Valentown Greetings,

Diaries and journals have long been a popular historic interest. Not as popular a habit now perhaps, but even today they still have the ability to let us see into the past in a special way. They let you into the lives of other people who are long gone. Samuel Pepys' (1633-1703) diary is an early example of how this dutiful daily notation changed to a personal journey. But both aspects were seen as a way to find meaning and patterns in one’s life.

Surely many of the merchants at Valentown kept records of their businesses, but they also added things like the weather and other elements that influenced their enterprises. Loyal customers were noted by name. As time went on they could look back and see when and what kind of work they did for someone. They could anticipate their customers needs and be ready. At the end of a year they could look back critically and see how good a job they were doing.
In historic terms, a personal journal was a way to record significant experiences, thoughts and reflections in your life. A diary was considered less revealing and personal. This makes historic journals very compelling, and they were written not only by now famous authors but ordinary people too. They could reflect on anything that pleased them or puzzled them. They could even comment on other individuals in their lives. This "name dropping" has also become valuable information for genealogy about families.

But "diaries" seem to be what people recognize today. All someone has to do is say the name "Ann Frank" for us to see how the power of a document like this can shakes us to our core. The modest writings of most people from the past may have never been intended to go beyond family or close friends. But for those of us who get to read them, they are a wealth of events and names that flesh out those who may now only be noted on a gravestone. Historical journals and dairies are great treasures that link us directly to the past.

Levi Valentine and other individuals from our collection at Valentown wrote journals that they left behind. They have let us see the past through their eyes. And we hope that in spite of modern media's digital recording of history, that some of us are keeping a personal journal in a little book written by hand. Wouldn't it be nice to have someone find it in the future and wish they could chat with us?

As always, we are your down home, hometown museum.
Kathryn White, President