Saving family histories in your parents' own words...

A friend was saying how her significant other's four kids had hired a professional videographer to record his family recollections -- of his parents, old neighborhood, various issues -- so that his grandchildren and family members to come would have that family history in his own words. Yes!


How I wish I had recorded my parents in their own words, but it never really crossed my mind until too late...I am often asking my aunt Libby and other relatives questions about my grandparents, my parents, various incidents/milestones, etc. And on my last trip to Stockton, I made a few short videos on my cellphone. But of my parents I have only photos and memories to remember them by, not their actual voices and own words..

1832 Berkeley Street

Once while we were driving around Miami, my Dad told me the whole story of how he and my Mom got their first house on Berkeley Street. I remember having that conversation, but not the facts (as I was, after all, driving!). What if he had told that story into a voice recorder so I had it now and his grandchildren could hear it some day?


Don't make the same mistake I did, especially since we can now make videos with sound on our cellphones at any moment.  Or you, too, can hire a professional videographer -- who can also turn your old VCR tapes and photos into DVDs, make a family movie, etc. There are many ways to save family histories, and, most importantly, in your parents' own words.