By Gloria Nussbaum Travel back with me to the 1980s or 90s. The phone rings, the one attached to the wall without a camera, a voice says, “It’s been a long time since we were in touch and you were on my mind.” You know immediately that it’s your best friend from high school to …
by Maia Fischler Recording and writing our life stories is powerful therapy. It can create order from a jumble of memories, helping us see and understand the forces that have shaped us. Dr. Teri Friedman is a psychologist in Rye Brook, NY, and a strong believer in the therapeutic effects of writing. Teri Friedman, PhD, …
Connie Lenzen Portland, Oregon has a library you want to check out and take advantage of – the Genealogical Forum of Oregon, the largest genealogical library in the Pacific Northwest. In 2014, I began a Personal Historian business. Gerry Lenzen, whom I knew through our mutual involvement in the Portland State Athletic Department Booster program, …
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2020 was a memorable year in the Pacific Northwest and worldwide. As the pandemic raged and forest fires surrounded us, the desire for re-connection with family and friends took hold. Isolation gave way to reminiscing and taking up overdue projects. Many of us found ourselves doubling down on technology as a way to stay close. …
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During our PHNW meetings, members “talk shop” and tell each other about projects we have worked on recently. (We’ll be sharing many of those projects with you in our next blog post.) At a recent meeting, Trena Cleland talked about an initiative celebrating “family foodways” she was involved in several years ago. Trena has an …
Continue reading "Bowls Around Town: An Exhibit of Stories, Recipes and Photos about Family Meals"
Emil at his office in Portland with staff. Emil Schacht, second from left. What can I do that isn’t going to get done unless I do it, just because of who I am? Buckminster Fuller Sommerland, Seaview, Washington On a beautiful summer day in 2016 my brother Neal, sister Gail, cousin Steve and I had …
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Washington Territory's Grand Lady, The Story of Matilda (Glover)Koontz Jackson More than a decade ago, while giving a tour to schoolchildren at the local museum, I saw a small folded placard stating that in 1847, Matilda Koontz lost her husband while crossing the Oregon Trail, leaving her a widow with small children. My heart broke, …
Generations from now Americans will look back and wonder what it was like being part of the momentous events swirling around us in 2020. The Great Pandemic of 2020 resulted in millions of people getting sick with the COVID-19 virus and hundreds of thousands of deaths. What was it like trying to stay healthy and …
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Three members of Personal Historians NW appeared in the Portland Tribune and several other Pamplin Media outlets in the Portland Metro area on June 11, 2020. "Capturing Your Life Stories" personal historian Connie Shipley submitted a story idea to Pamplin, a tip that was picked up by local journalist Jason Vandersmith. The reporter reached out …
It seems like a long time ago that we were able to go wherever, with whomever, whenever we wanted. Until then, “pandemic” was a word in the dictionary, something we read about in novels or history books or saw on TV and movie screens. It was abstract and “out there”, not something most of us …
You may have had friends suggest that you write your biography and think to yourself, “Who would want to know my story? I just lived my life and it wasn’t that exciting.” What you may find is that, once you get started, your life is a lot more interesting in the retelling and you will …
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Life Writer, Capturing the Stories That Connect the Generations Getting to Completion By Maia Fischler, LifeWriter Personal Histories When I met Dianna Hanson, she had been working on her manuscript for over a year without really believing she'd ever manage to publish it. She had enjoyed the writing process, and she was excited to pass …
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By Lisa Kagan (Director, Family Heirloom Arts) “The events in our lives happen in a sequence in time, but in their significance to ourselves, they find their own order… the continuous thread of revelation.”- Eudora Welty, author and photographer The Power of Stories Lisa Kagan, Director, Family Heirloom Arts Through my work as a personal …
Personal historians know holidays are the perfect time to gather family stories and honor personal legacies. Ask Trena Cleland or Gloria Nussbaum about the importance of preserving personal history. Both Trena and Gloria are members of Personal Historians NW and contributors to the December issue(s) of Northwest50Plus magazine, highlighting the different types of work being done to …
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