Oral histories are an important part of any family. Most people have had grandparents and great grandparents who loved to talk about the old days and how they grew up. Unfortunately, all too often families don't think to record the stories senior relatives tell, and the information is lost. You can avoid this if older relatives will agree to participate in creating audio memoirs Scituate families can pass down.
It doesn't take much to get started. All you really need is a willing senior relative and some recording equipment. Be sure to carefully explain to the loved one what you are planning and how the information will be used. You can record using your phone, a digital or tape recorder, or write it down in long hand. Old pictures, keepsakes, or letters can help get the ball rolling.
You won't be able to leave the recordings on your device however. It needs to be transferred to your computer for safe keeping. If you don't have an external hard drive, you can purchase one fairly inexpensively from a big box store. Keeping the information on an external drive will free your computer space for other things. You need to find out what format works best for the relatives interested in receiving your project results.
Some old people love to talk about the past and don't need any prompting at all. Others are more reticent and need some encouragement to get them into the mood to recount their early lives. You may have to suggest a particular relative or family tradition to get them started. You need to be ready with questions if the conversation falters.
Visual prompts can be very effective. It's a great idea to bring some old photo albums with you and ask about the old pictures and the people in them. If you have copies of old documents, like birth certificates, deeds, or report cards, you can ask what he remembers about them. Discharge papers, military medals and paraphernalia, and other war records can stir deep memories.
Organizing the information as you go along is important. If you leave stacks of flash drives, discs, and papers in a pile, at some point, it will be impossible to go back and put them in order. There are a number of ways you can set up your files. You could organize information by person or by year.
It's always a good idea to have extra copies, including printed ones, just in case one of your recorders breaks or your computer hard drive crashes. At some point hard drives and flash drives may become obsolete, which makes having hard copies even more important. You might even build a family history book filled with photos, documents, and stories.
It's important to know where you come from and who your ancestors were. Even with all the ancestry search websites, there will still be holes in your knowledge. While they are still around, you should sit down with your oldest relatives and record their memories.
It doesn't take much to get started. All you really need is a willing senior relative and some recording equipment. Be sure to carefully explain to the loved one what you are planning and how the information will be used. You can record using your phone, a digital or tape recorder, or write it down in long hand. Old pictures, keepsakes, or letters can help get the ball rolling.
You won't be able to leave the recordings on your device however. It needs to be transferred to your computer for safe keeping. If you don't have an external hard drive, you can purchase one fairly inexpensively from a big box store. Keeping the information on an external drive will free your computer space for other things. You need to find out what format works best for the relatives interested in receiving your project results.
Some old people love to talk about the past and don't need any prompting at all. Others are more reticent and need some encouragement to get them into the mood to recount their early lives. You may have to suggest a particular relative or family tradition to get them started. You need to be ready with questions if the conversation falters.
Visual prompts can be very effective. It's a great idea to bring some old photo albums with you and ask about the old pictures and the people in them. If you have copies of old documents, like birth certificates, deeds, or report cards, you can ask what he remembers about them. Discharge papers, military medals and paraphernalia, and other war records can stir deep memories.
Organizing the information as you go along is important. If you leave stacks of flash drives, discs, and papers in a pile, at some point, it will be impossible to go back and put them in order. There are a number of ways you can set up your files. You could organize information by person or by year.
It's always a good idea to have extra copies, including printed ones, just in case one of your recorders breaks or your computer hard drive crashes. At some point hard drives and flash drives may become obsolete, which makes having hard copies even more important. You might even build a family history book filled with photos, documents, and stories.
It's important to know where you come from and who your ancestors were. Even with all the ancestry search websites, there will still be holes in your knowledge. While they are still around, you should sit down with your oldest relatives and record their memories.
About the Author:
When you are looking for information about creating audio memoirs Scituate residents can come to our web pages online today. More details are available at http://www.mementolifestories.com now.
No comments:
Post a Comment