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By the time we are in our late 30's it starts to happen. We will make a reference to an event that we experienced in our early adulthood and a young adult in our company will say something like "I wasn't born yet", making us feel old. It doesn't have to be an indication of age, though, as much as a realization that everyone has a unique time line and has filled it with unique memories and experiences. These experiences can be recorded and preserved through ORAL HISTORIES, first person narrative accounts of one's memories of an event or time of life. It can even be considered an obligation to future generations that we take the time to do this. Furthermore, by collecting the oral histories of other people, we can get a picture of events and customs from before our own time and put human faces on history.
There are two types of Oral History collection we may pursue. The first is an autobiographical history of events from our own time. There are books and articles out there on writing memoirs and preserving our own time for the future generations. This article will deal primarily with a second type of History Collection, namely the interviewing of older individuals to understand their world and their memories of events we have read about in history books.
A small tape recorder is the most sophisticated piece of equipment the history collector will need. The verbatim transcription of the interviewee may not be perfect english, but the first person account with very little editing is what we are aiming for here. We also want to capture any local dialect or word phrasing our subject may use.
One's own family is a great place to start. With their permission to record a conversation, simply begin a conversation by asking such warm up questions as "What was it like when you heard that Kennedy had been shot", or similar events that have changed the world within the lifetime of your subject. (Laws concerning the recording of conversations differ from state to state. To be sure that you can prove later on that you have permission to tape this conversation, ask if it's OK, and if the person agrees, ask again while the recorder is on. It is the easiest way to prove later on that you had that person's permission.)
Family geneology can be enhanced by recording stories of how one's grandparents came over from Europe, or by asking one's grandparents about their memories of great grandparents. Trying to get information on deceased relatives through other people's memories of them can help us get a better feel for someone we have never met.
Nursing homes are a storehouse of oral historians. With the population living longer as medical advances are discovered, we can reach back up to a century through the eyes of nursing residents. Call the Activities Department or Volunteer Department of your local nursing home and they will surely know of some residents who are good story tellers and who will appreciate your visit and efforts. Be sure to ask about that nursing home's policies on recording and writing about their residents. Most, however, will appreciate a copy of your final transcriptions for their own records or library.
It can be very easy, once the subject has warmed up to the process. Be sure to ask questions, though, if your subject uses a phrase or mentions an event you are unfamiliar with. Their explanation will help you understand what is being said and may help color your later finished product.
The final step is to transcribe the story. It is OK to edit facts together if they are accurately meant to go together. Any stylistic matching of stories, say if the same story was told more than once and different or extra details exist in each version, must remain true to the narrative. This is non-fiction and not meant to be embellished by the transcriber. Say your subject tells you in one session that it was a cold rainy day when they stormed the city in World War Two and in the second session the same story is told and they add that it was late afternoon. The transcription may read in first person "It was a cold rainy late afternoon when we stormed the city" and still be totally accurate. Even the story told was a tall tale to begin with, say if Uncle Charlie told of the time that he single handedly defeated an entire Nazi army with a pocket knife and a rope, it must be transcribed as told. This story still has great value and tells something about the narrator in terms of his creativity or ability to re-create memories to suit him.
This fascinating hobby is greatly encouraged by this author, who has learned much at the bedside of residents and from older relatives. More than that, it is a chance to preserve people's stories and memories for those to come later.
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