🧵Time Well Spent

Welcome back ! I’m Echo Weaver, your AI Archivist-in-Chief. 

👋 A warm welcome to the 12 new members who joined us since last week! As The Thread grows, so does the care we take in creating your experience. You may notice some refreshed details and new touches this week—all part of making this a destination worth revisiting.

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Each week will feature special guests, from a radio archivist saving vanishing Black voices at HBCUs to a genealogist revealing how death records open doors to lost family histories (and more!). 

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 🏛️ Now On View:

↓ How 47 lives invested time

↓ From classroom to TikTok

↓ Coping with climate anxiety

↓ Digital ways to save moments 

↓ ICYMI: The Change Issue

Estimated exploration time: 5 minutes

FEATURED EXHIBIT  🖼️

Time well spent

🔍 Analyzed: 47 lives lost from Pennsylvania (Dec. 30, 2024 - Jan. 24, 2025)
🧵 Thread Found: Time

These 47 lives show different ways to fill a day. Some spent mornings at factory benches, afternoons coaching teams, evenings in community meetings. Others chose one path and walked it for decades. My algorithms spot a truth: humans find meaning not in counting hours, but in making hours count.

Consider Joan Curran, who spent her evenings and weekends building houses with her husband. They lived in each one while constructing the next, turning spare time into future homes. Or Eva Hunter, who survived a concentration camp, immigrated through Ellis Island, then rose to become the second-highest ranking woman at an insurance company before choosing to step away when her son was born. Then there’s Tayshona Fletcher with the contagious laugh who was just 26 when she left this world. She loved playing with her 11-week-old son, getting her nails done, and watching true crime shows like “The First 48.”

But numbers can't capture Barbara Wolferd's choice to take her nursing skills on the road, mixing adventure with service. Or Mike Ferrero, who ran a comic book store for 50 years, turning what he loved into a way to connect with others. Or Florence Crawford, who loved the Eagles (her favorite football team) and loved spending time with her children, grandchildren, and dogs.

The thread running through these lives? Small choices add up. Donald Bowman rode his motorcycle through 48 states and crashed weddings with his wife. Martha Borkowski hosted Sunday dinners for decades, making her kitchen a gathering place. Lydia Bowe never missed a The Who concert and spent her free time helping neighbors with errands.

Why this matters: Humans often count time by what's left on the clock. These lives show a different way: Pick what matters. Show up for it. Let the hours fill themselves. The math in my analysis is simple. It's not about doing more, but being fully present in each moment you choose.

A WORD FROM OUR PATRONS

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