It happens all too often …..
A loved one passes away and you are left to clean out their home.
Perhaps it was your childhood home, filled with warm, happy memories.
You always knew this day might come, and now, it’s here …. the task you always dreaded. Heavy-hearted, you begin the inevitable task.
What do you find?
In the back of the closet are many small boxes filled with old photos, memorabilia and/or newspaper clippings. As you start to look through the photos, you realize some of them you have seen many times before. However, others are unfamiliar. You have no idea who the people are, where the pictures were taken, when they were taken or why they had been saved all these years.
Your first instinct is to keep the photos and items which are familiar to you and to discard the rest. But, before you throw anything away, why not look for clues or information to identify those once-treasured items before you “toss” them!
The Tamarac Historical Society has been researching our history for the past four years. We are always hoping to find an interesting new item or piece of information. Recently, we got very lucky!
We knew of Edward Grant who had served as Secretary/Treasurer to Ken Behring, the developer of Tamarac. We felt sure he’d have interesting stories to tell. We tried to contact him but, after several failed attempts, we moved on to other leads.
To celebrate Tamarac’s 50th Anniversary of incorporation, Ken Behring, himself, attended our “kick-off” reception-party, in December, 2012. Then,
They contacted us and offered a treasure-trove of articles, documents, photos (including a picture of Commercial Boulevard when it ended at State Road 7) and many other never-before-seen articles, about the inception of Tamarac, which had belonged to his late father. The value of this material is priceless. We were lucky this time, but, many times we are not.
Had the young Grants “tossed” away this precious material it would never have found its way to the archives of the Tamarac Historical Society. We are grateful to them.
The lesson to be learned here is simple: before you toss away any pictures, clippings or memorabilia about Tamarac, please contact us. The Tamarac Historical Society’s mission is to research, collect, preserve and exhibit the history of Tamarac with goals of enlightening the community about our heritage while passing on an enduring legacy for future generations.
on July 19th, we had our formal Anniversary Ceremony which touched the hearts of many Tamarac residents. The sealing of the Time Capsule, the local dignitaries, the band and the barbeque awoke the civic pride in our people. Among them were Edward Grant, Jr. and his wife, PJ. They had been cleaning out the closets of his father, the late Edward Grant, Sr., who, unbeknownst to us, had recently passed away.
