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Saving memories
By cjcastillo in Digital Babble
January 19, 2009

Image I recently wrote a column about preserving family history and how Story Corps is breaking ground in how families can share their stories with others.

The inspiration for that column came from some intense moments my family went through last week. I haven't been in the office since early last week. I've been out of town for several days, to be with my grandmother as she went through surgery. It was a common procedure, but complications arose and she ended up in critical condition in ICU. She's doing much better now, but has a long road to recovery ahead.

It was during the time when we weren't sure what was going to happen that I started to remember all the time spent with my grandmother: all the good times, all the laughter, all the tears, all the stories she shared with us.

I've always enjoyed spending time with my grandparents and hearing their stories about growing up during a different era. When I was younger, I would write down these stories so I would not forget them.. As technology has advanced I now have different tools to record these memories. However, even if I don't always have a digital recorder or video camera around, I'll still make sure to write down things later.

In the column that I wrote for Sunday's paper, I primarily talked about Story Corps.net, and how people can share their own family stories via public and mobile recording studios located all across America.

I did a little more research to find other Web sites that provide information or methods to record your family history, here are some links:

Library of Congress - How do preserve digital memories

Family Oral History - Great site with several tips and articles about preserving family history.

Ancestry.com - You can create a family tree for free, and include audio recordings in the tree.

I'd like to hear any ideas or suggestions you may have as well. How do you preserve your family history? Do you keep a journal, scrapbook or use audio or video recordings?

I'll still continue to search for different methods of keeping record of my family history, and I'll share them with you as I travel this journey.

When I was sure my grandmother was doing better, last Friday I was able to break away and attend a fascinating workshop on visual journalism hosted at Texas State University in San Marcos. I was interested to find that the Victoria Advocate is on top of things when it comes to its use of social media and video production. I'll blog more about the workshop tomorrow.

Comments


  • mimi312 mimi312 Report a ViolationReport a Violation
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    CJ, I made a digital scrapbook with pictures... For each of my children, I scanned my favorite pictures from birth on up and then made a slideshow set to a song I felt encompassed each one's personality.  My parents liked the idea and so I made one honoring their lives together....  All it takes is a scanner, Windows Movie Maker, and a DVD burner -- oh, and time and cooperation from siblings~

    January 21, 2009 at 5:56 p.m.

  • cjcastillo cjcastillo Report a ViolationReport a Violation
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    dig - That's a great thing you did, now your family will have those to keep and share. I've been meaning to go to my parent's house and scan all the photos they have. They have A LOT of pictures I don't even know where to begin, but I have to start somewhere.

    January 20, 2009 at 11:02 a.m.

  • cjcastillo cjcastillo Report a ViolationReport a Violation
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    Eric - Thanks for the tip! I'll certainly have to look into this. My sister started working on our family tree a few years ago, this would be a great way to save our info. I'm going to look at their site now: Family Tree Maker

    Cleric - Sorry you lost your comment. I've had that happen to me many times also, even though I know I should copy and paste my comments first in notepad or something, lol.  Ah yes, Flickr is a great place to store photos. Good choice. Have you ever printed your photos on Flickr via a service like Moo? I've used that service to make mini cards, they are cool. Check them out here: Moo.com

    I haven't had my LOLcat fix in a while, maybe that will cheer me up.

    January 19, 2009 at 5:22 p.m.

  • cleric cleric Report a ViolationReport a Violation
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    GAHH!!   I lost my comment.  The page errored out and I could not get it back.  *sigh*

    Anyway, great article, glad your gma is feeling better.  It is fitting because I wanted to do a family tree for my familia.  THANKS!  I have been told by my grandma that I am related to Emiliano Zapata somewhere down the line and I would like to find out more.

    Some tips I have is invest in a digital camera, scanner, and voice recorder.  The scanner can be used to scan older pics, newspaper clippings, awards, holiday cards, etc.  Basically anything you'd keep in a "memory shoebox" you should scan.  After that, I'd suggest putting your pics online so as they are safe from local damage (i.e. hurricanes) and places like Flickr let you order prints or discs with images burned on them.

    My original comment mentioned something about LOLcats but I can't recall.  lol

    January 19, 2009 at 4:09 p.m.

  • Bicycle Bicycle Report a ViolationReport a Violation
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    I've used Family Tree Maker software for many years and am very happy with it. You just plug in your family information such as names, birthdates, marriage dates, death dates, locations, etc.,  and the software will arrange the tree in various formats for you. You can also include photos, audio and video recordings and even write stories about family members.
    Eric

    January 19, 2009 at 4:06 p.m.