Keep a History

Mom and dad have stories to tell about their own life experiences and most importantly the oral accounts from their own parents and grandparents. How best to capture this information?

I would suggest asking them to leave a personal memoir. A written account of their own life from their earliest years to the current year. Can you imagine the information and differences that can be gleaned from the then to the now? There are people who have learned to provide these skills as a business and are available to others, who would be interested in this offer.

A personal gift from within their own family encompassing a vault of knowledge, advice and life experiences . One day a great grandchild, a few generations down the road, will open this family memoir, full of curiosity and wonder and learn all about their family and our world of today.

The television displays stories of people around the world on various topics that we watch. A task that we can be replicate to do the same with our parents and grandparents. Today’s technology makes a few electronic gadgets readily available that we can use to capture this information, such as :

-- Digital camera

-- Camcorder
– Voice Recorder
– Web cam
– Computer
– Scanner

Use of these simple home electronics can be easily learned to capture the visual and audio recordings of our elderly family members. Preparation of a list of questions to build a draft outline of their history can be used to create further in-depth questions. Research at the local library or the internet can provide supporting facts, further information and most likely, extra questions.

Upon completion of gathering the information and draft outline therein lie the beginnings of the memoir and the next steps will involve transcribing the visual and/or audio recordings, the questions, extra research and compiling photographs to the computer and use of the scanner.

The computer can easily and quickly provide the text format and ability to add the scanned photographs but it will require human intervention to create the flow of information into a orderly and interesting work of art for our future generations.

Once the gathering, transcribing and final compilation of the memoir is done, there leaves the question of binding. We could investigate the use of a book publisher for a cost. There is also the use of a simple office tool called a Comb Binding machine available at all office supply stores. This handy tool will punch holes and load a plastic comb for final binding.

The creation of a memoir can be easily done by you or a family member and would provide a gift of a lifetime for future generations and available to be copied. Pass it onto your own family and smile at the treasure that has been recorded and will one day be opened by a great grandchild. Read related --> here and there.  Shopping -->  here.  

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Article(C)2010 Dame Scribe, all rights reserved. Dame Scribe creates articles and posts online. She creates articles on business skills & development, health, science, technology and society and has a strong passion for writing .