Preserve Your Family’s History

My father was a World War II veteran, who fought in and was wounded at that Battle of the Bulge. When he was released from the hospital, he was sent to serve as a guard at the Nuremberg trials, where he guarded Rudolph Hess. My siblings and I all heard his stories over and over, but we never recorded them in any way, so they are lost forever to us and our children. This taught me a lesson in valuing experience, and the educational opportunities that can be lost if they are not preserved. Parents and Grandparents are a valuable source of wisdom and family stories. I’d like to suggest something that will help you prevent that knowledge from being lost when they are gone.

When my grandmother reached her 90^th birthday, a family member decided to make a video of her retelling some of her favorite family stories. We had heard many of them before, but we were very surprised at the stories, unfamiliar to us, she told because they were important to her, and she wanted them to be preserved as part of our family history. Not only the content of the stories, but her image, inflections, accent, and sense of humor was also captured for future generations. Now her family will always know what a special lady she was. We did a similar thing with my husband's grandmother at around the same age. Preserving these stories, advice and wisdom is so important, and valuable for generations to come.

Please don’t lose this part of your family’s history. Ask your grandparents and parents if they are open to being recorded or videotaped. Try not to be intrusive. When I recorded my husband’s grandmother, I sat across the room with the video camera and used the zoom, so she wouldn’t feel uncomfortable. Prepare some questions ahead of time, to help keep their narrative going. Some possibilities are:

What was life like when you were growing up?

How did you meet our grandfather/grandmother, (whichever the case may be) and what was your wedding like?

Can you tell some favorite stories about your children when they were growing up?

Is there any advice or message you would like to send to your grandchildren and great grandchildren going forward?

 When you are done, make copies for each of your siblings. I hope this helps you keep an important part of your own family history intact.

Sue Smith, Office Manager