I am going to stray from our usual format today to talk about our blog.  I have been meaning to discuss a few items with our readers for a while, and I think today is a good day to do it.

One of the reasons I think today is a good day is that we have been informed that our website and blog is now included in a listing of Top 100 Lutheran Blogs and Websites on a site named Feedspot.  After I found out about this ranking, I confess I was a little fearful of Feedspot, so instead of researching a Perry County character today, I’ve been checking to see if Feedspot is a reliable operation on the internet.  My conclusion is that it is a reputable site an we should be honored to be placed on their list of notable Lutheran blogs and websites.

We have also been given permission to post this badge on our website.

I encourage you to go to the website and check out the list of Top 100 Lutheran Blogs.  You can find it by clicking on this link:

https://blog.feedspot.com/lutheran_blogs/

You might even consider using the site to find your favorite blogs.  That is up to you.  I just know that we are honored to be on their list.  Being the competitive kind of guy that I am, I now want to move up the list.  Right now we are #23 on their list.

With your help, maybe we can climb higher up in their ranking.

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I am also going to use today’s post to let you know what my personal plans are concerning this blog.  I have challenged myself to come up with a new story on a daily basis.  I also really love doing this.  However, my plan is to change my habits when we enter 2018.  I will be reducing my efforts to write these blog entries, with the goal of writing one about every other day.  There are some reasons for this, and it does not mean I plan to spend less time at the museum.

Our research library is a wonderful resource, but there are things that we would like to do to make it even better.  There are additions which we have been considering with regard to our German Family Tree.  We would like to make that resource capable of linking documents and photographs to individuals already in the GFT.  For example, if we have a photo of Gottwerth Schmidt, we could put a link into our GFT document which would take you directly to that image on our computer.  We just need to take the time to pursue how to make some of these improvements.  I would like to devote more of my time to making these upgrades to the resources we have in our library.

I don’t think that I can do that AND do a daily blog post. If I did that, my wife may leave me, and I don’t want that.

Beginning after the new year arrives, my production of posts will diminish.  I suppose we could make up for this by having more guest bloggers pick up the slack, but that would require more people volunteering to put in the time and effort to compose blog posts for us.  If you happen to be someone who would want to help us out with this task, make sure you let us know.

I absolutely love the work of trying to preserve the history of East Perry County.  And I love spending time at the Lutheran Heritage Center & Museum.  I plan to continue spending lots of time here.