PRESERVING MEMORIES

Record your Loved One's Voice

An interview with your spouse, parents, grandmother, great uncle, or child is a precious way to preserve the sound of their voice. Listening to a loved one tell a story in their own words captures the essence of who they are at this moment in time.

Interviewing a loved one at a special moment in their life is a generous gift. Consider doing a recorded interview with someone to celebrate their anniversary or wedding. Using a DVD camera or audio recording device to interview a couple on their 50th anniversary is a unique and treasured gift for them and for their children. Record your child's voice on his or her birthday, or just saying a few words before they head off to college. These saved voices will be treasured forever by you and future generations.

Imagine hearing the voice of your great-great grandfather telling first-hand about haying the field each summer, or arriving in this country and making his way. Or, imagine hearing the voice of your mother talking to you on your first birthday. This is a priceless way to connect with a loved one when they are no longer here to hug or converse with first-hand.

How many times have you listened to Uncle Bobby's stories and laughed and then thought, "Somebody ought to write those stories down." Well, now's the time to do it. Make an audio or filmed recording of Uncle Bobby telling those stories himself. Schedule an interview session today.

To get started with your recording session, do the following:

1) Make a list of conversation starters. Such as, "What was it about Dad/Mom/spouse that made you want to marry him/her?"

2) Set up a time for your recorded conversation. Ideally after a meal over tea or coffee.

Try not to make it a big deal. Just sit down, switch on the recording device, and speak.

Recording your loved one's voice is now easier than ever

Guided interview sessions are available in the Burlington, Vermont, region (including eastern New York state) by appointment only. Interview sessions last 60 minutes. Guided interviews include editing and production of the interview on a DVD or CD disk, and a typed transcript of the conversation.

Please send a request for more information.

Links for more information

For help with recording your own interviews, go to:

Story Corps - interview guide (national story recording project)

Vermont Folklife Center - interview guide (based in Middlebury, VT)

Legacy Cottage is owned and operated by professional historian, Mimi Clark. With a master's degree in Public History, Mimi has over 20 years of experience working with historic documents, artifacts, and themes in a variety of settings, including museums, historic sites, photograph collections, and film companies across the country. With each project, Mimi brings a professional approach and joyful curiousity to the discovery, presentation, and care of precious keepsakes and personal histories. Legacy Cottage is a one-stop resource for the materials needed to collect, share, celebrate, and store family stories and mementos.

Mimi Clark is a member of the National Council on Public History. The public need for the best historical information and analysis motivates every undertaking of NCPH. The council believes that the study of the past provides the soundest basis for making intelligent choices on how to resolve the problems of the present.