Preserving your own family's memories
Sal Pisciotta, 85 is interviewed by Mepham High School student Jalal Shahid. (Mar. 20, 2012) Credit: Heather Walsh
Whether it’s memories of the Great Depression, World War II stories or even anecdotes from the ’60s, everyone has memories to pass along to the next generation.
To keep those stories from being lost in the dustbin of family history, tell them to a relative who can record them for posterity and the family album.
A number of websites offer free help getting started. Familyhistoryfun.com suggests tools and links to other websites that show how to record family members’ histories. At family search.org, there are step-by-step instructions for writing your own family history. Another free site, personalhistorians.org, shows you how to connect generations through a memoir, a family biography or an oral history using print, a video or an audio recording.
Here are some tips for setting up an intergenerational interview about the “good old days,” suggested on the website geneasearch.com/ tips/familystories.htm. The suggestions are by LeAnn R. Ralph, author of “Preserve Your Family History: A Step-by-Step Guide for Writing Oral Histories.” She also provides sample questions to ask on the website.
