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COLLECTING FAMILY STORIES--PART 1

© Dorothy Hill

When I was a teenager, my grandmother tried to tell me stories about the days when she was growing up and about the times when she was raising her children. And what did I do? I did what all teenagers do. I didn't listen any more than I had to. When I was ready to listen, she was gone and soon after that so was my mother. There is so much that I wish I could tell my children who never got to meet either one of these ladies, but I just don't remember much of what I was told.

My father, at 84, is still with us. My children and my nieces and nephew know their grandfather, but, with little exception, they really don't know about his life. He has never told them much and they haven't bothered to ask. One day he will be gone and they won't have his stories to tell their children unless I do something about it now. And besides, the Depression era Mississippi he grew up in was very different from their Mississippi today. They need to know their heritage. They need to know the struggles of their great-grandparents and other Mississippians. And they need to know it from their grandfather. They need to hear it in his words.

This article and the ones that follow this month will take you through the stages of collecting and preserving your family's stories as I do it myself. If I make mistakes (and those who know me know I will), I'll let you know so that you can avoid them.

WHAT AM I GOING TO DO?
I have decided to begin recording some of his memories through a series of interviews. I can't just go stick a tape recorder in front of him and say "Talk!" To do this right, I have to have a plan and I need to have the right equipment.

First, I need to decide whether I want to make video recordings or audio recordings. Both methods have their advantages. A video recording will preserve both what the person looked like and sounded like. But, the sight of the camera running might make the person being interviewed self-conscious and not as focused on his or her answers. With audio recordings, the tape recorder is not as intrusive and is quickly forgotten during the interview allowing the person to talk more freely. Unfortunately, the audio recorder only records the voice.

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