From slides to jpgs

We're slowing bringing my parents' slides from 30 years ago into the digital age. Cleaning the slides is the most difficult part. I haven't perfected the process yet, so if you have any suggestions as to how I might go about it in a more efficient manner, I'd love to hear them. I tried just compressed air; that didn't get the big chunks off. I tried a rag; I couldn't get into the corners. Lastly, I tried a soft make-up brush which worked great until I realized that I was gluing tiny pink specks of blush to each and every slide. My latest method is the following:

Brush slides with a clean, soft paint brush

(I know it doesn't look like a clean brush but it is)

Quickly blast with compressed air

View lighted slides in the scanner.

Here is my papa loading his morris minor into the back of a moving truck in preparation for the drive back to Seattle from Princeton.

View photos on the computer.

It's been interesting and entertaining.

For example, check out the beard that my uncle is sporting, in a photo taken on Mt. Rainier during an eclipse.