This year, get an oral history of your family

How about one more holiday gift? All it takes is a bit of curiosity, a listening ear and the ability to push a start and stop button.
Chances are that you’re going to be visiting family members in the next few weeks and it presents the perfect opportunity to sit down with older relatives and ask them about how things were “back in the day.”
Most of them love telling stories about their childhood, how they learned to make a living, raise a family and overcome obstacles along the way. They relish being asked to pass down a few words of wisdom to the younger generation and asking about their life story allows them to feel valued.
We’re talking about “oral histories” and the operative word is “short,” so you won’t over-complicate the idea and find yourself putting it off until you have more time.
Nowadays it’s fairly easy to capture the telling of a family’s history with video and you don’t even need a full-fledged video camera — you can use a smart phone, an iPad, the camera on your computer or switch your photography camera to record for video. The clips can be short — just five minutes of video can showcase advice and snippets that you’ll treasure for a lifetime.
And if videos aren’t your thing, a lovely scrapbook with handwritten notes and photos can achieve the same goal. 
Capturing the story 
It’s best to have a series of questions prepared ahead of time and ask family members you’ll be interviewing if they can bring old photos that they’d like to talk about. You can videotape the photo while they tell the story behind it. Besides individual interviews, you’ll find that trading memories among family members can also be fun. For example, you could record an exchange between aunts and uncles about particular family events or what life was like growing up with their parents or grandparents. 
What to ask 
“How to Tape Instant Oral Biographies” by Bill Zimmerman is a nice, easy-to-use book that lists questions — beyond the typical fact-finding ones — that you can use to get interesting video clips for an oral history. Pick a few that resonate with you:

  • Is there a story behind how you were given your name?
  • How did your parents meet?
  • How did your parents make a living?
  • Is there any particular hardship that they faced?
  • Was there any special “saying” your mom or dad used? What did it mean?
  • What beliefs did your parents try to teach you?
  • What was your hometown like when you grew up?
  • What do you miss most about it?
  • Did you have a nickname and how did you get it?
  • How do you think your friends would describe you as a teenager?
  • If married, how did you meet your spouse?
  • How did you know your spouse was “the one”?
  • Any suggestions on how to enjoy a long marriage?
  • What goals did you set for yourself in your 20s?
  • How did those change and why?
  • Did you go to war?
  • Where were you stationed?
  • Can you describe the day you were called up?
  • If you’ve had children, what are the three most important things you’ve taught them?
  • What would you say are your major accomplishments in life?
  • Any big surprises in your life or special hardships?
  • How did you get through them?
  • What are your two favorite sayings and why?
  • What’s the funniest thing that ever happened to you?
Be sure to ask questions about people’s lives — not just the obvious ones about where they lived and what they did for a living. Asking off beat questions makes for enjoyable interviews and memorable ones at that.
Happy Holidays.