Our Past, Our Way and Laurene Ragsdale's Journey

Sometimes, a single family keepsake can uncover a story worth preserving.

For Laurene Ragsdale, that keepsake was her grandmother's Blue Bird Composition Notebook. Inside were records connected to her grandmother's work as a midwife, giving Laurene a glimpse into the life of a woman she never had the opportunity to know.

What began as a personal discovery would eventually become the inspiration for Our Past, Our Way, a book centered on family history, memories, artifacts, and the stories passed down through generations.

Where It Began

Laurene's connection to family history goes back to her childhood. A Texas native, she grew up in the home her grandparents built in Mt. Haven, an East Texas Freedom Colony outside Jacksonville, Texas. She has always treasured the stories shared by her elders and the memories of life in earlier generations.

Years later, those memories took on new meaning.

During the 2020 pandemic, Laurene began rediscovering family treasures, including letters and artifacts that offered glimpses into the lives of her relatives. What may have once seemed like old papers or forgotten possessions began to feel like pieces of a much larger story.

Then came her grandmother's notebook.

The Blue Bird Composition Notebook revealed records from her grandmother's work as a midwife. For Laurene, it was an opportunity to see her grandmother in a different light and discover a part of her life that she had never personally known.

Sometimes, it only takes one discovery to make you want to keep looking.

Looking Closer

As Laurene continued exploring her family's history, she began to understand that these artifacts were more than objects from the past.

They were evidence of lives lived.

An old letter could reveal a relationship. A photograph could introduce a relative whose name had almost been forgotten. A document could tell you what someone did, where they lived, or how they contributed to their community.

Laurene's journey into genealogy allowed her to piece together these fragments and learn more about the people who came before her.

The process was not simply about tracing names or dates. It was about understanding the people behind them.

Who were they?

What did they experience?

What did they contribute?

And what stories would disappear if no one took the time to preserve them?

Those questions became an important part of Laurene's journey.

From Discovery to a Book

That journey eventually became Our Past, Our Way.

The book brings together Laurene's passion for family history, memories, artifacts, and cultural heritage. At its heart is the belief that our stories are worth preserving and that the things we leave behind can help future generations understand where they come from.

For Laurene, this is personal.

Her own experience showed her just how much can be hidden inside something as simple as an old notebook. A family artifact that might easily have been overlooked became a doorway into her grandmother's life.

That experience helped shape the message behind her work: do not overlook the pieces of your family history that may seem ordinary today.

They may be extraordinary to someone tomorrow.

More Than Family History

Our Past, Our Way is not simply about looking backward.

It is also about legacy.

Laurene's work explores African American history, cultural heritage, family identity, and the importance of preserving the stories that connect generations. Her message encourages people to take a closer look at what they have inherited and consider what they can intentionally preserve for those who come after them.

That could be a photograph, a letter, a recipe, a piece of clothing, an old document, or even a story that has always been told at family gatherings.

The value may not always be obvious at first.

But years from now, that same item or story could become a priceless connection to the past.