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Taking an Oral History

I spent this weekend in Washington State visiting family and friends. It was great to be back 'home' and see everyone. The main purpose of my trip though (aside from Bob being in India, allowing me the opportunity to visit people with pets!) was to take an oral history of my grandparents, who are 91 (grandpa) and 83 (grandma).

We used my video camera and asked questions listed in The Well Trained Mind, ad-libbing a bit as we went along. I enjoyed learning things about my grandparents that I never knew before, and I think they enjoyed talking about their childhoods to an interested party. I learned that my grandma walked 4 miles each way to school as a child. My grandpa told me about working in the garden with his uncle, who he was very close to. (He also made his political views well known. He really should consider having his own talk show on TV!) Now, as I sit at SeaTac recalling our interview, I am thinking of so many more questions I wish I had asked. For example, my grandma didn't know she was having twins until she was in the delivery room; I wonder what kind of prenatal care she had—what kind of prenatal care was standard for that time (early 1940s). I forgot to have my grandpa tell the story of how he wanted to tell his boss that he quit, but by the time he had walked all the way to the office, he had cooled off and his boss told him how valued he was (I think that was what happened!).

My plan is to create DVDs of our interview so they can be viewed by future generations. (Based on my track record though, I don't know how successful I will be.)

When I told my friends of my plans for taking the history, they all reacted positively and said it was a great idea. Those who don't have living parents or grandparents said they really wished they had done something like that while they were alive. If your grandparents are still living, an oral history interview is a fantastic way to keep your family history alive.