With holiday gatherings in full swing, now is a great time to interview witnesses. Ask the people around the table what they remember about the old farm or the house in the big city where they lived. How, exactly, did they meet their spouse? How long was the courtship? Why did they decide to elope?
A friend of mine showed me her book of memories that included several related people who wrote brief paragraphs about their memories of the farm.
“The outhouse was way back by the garden, and I was terrified I would find a rattlesnake!”
“I offered Aunt Thelma a dollar if she would drive the go-cart around the yard and she jumped right on!”
My friend added the stories of how each of the brothers and sisters met their spouses, included an aerial photo of the farm with all the buildings identified, and also put in large group photos of birthdays, picnics and weddings with written identifications of each person, many now passed away. She also included baby or school pictures alongside a grownup photo of several people who have passed away.
What a wonderful treasure for her family. I recommended that she get it spiral bound as a book – spiral binding so it will lay flat on the table for everyone to study and talk about.
Create a book by adding photos and paragraphs. Save the whole thing as a pdf file and take the file to a copy shop such as Office Max, Office Depot or Staples. They will print your book two-sided, print a front and back cover on card stock and bind it. Don’t forget to put your name and email address on it as the author. That way you will get more information from your readers.
~ Carol Darrow, Certified Genealogist, teaches a free beginning genealogy class at the downtown Denver Public Library on the second Saturday of the month from 10 am – noon.