by Casey Case

Created on: January 18, 2007   Last Updated: July 04, 2009

It is just a small collection of old cassette tapes. I don't even remember whose idea it was to have my grandfather sit down and record some of his favorite stories onto the tapes. All I know is, those tapes have become a family treasure. Try as we may, when someone close to us dies, we find ourselves struggling within a few years to remember what they looked like without studying pictures of them. Pictures preserve the image, but audio recordings preserve the voice, the lingo, the expressions; all the things that set them apart from everyone else. Furthermore, they tell a story.

One of the best tools for writing a family history is a tape recorder. It is an easy way to gather stories and information from family members all across the globe. A tape recorder captures what film cannot: the actual character of the person. Are voices are as unique as our appearance and they reveal emotions like excitement, sadness, longing, success, and all the other emotions of our lives. More importantly, they reveal the lingo.

A family history book isn't complete with just genealogy. It must include the expressions and feelings of its subjects. My grandfather was a farmer and nearly every conversation included references to his work. For example, he "herded his corn into the corner of his plate so as to corral it with his fork." He literally put his old truck, "out to pasture." A letter from an old friend was, "as comforting as a hen-house full of eggs." These are the elements that help your family history come to life. Future generations will be more entranced with the language than the flow charts.

Furthermore, it helps us come to understand where we come from, how our attitudes and world-view was formed. We are most influenced by our parents and grandparents while we are young and their opinions and language become our own. Someday, someone will want to hear or read your words and expressions too. We owe to ourselves and our children to record not only the images of our lives, but the sounds as well.

Once you have collected recordings from your family, the rest is easy. The story will createitself as you incorporate your recordings with your own thoughts and images. No specific guidance is needed. The story will come to life on its own. Genealogy charts will make more sense as family members will see a pattern form across the generations and come to appreciate the events of these peoples' times. One very effective way to assemble the book is to incorporate your family's stories with the photographs. Use captions on the photos that contain the language of their subjects. You will be surprised how easily the book will be to write and how it will remain entrancing throughout the years. The language puts in an element that reveals surprises every time you study it. Our family book has a very comforting photo on the cover than can only be understood by reading the book:

A hen-house full of eggs.

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