At the Heart of Heritage Makers

When Heritage Makers asked Studio Product Manager Lynda Angelastro to add a new “grandpa” cornerstone to the Heritage Maker line, she naturally turned to her own father’s life for inspiration. He was happy to talk about his younger years and on a Christmas visit, Lynda and her dad finished the fact-filled 8 x 8 storybook that would eventually become template 52533.

“Listening to Dad’s stories was the highlight of my trip to England that year. As he recounted memories of his childhood and meeting my mother, I realized he was telling me the stories along with small, but important details I’d never heard before.”

Lynda’s father was delighted with the book and finished by dictating a personal message to each grandchild, to be included on the last page of the book. The plan was for Lynda to print the finished books for him to give to his grandchildren as surprise gifts. But, within weeks of her visit, Lynda’s father’s health was in rapid decline.
“Even at 88 years old, my dad was so self-sufficient and young for his age that I thought I still had lots of time with him.” Lynda recalled. “And while I should have been better prepared, the news of his death came as a huge shock to me.”

At a company meeting just before she left for the funeral, Lynda turned to her fellow Heritage Makers employees and said tearfully, “I’m so grateful to have had an assignment that prompted me to get my father’s story written. I’m taking the personalized copies of his book to England with me to the funeral. It will be a much bigger surprise than he had anticipated, but what a priceless legacy for him to leave his nine grandchildren.”
In her Heritage Makers role, Lynda produces many home décor, holiday and children’s projects. “I love designing super cute, fun things to inspire Heritage Makers,” she says. They are the “desserts” of my professional life and they ARE important, because they shape today’s memories and strengthen family relationships. But nothing will ever compare to the deep satisfaction, the sustaining “main course,” of having made Dad’s “Before I Was Your Grandpa” book.

She continues to show her heartfelt commitment to storybooks by designing new meaningful templates. For a recent milestone birthday she made her brother a “Down Memory Lane” 11.5 x 8.5 storybook, template 52543.



Lynda also preserved her own story for her grandchildren in the “Before I Was Your Grandma”, 8 x 8 storybook, template 52532.

With many of her father’s stories yet to be told, Lynda’s next project is making a copy of "For the Good Times" by Kelly Wolfer, 11.5 x 8.5 storybook, template 61703. This template is one of the easiest to use and most beautiful family history books at Heritage Makers. With instructions in the margins and a text and heading type style that requires no separate text boxes, this template is ideal for your first family history project too.

If you’re ready for a deeply meaningful experience of your own, we encourage you to start a cornerstone or family history project of your own today. As Lynda Angelastro knows only too well, you can never be certain how much time you have left to get your important family treasures made.

Go to my web site at http://www.OurPhotoStories.com or contact me via e-mail at Rebecca@OurPhotoStories.com to learn more about calendars and other Heritage Makers products.