“I always wanted to chronicle the family history with my mother. It would have been okay with my father, too. But I wasn't forceful, and I didn't make it happen. That's one regret I have. I didn't get as much of the family history as I could have for the kids.”
--Robert De Niro
“Today, people are so disconnected that they feel they are blades of grass, but when they know who their grandparents and great-grandparents were, they become trees, they have roots, they can no longer be mowed down.”
--Maya Angelou
“History will be kind to me for I intend to write it.”
--Winston Churchill
Everyone has a story…
…and there are many ways to record and preserve the stories. There are also many reasons why it’s important to do so.Some people want to record their memories of parents and grandparents so that the previous generations will be known, honored and not forgotten by children and grandchildren.
Some people want to record the stories of their own lives—to describe, in their own words, the significant events and emotions of their journey through life. They create a priceless gift for their descendants.
Some people want to preserve photos, letters and documents in ways that can be shared with many family members. Today’s scanning technology makes it possible to create many high-quality images from one original.
Some people want to convert old movies and recordings to current media, and edit out the unnecessary or unusable portions of the original tapes or films.
Some people want to record their thoughts and impressions at a particular time in their lives – a graduation, a wedding, a birth, a special trip, an anniversary. They’re saving a chapter of their lives. Don’t you wish you had recorded your thoughts on the day of your wedding or when you graduated from high school?
Please browse our Ideas section for more suggestions for personal history projects. In the FAQ section you’ll find answers to frequently asked questions. The Resources section includes Memory Joggers and links to helpful internet sites.
Although the costs of personal history projects vary widely according to the size and scope of the projects, I’ve listed some Sample Pricing for recorded interviews and scanning.
When you have some ideas about what you’d like to do, please call or email me for a free one-hour consultation. We’ll talk about what you’d like to accomplish, what you can do yourself and what you might need help with.