Background

Legacy Carved in Stone Biographies is a new business with an exciting new concept in creating a “gift of heritage” with golden precious memories for generations of children and grandchildren.

The birth of this company originated with the unfolding of one particular event. The passing of Linda's parents. Linda's mother affected with ARDS while her father was battling cancer. Her Mother left Linda and her six brothers in a very short time. Linda's Mother started her life history in December and she passed away on Valentine's day. What Linda's Mother had written was a very short two page outline of her life with intentions to complete her biography after Christmas. She never was granted that second chance. Linda's Dad passed away the following year, but Linda was fortunate enough to tape his life history and her ancestors that roll back to Bukovina, Austria before he became too ill. Linda's husband Ren, lost both his parents and a grandmother during that two year period. Only time itself healed the devastation left in it’s path. Linda said “The fact that we could loose all of our parents in such a short time left us feeling like lost orphans!' Shortly after, I decided to end my career of 16 years working with Supreme Office Products Ltd in sales, It was clear something was edging me on to pursue a new path in my life. Linda truly believes it was her Mother who was giving her that extra “shove!” That was the makings of a new business with a vision and a passion of preserving the past. Linda has always had an interest in family heritage, listening to Uncles and Aunts and to her Grandparents when they were alive. With her love for the arts, music and photography, she decided to put a creative twist to this passion with editing techniques that includes music, titles and various insertions of photos and tapes.

Legacy Carved in Stone Biographies is in the third year of business. Linda has had the honour of listening and documenting a wide range of life histories. Linda's first customer landed her in Eastend, Saskatchewan documenting a rancher's wife's story of their 100 year old homestead that commemorated with the Grand Opening of the Trex Discovery Museum. Linda said: “We all gathered at the end of the day at the hitching post with the Town Mayor and political figures paying tribute to this wonderful lady and her incredible life. I felt so very privileged.” She has also had the honour to document wedding anniversaries as well as five siblings gathered around a table sharing their childhood stories of growing up together finally coming clean on who did what and where. These siblings ages were from 79-86! Linda noted a lot of tattling was going on that afternoon, but they also knew this was likely the last time they would be all together in such a setting. Those childhood stories were priceless the moment she turned off the camera. She has documented an Elder sharing incredible stories of her past, and is presently working on a senior documenting stories of her Mother to pass down to her children. Recently Linda interviewed a radio celebrity (Slim Wilson) with 60 years of a music career whom had close connections to Roy Rogers and Gene Autrey. With raised eyebrows Linda said: “Then we have the War Veterans whom shared five hours of was stories. I was entrusted with their personal war photos that were inserted into the video while the story was being told. This allowed these War Veterans an opportunity to tell their stories of horror, their sacrifices lending to our freedom in our country and how indebted we are to these heroes. That was an amazing experience in itself.”

Linda has come to realize that this entire generation are ALL heroes. She explained further: “These seniors are the only surviving children of our pioneers of this country that turned the sod, lived in the mud shacks, hauled water and wood, walked miles to school, drove in sleds pulled by a team of horses. Once this generation is still....we have no more stories. These precious seniors are the salt of the earth. Their substance and quality are not found in any other generation. They know grit, character, discipline and their humour and imagination are what constitutes the word “having fun!” This is the generation that lives by the moto “less is more” not more is more! These are true survivors! They hold the golden key to the knowledge of the past pioneers of our land and their legacy is the only source in preserving this knowledge for their children and grandchildren.” There is an sense of urgency attached as we are getting older, as it is becoming vital to document this heritage. What better way Linda thought, than to give your loved ones a boundless gift than leaving your legacy through a beautifully produced video, sharing the joys, comical moments and the hardships endured along life's journey of a life history that is valuable and unique to every family.

Linda cannot stress enough the importance and value of documenting these priceless stories of the past before the thought becomes a regret that cannot be turned around. It is a win win situation. She said: “I became a wiser, better quality person from the experience. The customer leaves their legacy as a priceless gift to the client that holds this documentation close to their hearts to pass down to their children. It doesn't get any better than that!” Linda welcomes any inquires or questions regarding the procedure of getting started. She added: “This small gesture can keep your family's heritage alive.” Linda can be reached at 585-0969 or fax 775-1304 any time during the day or evening. Information is free and she is looking forward to the many adventures documenting this generation's incredible history in the coming years.