news-record.com

EDEN — Ruby Boyd Asbury has always been interested in family history and helps many people look for information about their ancestors.

But now she is taking her interests to the next level.

She is dedicated to linking generations of families together by preserving their photos and stories. Her company, Our Treasured Heritage, is based in her home.

Using a high-speed scanner, Asbury scans photos and documents families have kept in albums or boxes stored away in attics or basements. She touches up the photos, correcting lighting and fading, removing spots, restoring color and other enhancing techniques.

Once the photos and documents are complete, Asbury creates beautiful archival-quality books and home decor to preserve and honor a family’s heritage.

“I enjoy doing it because it is a magical moment when people see their photos in books,” she said. “It preserves their memories and stories. If you don’t tell the stories that go with the photos, it is a memory lost.”

Getting started is simple. After calling Asbury, a client can arrange for a free consultation in their home. Asbury goes through the person’s photos and documents and discusses their preservation needs.

She also shows them how she can use not only old photos but current ones to create custom books, canvas prints, cards, home decor and more.

Many photos have stories behind them, Asbury said. She encourages people to record the stories that go with the photos.

“I help them get their stories together and put them with the pictures,” Asbury said.

Once the stories and photos are paired, the client has a family history “beautifully displayed, enjoyed and preserved,” she said.

Although Asbury can create all the items, she also offers the clients the opportunity to do their own treasures.

She is working with a woman whose family has traveled throughout the world. After scanning more than 500 pictures from the woman’s early years, Asbury has shown her how to create a book. Asbury also provided her client with CDs to give to family members.

She has scanned photos for other families so each of the children would have their own photo archive from their births to the present.

“I get to know the people through their photos,” Asbury said.

Asbury and her husband, Dennis, moved from Virginia to Eden in 1981 when Dennis went to work for the city of Eden.

He retired in September 2010 from his position as director of environmental services.

Since his retirement, the couple enjoys spending time at their mountain retreat, a little cottage in the woods in Meadows of Dan, Va. It is Ruby Asbury’s childhood home.

“It is the home built by my parents with basic tools and timber from the land,” she said. “It was there that I developed a love of family and for those who sacrificed before us to make our lives better.

“My parents loved the land and its beauty and wonderful harvest,” she said.

After graduating with a bachelor of science degree in math and science from Radford College (now Radford University), Asbury taught at several schools in Virginia before she and Dennis moved to Eden. They have two sons, three daughters and six grandchildren.

She also served 18 months in Sao Paulo, Brazil, as a full-time missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

As director of the Eden Family History Center at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on N.C. 14 south of Eden, Asbury has the opportunity to help even more people in their genealogical research.

The center is open Wednesdays; more information available by calling 623-7154 .

“I love helping people preserve their heritage, whether it’s volunteering at the Family History Center, a free service of the church, or through my business,” Asbury said.

Reidsville native Ann Fish has lived in Eden since 1979. Contact her at annsomersfish@yahoo.com.