Encouraging the Writing of Memoirs

I have one story written by my grandfather. It is his account of a runaway train car rolling downhill through the Montana mountains and the efforts of the various railroad workers to send warnings ahead or find ways to divert it and prevent disaster along its gravity-powered route.

I know he had other stories to tell, but they died with him nearly a decade ago. For example, it was only during his last decade that he would say anything about his World War II experiences, and even then, he said nothing about anything involving combat aside from some remarks about the noise of the tanks, artillery, and machine guns. He did, however, tell a tale of members of his tank crew and other soldiers being hosted by a local farm family as they pushed into Germany.

The soldiers were all seated around a long table, and were served a big pot of rabbit stew. As the pot was passed along the table, Grampa reached in with the ladle and pulled out the rabbit's head. He had grown up in a farm family of German immigrants himself, so he wasn't especially surprised, and just discreetly slipped it back under the surface and filled his bowl with something else. To paraphrase his summary of the tale, "Well, the pot finally got to the end of the table, and the poor buck private found nothing but the head in the pot! I figure everyone else all along had done the same as me, and he had no choice in the matter but to try to look grateful!"

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Encourage your parents and grandparents to write down their stories. Whether they use pen and ink, a typewriter, or a computer is up to them, but get those stories now while you can! If they prefer, you could use a computer, cell phone, or even a microcassette recorder (do they still make them?) to save their stories! You don't need to push someone to Steemit or other blogging sites! Keep to their comfort level for the best results!

Some ideas to elicit good stories:

• Challenges they overcame, and/or triumphs they achieved
• Life during childhood
• Relationships, whether friendships or romance. Perhaps even rivalries.
• School
• Cutting-edge technology in their youth
• Events that stand out vividly in their minds, regardless of context
• Funny happenings, even if "you just had to be there."

Don't push for a full autobiography. Don't even demand a lot of stories. Just seek anecdotes about moments, described with their feelings and impressions. You're not a journalist prying into someone's life, you're a family member preserving a record of specific events that mattered to the one telling the story.

Now get out there and preserve some family history!

Author's note: previously posted on Steemit.