The Family History Fun Factor

Using today’s technology simplifies the process significantly.  For example, the next time you see grandpa use your smart phone to record one of his favorite stories.  Better yet, make it a video. Having family stories preserved as told by their originator with his or her voice and inflections is undoubtedly more valuable and easier to obtain than a sketchy or poorly written summary.  How many volumes of history have been lost for lack of writing skill or the discipline to keep a journal or record important events?  However, some people can’t tell a joke much less a story and there’s no guarantee grandpa can tell it better than you could capture it in writing.  The main point is to preserve it somehow.  Even if his rendition isn’t worthy of a university oral history archive you can always use the recording later to write it up, if you’re so inclined.  On the other hand, no matter how poor his storytelling skills may be it still represents an authentic grandpa, which conveys him and his personality to say nothing of his voice which otherwise will be lost to all but memory of those who knew him personally.  Even if he was a horrible storyteller I would LOVE to hear my grandfathers’ voices, both of whom died before I was born.  Wouldn’t you?