Thanksgiving

As Thanksgiving nears, people begin to gather with their family and friends to celebrate the holidays and reminisce about years gone by. Stories are told and retold, family recipes are pulled out, and embarrassing pictures may find their way into the room. Arguments may break out between aunts on who gets to make your grandmother’s famous rolls or who gets to control what is on the television. It may irritate everyone in the house, but those arguments are usually a big part of the holiday and are missed when they stop.

This is the time to begin, or continue, to gather all these wonderful memories and record them. That might mean using one of the Midwest Genealogy’s Center Tell Me a Story kits, or writing down the stories, to keep a record of your family’s history, which will be greatly appreciated by you and future generations.

For the genealogist in you, these stories may be a great jumping off point for further research. Most of these stories (at least my own personal family stories) may have been embellished a bit (or a lot!), but they all have a grain of truth in them. These grains could be enough to break through a brick wall you may have encountered or start you off onto a brand-new line.

For those who do not celebrate Thanksgiving, it can still be a time for you to gather and reminisce. With the weather getting cold, take the chance to gather your family around you and record the past before it is too late. For those of us fortunate enough to have our grandparents with us, record their memories of past years; ask for family recipes and memories that may have happened before you were born.

Whether you want to record your family memories for your own enjoyment or to help with genealogy research, the Midwest Genealogy Center has the resources to help you record your oral histories and help you with research. Enjoy your holiday, enjoy your family, and enjoy the memories.

What memories will you add to your family history?

Kayla H.
Midwest Genealogy Center