What if it was your job to preserve the size 12 turf shoes that Franco Harris wore when he made the Immaculate Reception in 1972?

	Preserve a wedding dress Smithsonian conservator Don Williams says that brides who want to keep their wedding dresses looking fresh can do it themselves -- after getting them professionally dry-cleaned. First, make sure the dry cleaner has a good track record by calling a museum or conservator and asking for recommendations. Light, bugs and mold are the three main enemies of fabric. Once you get the dress back from the dry cleaner, stuff it with acid-free tissue paper or polyester batting so that it looks as if a mannequin is inside the dress. Take care not to crease the material in any way, Williams said. Then, wrap the dress in acid-free paper and put it in an acid-free box. "That thing will last thousands of years," he said.

Conservator Patty West spent more than four hours cleaning the shoes and building up the deteriorating soles with epoxy before they went on display in the Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum.

But you don't need to hire a specialist to save your stuff. Don Williams and Louisa Jaggar can teach you a good deal about caring for your family photographs, furniture, home movies, letters and other treasures.

The duo, authors of "Saving Stuff: How to Care for and Preserve Your Collectibles, Heirlooms and Other Prized Possessions" ($16, Simon & Schuster), will speak and sign their book at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Senator John Heinz Pittsburgh Regional History Center.

Williams is senior conservator at the Smithsonian Center for Materials Research and Education. But Jagger, a freelance writer, came up with the idea for the book. Nearly four years ago, a flood destroyed almost all of the memorabilia from her children's early years in the basement of her Glen Echo, Md., home. A distraught Jaggar called Williams and wondered why no one had ever told her not to store mementos there.

"In her trauma, she tried to find something that would help her recover her lost possessions," the Clinton, Md., man said.

Williams recommends storing valuable mementos in closets, well above flood level. Attics are not much better than cellars.

"An attic is OK for things that are not temperature-sensitive such as glassware and metal or stone objects," he said.

Williams had some other quick tips:

To care for your furniture, throw away that can of Pledge and buy a good quality paste wax that does NOT contain toluene or xylene, both of which can soften the finish.

Store resin-coated paper photographs that you get from the local photo shop in the dark.

"As with all photographs, they should be carefully mounted in an archival photo album that is acid-free with glued-on corner tabs. Do not glue the photographs to the page. It will eventually ruin the photograph."

Photographs taken before 1960 should be mounted in acid-free albums, then stored in a sealable, polyethylene container and kept in the coolest part of the house.

"It will mitigate any moisture changes. Old-time, paper-based gelatin emulsion photographs do not like humidity change at all."

Home movies are subject to fading because the chemicals break down. Exposure to light is even worse.

"Old films need to be duplicated, and the originals need to go into the deep freeze. Photographic service stores will know exactly who can duplicate your movies for you," Williams said, adding that the old movies can be digitally transferred to a DVD or CD-ROM.

The seminar, free with admission, runs from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday in the Mueller Education Center, fifth floor, history center. Reservations are suggested by calling 412-454-6411.