On May 1, the entrance hallway
in the Capitol contained a wealth of information about gathering
family stories, getting started with family history, preserving
family history, and where to find resources. A migration timeline
circled the Rotunda of the Capitol and gave students, visitors,
and legislators an opportunity to place their ancestors from
prehistory to the present. An Illinois map presented a view
of how our ancestors arrived and where they lived. Last, a
world map depicted the far away continents where our ancestors
lived before coming to the U.S. and Illinois.
Saving Our
History Day
Middle school and high school
students and senior citizens met at the State Capitol on May
1 for the first annual Saving Our Stories Family History Day.
Saving Our Stories is a program designed by educators and historians
to encourage everyone to record and preserve family, cultural
and community history. Through this intergenerational history
campaign, youth will take a greater interest in the importance
of their own history and will help promote the telling and saving
of family stories in their schools and communities. As a result
they will have a greater awareness of how personal history fits
with national and state history.
Saving Our
Stories Project
Whether we admit it or not,
we are all procrastinators. The talent is particularly among
people who would like to save their family history. A new project
called Saving Our Stories (SOS) will help procrastinators take
steps toward completing a written or taped family history.
SOS was founded by a coalition of concerned historians, educators,
students, and members of service organizations in Illinois.
The goal is to champion the recording and preserving of family,
cultural, and community history. The Coalition's campaign targets
all generations, urging everyone to gather their family stories
and to advocate with your neighbor or classmate to do the same.
On May 1, the campaign was formalized by Senator Emil Jones,
Jr., president of the Senate, during two events: a workshop
to inform students about SOS, and Family History Day at the
Capitol. The workshop recruited middle school and high school
students to provide leadership in their schools and communities
and to target those who say, "family history is a great
idea, but it is something I will do tomorrow."
Members of the coalition work as advocates in their organizations
to motivate colleagues and friends to preserve their history.
The coalition is developing a five-year plan that highlights
a different theme each year.
Dedicated
Teachers and Parents Make SOS Workshop Possible
The willingness of schools
and parents to take an extra step made it possible for 45 students
to attend the Saving Our Stories workshop and Family History
Day. Three cheers for: United Township High School, East Moline;
Steinmetz High School, Chicago; St. Mary Catholic School, DeKalb;
St. Peter Cathedral Catholic School, Rockford; Morris High School;
Cairo High School; Cairo Junior High School; Coulterville High
School; St. Kevins School, Chicago; St. Thomas More Catholic
School, Elgin; James Weldon Johnson School, Chicago; Illinois
Math and Science Academy, Aurora; Shupe Elementary School, Chicago;
Carbondale Community High School; PORTA High School; and Turner
Jr. Junior High School. Retirees were also represented by the
Illinois Department on Aging's Reminiscence Program and
Project Life Area Agency on Aging, Springfield.
None of these events could happen without the support of teachers,
parents, and concerned citizens. Those who gave so generously
of their time on May 1 included: Betty Lane, Cairo High School;
Darrell Dexter, Cairo Junior High; Herman Albers, Coulterville
High School; Charlene Anderson, Linn Mann, Don and Nancy Jolly,
Turner Jr. Junior High; Greg Conroy, United Township High School;
Kristin Staver, Morris High School; Chondra Price, St. Kevins
School; Clay Skinner, Illinois Math and Science Academy; Regina
Latimore and Mrs. D. Green, Shupe Elementary School; Pat Grimmer,
Carbondale Community High School, John and Nancy Glick, PORTA
High School and Havana Public Library
Higher education faculty also sponsored students: Jim Price,
Lewis and Clark College; Danielle Bank and Jan Fitzsimmons,
North Central College; and Anne Petty, Northern Illinois University.
Workshop
Agenda
"Could you sit next
to someone you don't know?" asked Pat Bearden and
Yolanda Simmons, family historians from the American Family
History Institute. Once the students were acquainted, Bearden
and Simmons, shared their family story and their research on
finding their ancestors. Next, the group divided into pairs
to interview each other and to tell their stories about famous
and infamous relatives. The workshop gave everyone a chance
to talk about the "skeletons" in their closet. Last,
each group prepared suggestions on how they could promote the
telling of family stories in their schools and communities.
Recommendations
from the SOS workshop
- Document pictures with dates and names of family members.
- Record stories while elders can help you understand.
- Interview older people in nursing homes: interview teachers.
- Take lots of pictures.
- Hold an Art Contest to find the oldest picture, painting,
and drawing.
- Have a Family Fair or Family Days to tell stories.
- Participate in local history fairs.
- Invite grandparents to schools to share stories. Observe
grandparents day in September.
- Get an older person to substitute for kids who don't
have grandparents.
- Write in your journals.
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