My 8mm Film Conversions

Kuhns family fireworks display celebrating 2023 Independence Day and Owen's 14th birthday.

1961 - Old time downing of a Christmas Tree.

A comprehensive list of the Biden-Harris positive accomplishments.

Trump pole vaulting at the Olympics !!

Footage from 1961 8mm reel filmed by Dad. Most footage is a trip to the Grand Canyon of PA and the Drake Well Memorial Park in Titusville, PA. Drake Well is commonly referred to as the birthplace of the world's modern petroleum industry. It was drilled by Edwin Drake in 1859, along the banks of Oil Creek in Titusville Pa. The final footage is Eugene, Joyce and I driving dad's homebuilt PowerPup tractor. Dad saw the plans in an issue of Science and Mechanics magazine. With his access to many of the parts and material from the Warren Scrap Iron & Metal where he worked, he completed the build in our garage. I remember helping squaring the frame and watching him battle the inexpensive 29$ welder he purchased from the back of one of those magazines. I never could start a bead with that underpowered welder, but he succeeded in creating the masterpiece shown in the video. We took turns riding it around the yard, and finally "CRASH Joyce Kuhns" got the opportunity to show off her masterful driving skills. She got the name "Crash Kuhns" after she wrecked Donnie's 59 Chevy when some birds flew out of a corn field on rt 90 (now Rt 193), north of Fowler, Ohio. At the end I'm giving Kevin Fisher a ride.

When I saw Niagra Falls written on the 5" reel container, I was expecting to see footage of our family vacation in the early-mid 50s. What I found was footage from a trip mom and dad made to Corning, New York with a side visit to Niagra Falls. Most of this video is scenery, with only a brief appearance of dad sitting on a stone wall, and then mom and dad standing in front of a motel room with another couple I do not recognize.

1959 footage from two reels Dad spliced together. There is many places where the film has started to deteriorate, but I kept all footage as some good is better than none at all. 1.Eugene and Larry sleeping overnight on the front porch. 2.Eugene and Larry shooting some hoops. 3. Eugene packing his paper bag preparing for delivering on his paper route. 4. More hoops. I noticed I was shooting most shots left handed. Got to the point I could shoot left handed almost as good as right handed, just didn't have the range. Dad and Donnie joined us, and dad shoed us his patented underhand two hand set shot. 5. Mom harvesting the garden. Appears we had an excellent crop of corn that year. 6. Aunt Beat & Uncle Bill from Washington D.C. bringing Grandma Kuhns for a visit to Cortland, 7. Donnie sparking Joyce in his 59 Chevy. 8. Kuhns family reunion at Farmer Jim's. I see most of my aunts and uncles and their kids. The three little ones on the blanket I believe are Dawn Kuhns, Terry Cook and Brad Kuhns. 9.Phil Totten not liking the fact is is being filmed. Eugene helps him overcome the dislike. When I was a sophomore at the University of Cincinnati, he wanted to make the 5 hour trip one way with mom and dad. I was so surprised to see my little buddy when they arrived. They weren't sure how he we act during the trip, but he was so excited and was good as gold both ways. 11. Playing ball with the Totten boys in their backyard. I believe that is Karen Fisher swinging on the swing set, 12. Larry doing some work (very rare). It was a real pain to mow under those damn low hanging tree branches. 13. Family trip to Cook Forest in Pennsylvania. 14. More footage of Aunt Beat, Uncle Bill and Grandma Kuhns. 15. Feeding the fish and ducks at Pymatuming Reservoir.

Dad apparently wanted to make a tribute to his only daughter as he spliced together highlights from two reels of Joyce's high school homecoming appearances. Joyce first appeared as an attendant in the 1954 Homecoming as an 8th grader. Subsequently she was elected queen as a senior in 1958. As we didn't have football in those days, homecoming was held in February close to Valentine's Day, and was filled with "Pomp and Circumstance" which was the song playing as the queen and her attendants entered the auditorium. After the crowning of the queen, students performed many musical, dancing, tumbling and funny acts to entertain the queen and her court. It seems the big thing back then was boys dressing as girls. In the 1954 Homecoming, Joyce is dressed in a blue gown. The closest Dad came to capturing a closeup of her is immediately after the boys dance line. This was during the queen and her court leaving the stage for the traditional queen and court dance. Unfortunately, Joyce and her escort turned away from where Dad was filming. In the 1958 homecoming as you would expect, she is the center of attention of dad's filming. She was dressed in a lovely white gown. She told me that when it was time for prom, mom wanted to buy another gown, but she said she already had one, it was worn at the homecoming. Mom was totally surprised so they added a red ribbon around her waist to give it different look. The final footage is her and Donnie going to her 1958 Senior prom.

This is the first capture of a 5" reel that Dad spliced together. 1. Making Christmas cookies with Aunt Gladys. 2. Grandma Kuhns family Christmas dinner and party at the Grange Hall. 3. Christmas tradition making Christmas hard tack candy. 4. Eugene and Joyce decorating the Christmas tree. Afterwards, one of our favorite kittens playing with the tree ornaments. He was special to all of us. Delivering papers for my brother one day, I heard some meowing and stopped to see where it was coming from. I found him stuck in a snow bank along the side of the road, and his body was starting to freeze solid. I took him home, and we placed him in front of a heater vent wrapped in a towel. I went to a basketball game that night, and when I got home around 9:30-10:00, he was drinking milk and starting to play. A true miracle !! 5. Joyce & Larry bringing gifts from upstairs. Watch closely how I had to duck my head to avoid the overhang. People learned quickly that you duck when going up and down those stairs or have a severe headache. Lesson learned the hard way, you should only buy small gifts :) 6. The kitten playing with the wrapping paper after the gifts were un-wrapped. 7. Dad tying to type. He wasn't even a master of the one finger method :) 8. Joyce teaching the kitten the bad habit of getting on the table. Mom and Eugene preparing Christmas dinner. 9. One of my cousins bouncing on his rocking horse with a little encouragement from Eugene. Neither Joyce or I could identify who it is. 10. Joyce purchased a beautiful blue gown for a 1960 New Year's eve dance at Idora Park Ballroom with Donnie. She said she paid way to much for the gown, especially after someone spilled a drink down the front of her.

Mom and Dad's 20th wedding anniversary party on January 16, 1960. Neither Joyce or I could recognize where it was held. Four of Mom's sisters were in attendance, Aunt Madelyn & Uncle Elmer, Aunt Helen & Uncle Paul, Aunt Gladys & Art Zimmerman and Aunt May with cousin Gary. Aunt Vera was absent as well as Aunt Maggie who lived in North Carolina. Unlike the 25th anniversary, none of the footage had deteriorated. It's so nice to see all of them the way they were. It seems our lasting memories are always how they were near the end of their lives.

Video captured from a 1962 home 8mm film. 1. Dad, Mr. Pflug and I removing the pine tree stump that was cut down by the lumberjacks for our senior Christmas dance. See previous video. Notice I was the only one qualified to run the heavy equipment :) 2. New Jersey Turnpike scenery. Can't remember Mom and Dad making that trip. 3. Our calico mother cat and one of her kittens (Blackie) playing.

Video captured from a 1965 home 8mm film. Mom and Dad's 25th Wedding Anniversary party on January 16, 1965. I was heartbroken to see 60 percent of the film had deteriorated to the point the images were gone, and I had to delete a large part of what was filmed. I believe Donnie Hall did the filming.

Video captured from a 1963 home 8mm film. 1. Eugene plowing snow from the driveway using Dad's homemade PowerPup tractor. 2. Joyce painting the house Donnie and her would live in after they were married.

Video captured from an 1966 8mm film. 1. Dad operating crane at Warren Scrap Iron & Metal. He worked there from 1954 until retiring in 1972. I remember him many times relining the large crane brake pads in our garage 2. Dad and Joyce teaching Jennifer how to plant a garden. I believe she retired after her first attempt!!

8mm film conversion from two reels filmed by my dad in 1960. 1, Ducks and ducklings on an unknown pond. 2. Larry bombing a drive. 3. Phil Totten playing croquet in our front yard. When he loses his shorts, Karen Fisher comes running to help him. 4. Mr Pflug tilling his garden with our Simplicity garden tractor. 5. Wolford family party for Uncle Sonny came home after a heart operation. 6. Aunt Helen & Mom playing a clapping game with Uncle Sonny's boys. 7. 1960 Cortland Street Fair parade - special appearance by Eugene, Brad & Yncle Donnie. 8. Cousin Brad hitting a golf ball, or should I say trying !! 9. Neighborhood boys camping out and cooking. Cast of characters is Eugene, Dale Preston, Gary Watson and the Totten brothers. 10. Enjoying corm from our garden with Grandma Kuhns, Aunt Beat and Uncle Bill.

Video captured from an 1958 8mm film. 1. Small garden on east side of our house 2. Cousin Brad (??) and puppy 3. Aunt Maggie and family vacationing at grandparents farm 4. Picking sour cherries from trees on east side of house 5. Great white hunters (Eugene, Joyce, Dad & Donnie) chasing birds from our cherry trees 6. Family picnic - location unknown

1961 home 8mm file conversion: 1. Eugene and Larry going to a new high school dedication ceremony. 2. Halloween shenanigans with mom and her friend Delores Durst. Not sure who the little one is. 3. My cousin Brad driving dad's homemade PowerPup tractor. Uncle Donnie is providing much needed assistance!! 4. High School seniors playing lumberjack cutting down the pine tree in our front yard for the Senior Christmas dance with supervision by our neighbor Mr. Pflug. Too bad there wasn't footage of us getting it loaded onto the trailer and hauling it to the high school. The tree extended over the top of the car and was quite a sight traveling to the high school. 5. 1961 Christmas haul before and after the chaos of unwrapping gifts. 6. Christmas dinner with Donnie Hall, Aunt Freda and Uncle Audley. 7. Dad plowing snow with the PowerPup. He extended the sides of a Simplicity tractor snowplow and added hydraulics to make it easier to lift and adjust the plow.

Miscellaneous footage of the Kuhns' family circa 1960 1. Joyce, Larry & Eugene decorating the Christmas Tree 2. A cookie plate 3. Joyce pretending to be a hair dresser coloring Mom's hair 4. Dad & Bob Durst doing some remodeling 5. Neighborhood boys shooting some hoops, notice my shots were nothing but net !!! 6. ??? 7. Down at grandma and grandpa's farm 8. Spring time blossoms on the peach & cherry trees, east side of our home and Mom's flowers 9. Lake Erie footage 10. Eugene & Donnie unloading a garden tractor.

Video recorded in 1958 0:00-2:09 :: Painting party in Joyce's bedroom. Joyce and ??? seem to be painting the same spot. Dad adds his touch to the ceiling trim. 2:09-2:41 :: Coloring Easter eggs at Mom & Dad's. 2:41-4:11 :: Family gathering at the farm. Great video of Grandma and Grandpa Wolford. 4:11-End :: Spring planting in the small garden by Joyce and Larry while Mr. Pflug mows his yard.

Snow fun and work circa 1957 :: Cortland, Ohio. First attempt at converting 8mm film to digital format. So much to learn.

Impeachment manager award speech after Trump acquittal.