Saving Our Stories

1. During the next phone call with an older relative ask about something from your history.

2. At the next family gathering, go armed with a tape recorder and writing materials. The stories will most certainly begin but you can also be prepared with questions about that infamous relative, the community where they lived, or memories of important family events.

3. Photographs may be your key to getting started or enriching your family history. As you look at the photos, label them with date, place, and the people in the photo. What are they doing? Where was the photo taken and under what circumstances? Who are the people and why are they together? How are they related to you?

4. Develop a timeline with older relatives. The timeline can begin with your birth or that of grandparents or great grandparents. Other points in the timeline to include are births, marriages, deaths, family moves, travels or adventures, achievements (graduation, a job, first home), sad times (losing a job, illness), fighting in a war, participating in a political event or community action. Include things that were important in your life and then ask siblings and older relatives the same questions. What were the important passages in the lives of elder relatives?

5. Ask questions about early family gatherings and how those times compare with today.

6. Look for old letters, journals, diaries, birth certificates, or other artifacts that will result in a spontaneous story.

7. Food is always a good way of getting a story. What kind of food was on the table during the depression or in early years?

8. Don't forget music, poetry, and books. What did people read or what kind of dancing did they do and what were favorite stories or nursery rhymes when growing up?

More Resources: Websites and Print Materials

Websites

• Center for Life Stories Preservation, http://www.storypreservation.com/home.html
• Library of Congress, American Folk Life Center, http://www.loc.gov/folklife
• Learning Page for American History, http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/ndlpedu/index.html
• Resources offer information and ideas on storytelling that often include family stories.
• Illinois Storytelling, Inc. http://www.storytelling.org
• Sharing and enriching the human experience through storytelling
  

Print

• Paula Overland Brandt and Jan Irving O'Neal,. Passing Stories On,
• Book Links, American Library Association, March 1995, p.13
• Chris Liska Carger. Treasured Moments, Book Links, American Library Association, Oct./Nov. 2000, p. 53
• Barbara N. Kupetz. All Kinds of Families, Book Links, May 1999, p. 47
• Sue Ornstein. Celebrating Grandparents, Book Links, American Library Association, March 1995, p. 9
• Marlene Pond. Creating Memories, Book Links, American Library Association, March 1995, p. 17
• Mercedes S. Tichenor and Carolyn C. Ledford, Portraits of Aging, Book Links, May 1999, p. 44