Issue 23.17
“More than half the world is not wealthy enough to be connected to the internet. More than half the world is not wealthy enough to be remembered. They pass away, and there is nothing recorded about them, their families, and their ancestors. That’s the challenge—getting out and giving the opportunity to be remembered,” said Tim Cross, Family Tree Lite Product Manager, FamilySearch International.
In FamilySearch’s May 2017 feature article, writer Angelyn Hutchinson explores the power of family memories. Her grandparents emigrated to the US from Sweden in 1901. She recounts the impact a simple VHS tape she found recently has had on her personally. The tape content included an interview her now deceased father had with her Uncle Herman, her father’s brother. Referencing the taped interview, she said, “He (Dad) described their lives and struggles and those of other ancestors who were gone but not forgotten to him. The details and stories that I’d never heard unfolded before me nearly three decades later as I watched the video now in my possession, and [Uncle] Herman’s memories became mine.”
Memory scrapbooks–videos, photos, stories, artifacts, family documents–constitute the collective memories of family members. How awesome would it be if we had available to us today the last 50 years of our family’s collective memories recounted by each member over those 50 years?
In this feature article Hutchinson shares tips and insights of specialists regarding family memories. Learn how preserving and sharing family memories over time strengthens families for generations, 6 tips for keeping a “Memory Scrapbook”, how family memories are being preserved in 2nd and 3rd world cultures with limited access to technology, and the vital role of a tribal “rememberer”.
Find, read, and share Does Your Family Keep a Memory Scrapbook? http://media.familysearch.org/does-your-family-keep-a-memory-scrapbook/ online in the FamilySearch Newsroom.
Tips for keeping a memory scrapbook: Make preserving your memories a common practice throughout your life. Record them electronically, if possible, using your phone or the FamilySearch Memories App. Write memories in a journal, a specialized app, or an index card. Just do it. Interview aging relatives whenever you’re together or by email or phone. Jog your memory through photos, family artifacts or FamilySearch’s 52 Stories. Preserve and share with family through FamilySearch Memories Encourage them to add their own collections.
Used by permission from Paul Nauta, PR Manager FamilySearch International
For more information, contact Shanna Jones shannasjones@msn.com