Deborah Edwards-Oñoro

Deborah Edwards-Oñoro enjoys birding, gardening, taking photos, reading, and watching tennis. She's retired from a 25+ year career in web design, usability, and accessibility.

Habitat for Humanity Detroit: Archer/McNamara Blitz Build 1997

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A group of over 40 volunteers stand and kneel in front of a partially built house, holding a horizontal white banner that reads United Methodist Church (West District). Two ladders are seen in front of the house.

Cleaning out old file folders I found a paper copy of the journal from my first Habitat for Humanity Detroit volunteer experience: a weeklong volunteer activity at the Archer/McNamara Blitz Build 1997.

I forgot about my journal (it’s been over 25 years), but remembered how excited I was to publish updates each day on the church website (which I managed) as part of mission outreach to our congregation.

Sadly, I only found the printout of day 4 of the blitz build.

Continue reading Habitat for Humanity Detroit: Archer/McNamara Blitz Build 1997

Photo of the Week: Fierce Looking Lake Erie

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Rough gray waves wash up on the Lake Erie shoreline, a fallen brown tree limb lays across the wet beach. In the background, grayish clouds cover the sky with only a small sliver of bluish-gray sky on the horizon.

This week in southeast Michigan seemed to be a never-ending run of cloudy and chilly days. I love fall in Michigan, with clear blue skies and trees covered in bright orange, red, and gold colors. But fall in Michigan also brings days with clouds, rain, and gray skies. Which is when I visited the Lake… Continue reading Photo of the Week: Fierce Looking Lake Erie

Picturing Michigan’s Past: Transcribing Handwritten Postcards

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Postcard depicting two white boat on the greenish-blue waters of the Saginaw River. Several people in canoes can be seen on the river. In the background are several homes and large green trees along the shoreline.

For the past few months, I’ve been looking for a volunteer opportunity. Something that I feel connected with and where I can contribute an hour or more at a time.

A project that doesn’t require huge blocks of time.

In the past, I would volunteer at a local school library. But I haven’t done any in-person volunteering since before the Covid pandemic.

What I wanted was a virtual volunteer opportunity. And my goal was to find something local to my community or state.

Which is what I found when I discovered Picturing Michigan’s Past, a Zooniverse volunteer project at the William L. Clements Library at the University of Michigan.

Given my background working at and volunteering at libraries since I was a teenager, I’m not surprised I found a research project at a library.

Continue reading Picturing Michigan’s Past: Transcribing Handwritten Postcards

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