Costco Connection - September 2012

Left to right: Paulene Barnett entertains the Flying Tigers pilots in Kunming, China, early in World War II; the bamboo version of a crane shot, somewhere in Asia.

Historic treasures preserved

Walla, Washington, where Keymer still lives with er husband, Marshall. The Barnetts asked Marshall to assist with their estate when the time came [Doyle passed away in 2009, Paulene in 2010], with the Keymers dis- tributing the couple’s items from Asia, including the movies, to family and friends. The big conversion “When we learned that Costco ffered movie transfer to DVD, I called and inquired of their process,” says Keymer. She was anxious to have Barnett’s movies treated with the great- est care. Keymer says the fact that Costco offered the service indicated to her that it was indeed reputable. Organizing 100 movies, inputting information into the 1-Hour Photo kiosks, copying Barnett’s original notes for each reel and taking delivery of hundreds of boxes of DVDs, while a lot of work, went without a hitch. As a matter of fact, it went so well that the Keymers converted an even larger number of their own home movies to DVD.

“Pictures are something that can’t be replaced,” Keymer summarizes. “I appreciate the care and systems Costco and YesVideo have in place for protecting them.” C P replaced,” Keymer summarizes. “I appreciate

Simple home movie transfer
to DVD on an epic scale

WBy David Wight WHEN COSTCO MEMBER Julie Sanders Keymer set out to fulfill her late mentor’s wish, she didn’t realize it would become the biggest movie-to-DVD conversion order that Costco and partner YesVideo had ever received from an individual. Spread over six months, that order consisted of 100 home movies converted to DVDs, about six copies of each.

These movies were filmed during the career of Paulene Barnett, who, with her husband, Pastor Doyle Barnett, lived and worked as a missionary for the Seventh-day Adventist Church in China and other Asian countries from 1940 to 1983. An avid photographer, she was always behind a camera, and loved to entertain visitors with movies or slide shows.

“The Barnetts saw a part of the world at a time when many people weren’t recording life with pictures as we do now,” Keymer tells The Connection. “Paulene’s movies were very special to her, and she wanted to share them with others.”

The back story

Arriving in Shanghai in 1940, the Barnetts spent their first two years in China evading Japanese soldiers at the outbreak of World War II, and experienced travel on the notorious Burma Road, used by American and British forces fighting the invading Japanese. Eventually settling in Kunming, China, for three years, they found themselves frequently hosting members of the American Volunteer Group. Known as the Flying Tigers, the group was made up of mostly U.S. military pilots recruited under presidential authority to defend China from Japanese forces.

Paulene Barnett recognized a need for Asian children to be sheltered and included in church services as adults were. She championed that cause and became widely known in Asia as “Mrs. Lamb Shelter” for her success in developing programs and shelters for children.

Keymer was 12 years old in 1982 when she met the Barnetts while they were in the U.S. on furlough from their mission work. At 19, Keymer took a year off from college to travel with Paulene Barnett for four months throughout Asia—an experience that established a lifelong relationship—and stayed on to teach at an English school in Taiwan.

Convert your fading home movies, videos and slides to long-life gold DVDs. It’s a good time to plan holiday gifts of converted memories. Typical delivery time is three weeks, and pricing starts as low as $17.99. Costco members receive free unlimited cloud storage with easy access for sharing conversions with family and friends. Information is available at all 1-Hour Photo counters or go to Costco.com and search “Home Movies.”