You’ve done the hard part: you’ve written something. Maybe it’s a collection of family stories, a memoir, a transcription of oral histories, or a deeply personal reflection. Now you’re wondering: What’s next? How do you take this raw material and turn it into something lasting—something that will be read, cherished, and preserved for generations? As …
It’s Never Too Late to Pay Tribute to Your Parents
by Julie McDonald Zander As we enter the holiday season, it’s easy to grow nostalgic, reflecting on precious memories of time spent with parents and siblings—or even children—who have passed away. It’s tough to become an orphan, no matter your age. I’m grateful I recorded my parents’ life stories before they died, but it’s never …
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Recording and Transcription Suggestions
Personal Historian/Interviewer: Recording Quality:Quiet environmentKeep in mind that background noise such as rustling papers and/or music/radio interfere with sound quality. The interviewer should refrain from speaking over the interviewee even with minor terms of understanding like “aha” and “ohhh” terms.Limited number of intervieweesPut a microphone on all interviewees and try to discourage them from talking over …
What Is HOME? Three Personal Historians On A Path To Discovery
Three personal historian members of PHNW pandemic quest for home in print, art, photos, books and cross country journeys.
Something is Better Than Perfection
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 …
Personal History as Therapy
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, …
Personal Historians Express Gratitude for Challenges and Changes in 2020
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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Bowls Around Town: An Exhibit of Stories, Recipes and Photos about Family Meals
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 …
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Giving Emil Schacht His Place In Portland History- by Connie Shipley
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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Julie Zander’s Book “Washington Territory’s Grand Lady: The Story of Matilda (Glover) Koontz Jackson”
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, …
History Invites Journals Related To The Great Pandemic of 2020
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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We Are Living In Historic Times
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 …
Why would you want to write your life story?
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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Maia Fischler and Cheryl McLean, Life Writer Personal Histories
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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Exploring the Power of Stories
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 Network West 