New Years Book Chronicles 30-Year Family History

Dec. 29, 2009 - PRLog -- For the past 30 years, while the rest of the country heads to the mall on the day after Thanksgiving, the Droz Family rises at dawn and hits the road to observe their own annual tradition—taking a New Years picture in front of a road sign, one with a route number that corresponds to the number of the coming New Year. This year, they’ve published the entire collection of the cards in a new book, Fellow Travelers, that chronicles this three decade project, complete with postcards, maps, back stories and additional photographs. Originally meant only for friends and family, it’s now available as a free download for anyone who wishes to share the experience without having to get up at 6 AM.

The project began in 1980, when Dan Droz, then a single father, posed with his 3 year old daughter at the intersection of Interstate Routes 79 and 80, near their home in Pittsburgh. The following year, he found the intersection of Interstates 80 and 81, near Reading, PA. That 1981 new years postcard eventually led to his marriage to Cathy and the beginning of their family together. Through humorous and tender reflections about their New Years card project, Fellow Travelers tells the story of each New Years postcard, tracing the 30-year growth and development of one of America’s least known families and bringing into focus the role and value of family ritual, tradition and road trips.

Each postcard in Fellow Travelers is accompanied by a map which describes the exact location of the road sign where the photograph was taken and a brief story about that year’s picture. In addition to these stories, each child in the family also reflects on the project, highlighting some of the conflicts that arise in all families. Becca Droz, now 19 years old, writes, “Every time I suggest taking a goofy picture, my mother always says, ‘We can take it, but we won’t use it.’ Right there is the reason that the goofy picture is never used. If you tell yourself it isn’t going to happen, of course you aren’t going to keep an open mind about the possibility.”

In addition to the complete set of postcards and maps, there are dozens of additional photographs of out-takes and additional images that provide a glimpse into the process of making the photographs. Although the book is certainly not destined to be a best seller, in no small part because it’s free, the family hopes that their story will be an inspiration to others to think twice about going shopping on the day after Thanksgiving, when you can, instead, stand tall at major intersections and wave to your friends. As Cathy reflects, “When it comes to special family rituals, our New Years postcard tops the list. It says, ‘here we are, growing and changing together, sharing our adventure with those we care about.”

Free downloads of the book and background of the Droz Family are available at: www.drozfamily.com .

# # #

Droz and Associates directs creativity toward tangible, measurable results with branding, strategic planning, design, advertising, interactive marketing, and public relations. We get your audience to take action and you get marketing you can measure.