Like history come alive

Crescentwood

Oh baby!

Baby pictures are just some of the thousands of items used as bookmarks – and then forgotten. Except they’re not really forgotten thanks to the volunteer sorters and pricers at the Children’s Hospital Book Market who rescue them each week for a Found in Books project. Response to my last column included a letter from a reader who named the church of her childhood. Another reader asked if anyone has photos of the Tulip Girls at Misericordia Hospital who attended Kelvin High School in the ’60s and ’70s. If you have any such pictures I would be pleased to forward them to the researcher.

It is a treasure hunt like no other – ephemera untouched often for decades. History between the pages come alive. We became curators of lives and times that have much to teach us.

To appeal to the kid in you, Children’s Hospital Book Market is having a comic book sale Saturday, Feb. 28 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at centre court in St. Vital Centre.

It wasn’t until I received a call from a Winnipeg Public Library informing me I’d left a bookmark in a tome I’d returned that I realized just how easy it is to lose something when in a rush – often something important.

I, of all people, could not believe I’d done that. From Gimli to Misericordia Terrace, from Doors Open to a high school, a common refrain I’ve heard is “this should be in a museum.” I’m working on that, but first comes the book about things found in books. Everything old is new again and bookmarks become artifacts waiting to be discovered.

A picture is worth a thousand words, so the saying goes. The Manitoba Writers’ Guild is offering scribes of all levels an opportunity to try something completely different. On Saturday, Feb. 21 from 2 to 4 p.m., at 100 Arthur St, (Artspace) there will be a display of some of the items found in books donated to the Children’s Hospital Book Market over the last few years. Each participant will have the opportunity to select items and write a few spontaneous stories which can then be shared with attendees. Admission is $10 for MWG members, $20 for non-members to explore a unique and fun writing challenge. To register, visit www.mbwriters.ca