Memories are an important part of our lives. They’re an accumulation of the people, experiences and things that have mattered to us. Often, family members know little about the early lives of older loved ones. Recording your memories gives your children and grandchildren a more complete view of you and the life you’ve lived. If you would like to preserve your memories to share with current and future generations of your family, Harpswell Aging at Home’s Living Histories program can help.
A living history is different than a memoir or autobiography. It’s a collage, or scrapbook, of written and other materials that are important to you. It can include things like fond memories, childhood experiences, treasured stories, favorite things, family history, poems, newspaper clippings, letters, recipes, photos and more. No writing experience is necessary.
If you would like to create a living history, you would meet with a trained coach for an hour to an hour and a half each week for about eight weeks. The coach provides encouragement and support, offers suggestions and ideas, and gives feedback. The coach creates the final document for you by taking any material you’ve written and converting it into a digital format. The coach also scans any photos or documents, color or black and white, you want to include.
Each week, you and your coach will review the material you’ve provided, to ensure it’s exactly the way you want it. The final product will be a spiral-bound booklet on quality paper — a meaningful gift for your family.
Hollie Vanderzee, project coordinator for Living Histories, said, “Coaching has been a wonderful experience. It’s given me the opportunity and privilege of having neighbors share parts of their lives with me.”
“From a personal point of view, passing down histories which otherwise would be lost is a priceless gift,” Vanderzee added. “The photos and stories my mother recorded about her youth and our family history have been treasured and enjoyed by three generations of our family and will continue to be passed down.”
June Phinney, a participant in the program, said, “Creating my living history has given me time to reflect. I like it because it brings back memories of my early life like it was yesterday.”
Another participant, Karin Soderberg, said, “I went into this project reluctantly, but then I realized I had missed the opportunity to do this with my own parents. Now I’m glad I’m doing it. There are so many sentimental things I want to share with my family.”
If you would like to create a living history, call Vanderzee at 207-844-8116. If you are interested in becoming a volunteer coach, email volunteer@hah.community.
