My Family History

My personal mission statement includes the phrase, “to learn more every day and live each day like it could be my last.” In light of that, and the fact that no one will likely want to comb through my stuff to decide what is worth sharing, I thought I would use this section to share things from my family that others might like to know.

One of the ideas I had over 30 years ago was to create a company called, “Leaving a Legacy.” It emerged from my love of history and my desire to capture memories of my grandparents before they passed away. In 1996, when I was 26, I borrowed a video camera and tripod from a library and used a videotape (think VCR) to interview my mother’s father a few years before his passing. After his death, I shared the footage of him with family members to remember him by. I also did this with my father’s father – my father’s mother kindly refused. My mother’s mother passed when I was only 14.

My idea of “Leaving a Legacy” was that customers would hire me (and others) to tell the story of someone important in their life. Ideally, this agreement would be made before the person passed away and I would use that time to capture interviews of their life and descriptions of their cherished belongings, along with pictures, videos, accomplishments, and memories that would be organized and presented on a permission-only website, a flash drive presented in something like a ring-box, and/or printed in a book format with inserts for video clips.)

I share the idea 30 years later, because clearly I am not going to do it, probably someone has already done it, and if not, I hope you will take it and do it! If not, maybe you do what I am doing here and share stories from your family history that are preserved online for future generations to learn about your family’s lives.