the M4 Sherman tank. I had done some research on a diesel radial that CATERPILLAR built for them. He was telling me about the FORD V8's with overhead camshafts that came in a few of them. ...and one 30 cylinder engine built from a bank of five 6 cyclinder engines...it was interesting to me.

His mind is still sharp and he's not to bad off physically. I've tried to prod him into writing some of his experiences down but all he'll say is maybe one day.
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Offline namvet

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Re: Finding a piece of history
« Reply #12 on: April 11, 2011, 06:17:22 PM »
Quote from: Splashdown on April 11, 2011, 12:08:50 PM
Very cool!

My dad and uncle were WWII vets, and like most of their generation, never talked about their experiences.

ditto....same here. their both gone now
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Offline namvet

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Re: Finding a piece of history
« Reply #13 on: April 11, 2011, 06:40:34 PM »
Quote from: compaqxp on April 10, 2011, 10:06:24 PM
Every year we have something called the "big cleanup" when you can put anything at the curb to be picked up and taken away for garbage. I've seen mowers, tvs, computers, fridges you name it. I take a day off this time of year (every year, I can more or less make my own schedule) and go around like many other people to see what I can find, last year making close to 500$.

Today I saw and old reel to reel tape player/recorder and seeing as I couldn't make any reasonable amount of money from it, drove past it not once, but twice and then when I went to the store tonight I decided to pick it up, only to discover a tape inside it.

I expected this tape to be some lame recording of a concert or something but I was amazed when I put it on my good player. This tape contained the interviews and stories of local WW2 vets that were done in the 60s. All of these men are dead now and one was even related to me.

This tape is the the original, if not only copy of this recording left. The label shows the recording dates (different people at different times) and a list of everyone interviewed along with the interviews name.

I plan to get this properly recorded onto a computer by some pros in the city, and then give it to a local military museum who have already told me they would like it.

I quite like finding things like this. Things forgotten and then found again, things that were almost lost forever. This find made my day.

what a find !!! yes it should be converted ASAP. magnetic tape deteriorates over time. a few years back i went thru my late dad's stuff and found a VHS tape about the ship he served on in WW2. it was a documentary. I played it back and it was still viewable but going to hell in a hand basket. I found software that will convert just about anything analog to to DVD's or CD's.  so I burn it to a DVD and now its preserved.
....reel to reel tape players were very popular in Nam. everybody had one including me. and I still have mine. its a Teac 7" reel. and still plays great. I fixed one back in the 80's for a freind. it was dead but still had the reels on. when I played it back it had recordings from vets in Nam to family members back home. 

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Offline Chris_

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Re: Finding a piece of history
« Reply #14 on: April 11, 2011, 06:42:12 PM »
Depending on the audio format they give you, Windows Movie Maker is easy to use (and free).  It's definitely not a high-end piece of software, but I've used it to convert audio files to .wmv for YouTube.
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Offline namvet

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Re: Finding a piece of history
« Reply #15 on: April 11, 2011, 06:49:59 PM »
Quote from: chris_ on April 11, 2011, 06:42:12 PM
Depending on the audio format they give you, Windows Movie Maker is easy to use (and free).  It's definitely not a high-end piece of software, but I've used it to convert audio files to .wmv for YouTube.

I caught the software on sale. and its real easy to use. ive converted 12 VHS movies to DVD's. don't own any of those records anymore.
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Offline Splashdown

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Re: Finding a piece of history
« Reply #16 on: April 11, 2011, 06:51:17 PM »
Audacity is awesome recording software as well.
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Let nothing trouble you,
Let nothing frighten you. 
All things are passing;
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