WomenCo.

How do we preserve the cultural, family traditions, recipes and history  from our elders. Some elders tend to guard some treasured facts to their grave, while others who are willing to do so  can't find anyone who is interested. 

For me, I ask  about the family roots, and what were the challenges and how they have overcame them when they were growing -up.

pjricher says ...

 I'm in the process of producing a documentary of my parents' lives.  It is extremely fulfilling to know their stories will be heard in their own voices by members of our family for generations to come.  

That is such a great mechanism, Paula!  Your family is so lucky, as is the anyone who gets to share this, to have your expertise!

I am very lucky to have had books written about parts of my family.  My mother and her brother were both given an excellent family history- my uncle research our tree (and even looked up my father's information as it was important to me) and my mother is a historian of our family story.  My paternal aunt has documented stories from my grandmother- 94 years old, the youngest of 13- so that we can treasure her stories and our family's shaping.  I am lucky- I have had living relatives during my childhood to tell me stories, I have family members who know the need to document, and my family is homogenous- it is easy to track my family through cutural history and regional records.  I can only hope to be half the family historian my paternal aunt and mother are- although I have a head start.

The Everyday Feminist is right. Talk to anyone and everyone that would know anything NoW.  I am doing genealogy  and I had a real tough case.  My grandmother's mother died, my grandmother and two of her brothers were left behind and the dad went to California with the oldest children who could work. I did not know my grandmother's name, etc.  I made a trip to where she had kinfolks, and you get bits and pieces of the puzzle that you have to put together. Never throw away your notes.  There is a program in Texas through the libraries called TexShare. I would think that all states would have something similar.  The biggest genealogy dept. of the closest place where your relative lived is a good place to look.  I found marriage licenses, death records, names of siblings, so much .....talk about crying.  Only use the internet for a source.  It can not come close to just good old detective work.  Another place that is valuable even if only to put a timeline on things is the cemetery.  Check social security death indexes,census records for where you knew them to live. Ancestry.com is a good place to find some of this.  Don't let the elder generation pass on before you can talk to them.  Some of my best sources came from people up in their 70's and 80's.  They have a wealth of information and they really enjoy you caring about the past.  Good luck.  I just got carried away on this post.  Love genealogy!

My sister and I have been trying for the last couple of years to get our mother & her mother to write down the stories that they are sharing. Or if we are going through photos, we ask them to write the names down so that we can pass that information on to the next generation.  So far, neither of them have been REAL cooperative, but I now have some of my mother's photos and as she tells me who they are - I am trying to remember the names and write them down later when she isn't looking .

My family doesn't have any "family secret recipes" so I don't know any ideas on how to help with something like that.  Most of the older generation cooks don't go by something written down they just start throwing things in a pot & somehow it all turns out okay.  That could be why they don't relay the recipe willingly - they themselves don't always remember what they put in it until they are cooking that particular dish.

Hope the ideas on the photos help

 when my great grandpa died, my grandmother got with her nephew Joe- and they made a video (VHS- i need to find a way to put it on DVD) with the kinda music he liked in the background to the tons of pictures of him when he was young.  ( i was shocked... as a young guy- he looked *JUST* like James Cagney) and the pictures went from when he was a very young man until the year that he died. It was awsome.  

Its interesting, because i was just looking thru stuff trying to find an old tape of my great grandmother playin accordian- because my grandma and i talked about doing one for great grandma katie (she died.... in 89 i think it was). id brought it up because i rememberd how wonderful the one Joe made for great grandpa clarence was. 

ohh and the stories..... gosh...so many good stories.  Great grandma katie and grandpa clarence has so many good stories. My grandparents have so many good stories too. my kingdom for those fancy digital voice recorders 20 years ago. 

I am doing the family history right now.  I also have gotten the recipes that my children grew up with from their granny, who flat knows how to cook.  I am going to craft that into a recipe book that also may have pictures, old sayings, etc...Get them while you can.  Food brings back a lot of memories.  My grandmother used to make fig preserves, so I'm always on the lookout for someone who can make them like she could.

Amyx,  We are all there for you and each other. Hugs!

TheEverydayFeminist says ...

Elorraine says ...

How do we preserve the cultural, family traditions, recipes and history  from our elders. Some elders tend to guard some treasured facts to their grave, while others who are willing to do so  can't find anyone who is interested. 

  For me, I ask  about the family roots, and what were the challenges and how they have overcame them when they were growing -up.

We can preserve traditions by continuing to do them with your own family. Use oral history as well as paper documentation. I see some of you have been fortunate enough to have a book of family history or creating a living history also. Bravo. If you want to have these things you have to make the effort NOW. My mother's story is gone. Her only 2 sisters died recently and my Dad doesnt remember anything anymore. My procrastinating in investigating my mother's youth ended up fruitless, sadly.

I agree. You have to continue incorporating the traditions into the younger generations lives. I talk about those I have loved and lost to my daughter all the time. I feel this will help her understand her roots and get to know these people through the stories I tell. 

My Mom did a great job when we were growing up doing the same for us kids. We know about our great -great grandparents and how they met and everyone that has come into our family since then.