8/1/2000
By Nancy Hendrickson
Start spreading the news about your kin with a family newsletter. But don't waste paper or lick stamps — publish the electronic way.
Several months ago I received an e-mail that began, “Let me introduce myself. I'm Sheryl, your Aunt Alice's daughter.” Sheryl, it turns out, had read an article I'd written and was sending her congratulations. The last time we'd seen or heard from one another was 1960.
Sheryl's note began the slow electronic reunification of our far-flung family. Mice and modems have given us — and our aunts, uncles and cousins — a chance to catch up on each other's lives, climb the family tree and share our memories. Two of my aunts, born between the presidencies of Woodrow Wilson and Calvin Coolidge, have become enthusiastic residents of cyberspace, e-mailing greeting cards, party invitations and memories of their parents and grandparents.
The next step, so we could all share our stories and memories, was to create an electronic family newsletter.