
A New Year. A chance for new growth, new accomplishments, new hopes and dreams. One of the traditional images of New Years Day, is the Old Man Time being replaced by the New Year’s Baby.
As we mature, our goals, ideas and thoughts change. As a young man, I would look forward to the celebrations and parties or new chances at having a better year facing me, then the year that had past.
Now that I am involved with US Legacies, part of my thoughts are about the new growth and improvements we will be making in this next year. But I also think about the older people that will be lost during this coming year. And, although we may not be able to prevent the loss of older people, we can prevent the loss of their memories and stories.
As I travel around the country speaking with elderly citizens, the one comment I hear more then any other when I start asking questions about the stories told by someone’s parents or grandparents is, “I wish I would have asked more questions, or paid closer attention, while I had the chance.” As much as adults may love their parents, they are usually so busy with making a living and taking care of their own children, that they don’t take the time to sit down and record their parents or grandparents memories. So, we are going to encourage school age children to conduct these interviews as part of a class project.
Our goal with this new project is to encourage every school in this country to pick one class each year that will compile a Legacies Year Book as a class project.
The concept behind this is to have the students interview the oldest living family member or neighbor, in order to learn about lifestyles prior to the use of electricity, or during the WW II era. Once the interviews are complete, the students can utilize their writing techniques by converting the audio or video recordings over to written stories.
We will then take these stories and publish a book containing the stories from each class, as a keepsake. Each student that participates in this project will get a free copy of the book. Plus, additional copies will be offered to the school at a discounted price, so the students can use the proceeds from sales to local residents as a fundraiser. As an added bonus, we will send a copy of the book to the Library of Congress, on behalf of the class, for historical preservation.
This is a win/win situation for everyone involved. The students get to learn about history first hand. The local seniors get to have their childhood memories or WW II memories preserved. The school gets to earn money and local citizens get a chance to have copies of a book that contains historical stories and memories from their friends, family members and neighbors.
In setting up this project, there two things you can do to help us, your town and your family. The first thing we need is the mailing address of every school in your town. If you happen to know the names of any history or English teachers, or the principle of a school, this will also help us.
The second thing we need are the names and address of the oldest living family member, neighbor or friend in your town that would be willing to share their childhood memories and stories with a student that does not have a family member of their own to interview. By working together we can encourage the next generation of adults to cherish, respect and learn from today’s seniors.
We hope you have a great year. May it be filled with the best memories of the past and the brightest dreams for the future.
Franklin T. Wike, Jr.
U S Legacies Magazine January 2003
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