Protect and Preserve Your Past with Oral History

When you were a child, listening to your grandmother tell you stories about the “good old days,” or when your grandfather told you that he had to walk five miles to school (uphill both ways, of course!), I bet you were bored or rolled your eyes. However, when you lost them, you probably missed those stories almost as much as you missed them!

Now there are ways to record those stories, so that they can withstand time and never be lost to the families or communities to whom they mean so much. Through oral history recordings, we can keep people alive long after we have lost them.

Mid-Continent Public Library’s Midwest Genealogy Center and The Story Center have partnered to offer the free class Interviewing Skills for Oral History, which will be led by Mark Livengood, Director of The Story Center, on January 15 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at MGC. During this class, you will learn about developing questions, interviewing techniques, and recordkeeping.

These new skills will help you preserve amazing, heartfelt stories that can be handed down to future generations. And, using MGC’s Tell Me a Story oral history recording equipment, you will be able to practice your skills before you take them to your families and communities.

Register here for the class, or contact MGC at 816.252.7228.

Kayla H.
Midwest Genealogy Center