Connect the Family and Create Memories with Ideas to Encourage Story Sharing

By Suzanne S. Lapierre, Virginiana Specialist Librarian at the Virginia Room in City of Fairfax Regional Library

A Meaningful Pastime

While schools are closed and many older adults are sticking closer to home for safety, family history projects can help bridge the generations, even over phone or video call. Oral history interviews are an ideal way to jump-start or add color to the family’s genealogical records while giving senior family members a meaningful way to connect with younger generations. The following guides and ideas can help people of any age get started.

Resources for Adults

A good starting points for adults is the FamilySearch Creating Oral Histories wiki. It includes best practices to lead genealogists through this process, including forming a list of questions and choosing the right interview format, as well as ideas for teachers. Another valuable guide is Baylor University’s Texas Oral History Association Selected Links for Learning Best Practices in Oral History, which includes links to online tutorials.

For those embarking on more formal oral history projects, the American Folklife Center offers in-depth guidance on Oral History Interviews, including details such as obtaining release forms and publicity. The Smithsonian Folklife and Oral History Guide includes creative ideas for presenting findings as a family history cookbook, exhibition, scrapbook, or quilt.

Technology Tips

Preserving a loved one’s voice and/or image as part of the interview can add to its value, and there have never been more tools for recording oral history from a distance. Whether recording via Zoom, or deciphering long-distance telephone conversations, Baylor University’s Texas Oral History Association Oral History Technology webpage offers a thorough guide to tackling the technological aspects of an interview. If those options seem overwhelming, Family Tree Magazine offers quick tips on How to Record an Interview on Your Smartphone.

Transcription Tips

Transcription is important because all media formats eventually become obsolete. Having a typed paper copy as well as a digital recording of the interview better ensures preservation. The University of Florida George A. Smathers Libraries Guidelines for Transcribing and Editing Oral Histories offers a do-it-yourself guide. There are companies that offer transcription services for a fee, such as temi.com (a computer transcribes the audio) or rev.com (a human transcribes the audio).

Resources for Kids

Kids spending time at home may enjoy going on a family history treasure hunt. What are the oldest items in the home and where did they come from? Ask older relatives what they remember about acquiring and using these items. A set of Depression glassware may have begun with a promotional giveaway at a movie theater or inside a cereal box. Vintage dolls, stuffed animals or other toys may bring up memories of growing up in a prior era. Some heirlooms may have been crafted by family members or originate from military service. The stories these can elicit are priceless.

For students from kindergarten up, Reading Rockets Oral History suggests grade-level modifications for oral history projects with lists of books to enrich learning at each level. Suggested extension activities include role playing the person interviewed, creating a poster about the person, making a PowerPoint presentation using video clips from the interview, and scriptwriting to dramatize the story. Family Tree Magazine offers Tips for Interviewing a Relative about Family History.

Follow-up Genealogy Activities for Kids

Families with children may want to supplement the oral history interview with additional projects to explore their heritage.

• Make a genealogy coloring book by scanning old photos. Teens may enjoy creating these for younger siblings. Family Tree Magazine offers many more projects for kids here.
• The Legacy Project’s Across Generations Activities webpage includes ideas for a variety of intergenerational games, literacy, art and science projects.

Oral histories need not be limited to relatives: Children without living grandparents can reach out to older friends and neighbors and interview them about what life was like growing up in past decades.

Finally, for inspiration, check out FCPL’s Virginia Room collection of Fairfax County Oral Histories from notable Fairfax County residents. Transcripts have recently been made available on the website.