13 Steps to Preserve Your Family History

Written by LeAnn R. Ralph


13 Steps to Preserve Your Family History (500 words)

Fromrepparttar e-book: Preserve Your Family History (A Step-by-Step Guide for Writing Oral Histories) (66 pages; April 2004; $7.95) available at — http://www.booklocker.com/books/1545.html To seerepparttar 111118 table of contents and several sets of sample questions visit — http://www.ruralroute2.com/family_history.html

© LeAnn R. Ralph 2004

Althoughrepparttar 111119 phrase, "everybody has a story to tell" may sound like a cliche, it's true.

And after working as a newspaper reporter for nine years, I know that everyone does, indeed, have a story to tell, including your family members.

Think about it.

Do your grandmother and grandfather — mother and father — aunts and uncles — tell stories aboutrepparttar 111120 "good old days?"

Do they talk about going to school? The fun they had with friends? Family celebrations and holidays? Picnics onrepparttar 111121 Fourth of July? Snow that was so deep it covered fences? Pets that were so smart they belonged inrepparttar 111122 Guinness Book of World Records? Making ice cream? Their parents? Their grandparents?

Have you wanted to write down those stories to share them with other family members and to preserve them for generations to come but don't how to go about it?

Guess what? You don't need "literary talent," special training or special equipment. All you need to preserve those stories is a list of people to interview, a willingness to listen, a set of questions to ask, a tape recorder and a computer (or even a typewriter would work!).

Here arerepparttar 111123 steps for gathering and writing your family stories:

1. Decide which people you would like to interview and make a list.

My Children The Chefs

Written by Alyice Edrich


You may freely reprint this article in a print or online magazine, e-zine, or newsletter provided you leaverepparttar byline intact, don’t changerepparttar 111117 content, and make The Dabbling Mum web address clickable. Please consider sending a courtesy copy for my records. Send an email to dabblingmum@yahoo.com

My Children The Chefs By Alyice Edrich

My 13-year-old son is finally showing an interest in cooking and can you believe he cooks better than me?! The other night we were giving him a hard time because he made a sandwich for his friend, his sister, and himself and then commenced to eat in front of me and my husband. Did you catch that? He not once thought to ask us if we were hungry or even offer to make us a sandwich. We jokingly teased him about forgetting us. He just giggled and sheepishly said, “I was hungry.” Then he giggled again, finished his sandwich and went intorepparttar 111118 kitchen where he began scouringrepparttar 111119 refrigerator. When I asked him what he was doing, he said, “I’m going to cook you something to eat.” He asked his dad a couple of questions as he pulled everything out ofrepparttar 111120 cupboards and putrepparttar 111121 pan onrepparttar 111122 stove. With a bit of skepticism, he began making his very first meal. And to his surprise and ours, he cookedrepparttar 111123 most tender, tastiest chicken I have had in over a year! It was absolutely delicious. Not believing me, he asked for a bite of my chicken, and then asked if he could finish my plate. I, of course, reluctantly gave up my delicious meal. My daughter onrepparttar 111124 other hand—atrepparttar 111125 young age of 9—still has to learnrepparttar 111126 art of cooking. While she lovesrepparttar 111127 idea of cooking, she hasrepparttar 111128 patience of her mom—none. She throws things together without readingrepparttar 111129 directions and then looks on in disgust as her “creations” look more like mud pies than something eatable.

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