Ten days left. And still under half our goal. This weekend we only heard from two of you, but quite a few thousand visited the site. I know everyone likes the idea of getting stuff for free, and everyone balks at the idea of having to pay for a subscription to a website. I’m not asking you to subscribe. I don’t think you should have to pay for the right to be informed. Nor do I think you should have to pay to be able to learn about your past.
But every so often situations come up where the only place to turn to is you for support. This is one of those situations. I’ve been faced with increased operating costs over the past year. Beginning this year I was hit with increased rent for the space I have housed the Archive. It’s cramped enough as it is, and now it’s even more expensive and I can’t make it any smaller. The landlords are adamant and I have until the first of March to figure out what I’m going to do or come up with the back rent or lose everything.
And if I lose everything then I lose Past Daily. Since 95% of what Past Daily runs is material from the Archive.
So, what’s the Archive I keep talking about? The Archive is a collection of tapes, discs, all sorts of recorded formats of historic, spoken word and cultural material, going back to the 1890s right up to today. By no means complete, it covers a goodly chunk of our history as a nation and as a culture – and it includes much of the rest of the world in the 20th Century. I’ve been slowly gathering these artifacts since November of 1963; the day John F. Kennedy was assassinated was the day I realized preserving history was important. And I have ever since.
There are a lot of Archives around – some of them are very similar to mine. But practically all of them are unavailable. They sit in dark rooms, gathering dust and deteriorating. They are prevented from having access for a variety of reasons and sit, quietly being forgotten.
Looking around at our current state of affairs; the desperate need for information and education, I realized I needed to be part of the solution, and not part of the problem.
With the advent of new Technology and Social Media, getting useful information to people was not only possible, it was now easy to do. It was, and continues to be, the perfect fit.
And so Past Daily came about as part of that solution. Rather than offer the Archive online in one big anonymous pile, I’ve been trying to make it engaging and interesting as a way of letting you know History is a living entity, not some antiseptic corpse of a previous era. Situations are happening now that have their roots in elements of the past. And being able to uncover those roots gives an added dimension and a better understanding of what our current problems are. It’s that cliche of “studying the past to know the present”.
But more than that; Past Daily is also in the process of uncovering new things, making new discoveries. I’m not one of those people and Past Daily is not one of those sites that sit, dwelling on the past, bemoaning the “good old days” – those days never existed. But I believe its better to know why a situation exists, what happened to make it a certain way and how it has been dealt with before to be of vital importance to knowing how the present is unfolding and how it may impact on the future.
And that’s why I’m here, and that’s why I want very much to continue what I’m doing. It’s my way of giving back – of imparting knowledge and experience, of sharing information.
So when I ask for your help, I’m not doing it just for me; I’m doing it as a way of allowing me to continue being of service to you. Helping me to help you. Those of you who can afford it, and I’m not asking you to chip in if money is tight or you just aren’t one of those people who contribute to things – that’s fine and I respect that, but those of you who can afford it I’m asking for you to chip in what you can and are willing to give. The good news is that it’s Tax Deductible and every cent you contribute goes to keeping Past Daily up and running and keeping the Archive safe.
I’m not a rich person, I cannot snap my fingers and funnel millions into something on a whim. I have in fact, sunk all my money, all my savings and all my income into this endeavor. If anything, I have been putting my money where my mouth is. So I’ve been taking just as much a risk as working to make this happen. So in short, I’m also walking the walk on this one.
And so there are 10 days left – 10 days to raise the remaining $2,000 which will keep the site and the Archive up and afloat. To some that’s a paltry amount – but when it’s not there it’s as impossible and remote as a distant galaxy. And the past few days $2,000 is looking more like $2 billion in the grand scheme of things. But I know we can do it – deep-down I know there are enough of you out there, as there already has been shown, who believe that history is important and knowledge is vital. All I’m asking, is for you to chip in during these last 10 days to help me reach our goal. Please click on the link below and make your pledge before it’s too late. Time is running out quickly and there isn’t much of it left. So please do what you can – and if you can’t and still want to help, please tell your friends. I need all of you and I am beyond grateful to those who have contributed so far.
Till next time . . .
