Support this Archive
The Reggie MacDonald Digital Archive is an independent family project dedicated to preserving Reggie’s writings, photographs, documents and story.
The archive is maintained by Reggie’s family and is intended to remain freely available to anyone who wants to read his story, learn from his experiences, or explore the historical record preserved here.
If you find something of value here, there are many ways you can help preserve it and make the archive better.
There Are Many Ways to Contribute
Supporting the archive doesn’t necessarily mean making a financial contribution.
Photographs Are Especially Important
One of the things we are most interested in finding is photographs of Reggie.
Relatively few photographs of Reggie have survived in the material currently available to the archive, particularly from some periods of his life. If you have photographs of Reggie—from school, work, parties, family gatherings, trips, friendships, or simply everyday life—we would very much like to hear from you.
A photograph does not have to be particularly good or show Reggie alone to be valuable. An old snapshot with Reggie somewhere in the group may show us a part of his life that is otherwise undocumented. Photographs can also help identify people, places and events and sometimes lead to stories that might otherwise be forgotten.
You do not need to give us your original photograph. A digital copy or scan is enough for the archive, and we can discuss the best way to copy material if you are unsure how to provide it.
Memories, Documents and Information
You may remember a story that isn’t recorded anywhere else. You might recognize someone or somewhere in an old photograph, notice an error in something we’ve published, or have a letter, newspaper clipping, document or other piece of Reggie’s history tucked away in a box.
We are particularly interested in hearing from people who knew Reggie during parts of his life that are less well represented in his own surviving writings. These include his teenage years, the years after university and before his time in jail, and especially the years after his release from jail.
These don’t have to be major stories. A workplace memory, a night out, a practical joke, a friendship, a place he frequented, a piece of correspondence, or simply a recollection of what Reggie was like at a particular point in his life can add something to the record.
You do not have to be publicly identified to contribute. Information and recollections submitted to the archive will be kept anonymous when published unless you tell us that you would like to be identified. We may contact you privately if you have given us permission to do so and we need to clarify something you have submitted.
Sharing these things helps preserve a history that no single person or family could assemble alone.
If you have something to contribute, please visit Help Tell the Story.
Help Keep the Archive Online
There are ongoing costs involved in maintaining a digital archive, including website hosting, domain registration, software and digital storage. As the archive grows, there may also be costs associated with preserving and digitizing photographs, documents and other historical material.
For visitors who find value in the archive and would like to help with those costs, we will provide a simple way to make a voluntary financial contribution.
Financial contribution options will be added here shortly.
There is no charge to use the archive, and financial contributions are entirely optional. Financial support is simply one of the many ways someone can help preserve Reggie’s story.
Our Contributors
This archive is being built with the help of people who have shared photographs, documents, memories, corrections, research and financial support.
If you contribute to the archive, we would be pleased to acknowledge your help on our Contributors list. Being listed is entirely optional. You can choose to have your name included or to remain anonymous.
As the archive grows, contributions may be recognized by type, such as Stories & Memories, Photographs & Documents, Research & Corrections, and Financial Support. We believe all of these contributions have value. A photograph, a remembered story or a correction to the historical record can be every bit as important to the archive as financial support.
We will not publish the amount of an individual’s financial contribution. The Contributors list is intended to recognize participation in preserving Reggie’s story, not to rank the value of anyone’s contribution.
Other Ways to Help
Sometimes helping is as simple as sharing Reggie’s story with someone who might benefit from reading it.
If you know someone who knew Reggie, please consider telling them about the archive. They may have photographs tucked away in an old album or box, or memories and information that have never been preserved elsewhere.
Teachers, families, people affected by addiction, people who knew Reggie, and those who simply encounter his story for the first time can also help by keeping the material in circulation and helping others discover the archive.
Thank You
This archive exists because material was saved rather than discarded, stories were remembered rather than forgotten, and people took the time to share what they knew.
Whether you contribute a photograph, a memory, a correction, a document, research, your time, financial support, or simply help someone else discover Reggie’s story, you are helping preserve a part of it.
Thank you for helping us keep Reggie’s story alive and his words available for the future.