Preserve Your Family Stories

First consider this:

Books, scrapbooks, CD's, DVD's, video and audio are all frozen in time.
Once printed, recorded or pasted they cannot be easily altered or amended.

Happily there is a great solution: the internet means you can save your stories online

	New stories, photos, video & audio can be easily added
	Existing stories can be changed and updated
	You can share certain stories with certain people, you choose your readers
	All family members can contribute adding depth and greater insight
	You can download photos and stories to use in a book or an album

Books and Scrapbooks

People have been writing their life stories since papyrus was created and there is something comforting about the written word, be it a series of letters, a diary or journal, or printed in a book.

This is the traditional approach and we can all picture a leather-bound family history being treasured by family members and passed down to grandchildren and great grandchildren.

The same applies to the beautiful scrapbooks and heritage albums that can be created.

The drawback of a book is that once printed that's it, the stories are locked in time, they cannot be added to or amended when families change and evolve.

Scrapbooks

The scrap booking craze has been running strongly for the past 5 years or so and they are yet another way to preserve your memories, photos and memorabilia. Scrap booking shops also provide classes where all aspects of this decorative art is taught, including journaling where you can write the accompanying text.  

Audio

Some people believe that there is something magical about hearing their ancestor’s voice and speech patterns as they tell their own lifetime stories. If this is your preference, interviewing and recording the interviews of your parents and grandparents will be essential. Just ensure that the audio interviews are updated as technology advances.

Video

Other people prefer to video their interviews as various items of family interest such as Dad’s WWII medals can be filmed to add extra interest and authenticity to each person’s stories. Facial expressions, hand gestures and natural colouring can also be preserved and, again, update as technology changes.

Preserving On-line

There are several good online family history "repositories" and they all very in what they offer and what they cost. As with everything it depends largely on what you want.

If you wish to know more about any of these topics please feel free to email Annie  with your specific requirements.