John Costello is my great grandfather.
My Mom knew him.
He died when she was about 11.
But more importantly, his three children that survived infancy were all still alive until November of 2015 when Uncle Dan died.
I have been grilling them for years. (Nicely)
But…
John Costello is my brick wall.
My most recent, most tantalizing, most consuming, most stubborn, solid brick wall.
My collection of tid-bits about him is so small. And so precious. Every little bit I add to my John Costello treasury is cause for celebration. I have exactly 5 pictures of him. That one up there, plus another shot from this same sitting. And these:
Over Christmas my Mom was in a “I-want-to-get-stuff-outta-my-house” mood. Among other things, she sent me home with this super-cool-clear-vinyl-60s-mod-flowers-decorated bag filled with old film reels. She said, “I think it’s mostly dive videos of my Mom, but there may be some other stuff from when I was a kid.” Intriguing.
(My Grandma was a rescue diver, hence the “dive stuff” comment.)
What hidden gems might there be in this magical bag from the 60s?
At RootsTech I entered the Larsen Digital drawing and picked up one of their coupons. After RootsTech I got an email from Larsen Digital to let me know I had won $50 toward their services. A few weeks later, two days before my RootsTech coupon was set to expire, I was headed in the direction of the closest Larsen Digital drop-off location. I hadn’t yet figured anything out about the film reels – which had dive stuff and which had childhood stuff – so I just took a deep breath and dropped it all off so that I could take advantage of my coupon and my $50.
The next day I got a call to confirm my order – my nearly $600 order.
Gulp.
The one consolation was that they hadn’t yet applied my coupon or my $50 prize.
So, $450 and one month later, I picked up my film reels.
But I was packing to go spend some time with my Dad, so I just threw the thumb-drive in my backpack without watching anything and off I went to good old Kennewick, Washington.
I forgot all about that thumb-drive until my Mom arrived back home from a little trip she had taken. We had one day together before I headed back home. During that one day we were both taking care of a few things – she was unpacking, I was packing, laundry, etc.
Sometime in the early afternoon, I passed my backpack and remembered the thumb-drive. I pulled it out and said, “Mom, let’s see what was on those old film reels.” We sat at the kitchen table and started watching together.
About 13 minutes, and two video files in, we came across something that absolutely took my breath away.
There was John Costello.
Alive, in color, and showing me a 7-second glimpse into his personality.
As soon as his face appeared on screen, both my Mom and I said, “Oh. {in gentle wonder} There’s Grandpa Costello.” After his precious 7-seconds, his wife Mary appears and then my sweet, infant Mom is passed to her Grandma Mary by someone off camera.
That 22-second family moment, immortalized on an old film reel, felt like the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, a priceless gift, a miracle.
A good friend taught me how to cut that little clip out of the longer video.
I think I have watched this 22-second video 100 times since last Thursday. Especially the first 7 seconds.
How is it that those 7 precious seconds have told me more about John Costello the man, than the last 19 years of searching, pouring over records, and asking questions of his children and grandchildren?
I can’t explain it.
But those 7 incredible seconds were worth every single penny of the $450 I spent.
Every. Single. Penny.
And so my dear readers, I present to you, John & Mary Costello, in all of their color-filled glory.
My cup runneth over.
ps – There were 14 film reels in all. The movies are positively filled with other treasures. What a joy to have, and what a joy to share with my family.