Blue Skies and Apple Blossoms Available Now

New book by local author Vern Ream: Blue Skies and Apple Blossoms. Delightful stories about growing up in south-central Pennsylvania near Amish country. Available now on www.amazon.com.

Blue Skies and Apple Blossoms by Vern Ream

Here is a better image of Vern Ream's new book coming out this month. It's a delightful memoir of life on a Pennsylvania farm in a much simpler time.

Congratulations, Vern!

P. S. It will be available on Amazon.com shortly.

From a Stack of Stories to a Beautiful Book

How do you take a stack of unrelated stories spanning some twenty years and create a cohesive book?

My friend Vern approached me with just that question. He started writing after he retired and decided he wanted to write a book. With over sixty stories recalled from his childhood in Pennsylvania, he was off to a great start.

Common themes ran throughout the stories, such as faith, family, friends, the farm, fishing, the future, and food—especially food. In fact, he mentioned his mother’s roast beef dinner multiple times. Not coincidentally, those topics made natural divisions into chapters for the book, filled with celebrations of humanity, caring, hope, gratitude, endurance, and respect.

Because food played such a big part in the daily life of this young boy, I was delighted when Vern provided original recipes from his childhood.

The next task consolidated related topics into chapters and then into the individual stories. This part of the process proved both exciting and challenging. Each of the heartwarming stories was edited and revised, sliced and diced, culled and expanded, reorganized and reworked, until the book felt right. With such a large variety of story lines, it became necessary to alternate uplifting tales with sad ones, heartbreak with courage, and discouragement with hope for the future.

It was a pleasure delving into Vern’s stories and creating the book of his dreams.

6-Word Memoir Exercise

This exercise is to write a summary about your life (a.k.a., a mini-memoir) in just six words. You may want to give it a try from time to time to see what strikes you at the time. Have fun with it as you think about writing your own family stories and memoir.

I'd love to see what you come up with in the Comments below!

Here are some ideas to get you started:

Spring renews me and my soul.

Write. Revise. Rewrite. Revise again. Sigh.

Fat. Thin. Fat. Thin. Fat. Thin.

Every 20 years I reinvent myself.

I dance daily, watched or not.

I raised a United States Marine.

Former Doc now wears art smock.

Beth LaMie’s: Live. Laugh. Love. Thank God Above!

Call to action: Now try your own 6-Word Memoir in the Comments area!

Family Story Writing Tips

Ready to write your own family stories or complete memoir? Think about using some of these writing tips as you go. As always, if you have any questions, please let me know. In addition, comments are always welcome!

Basic Writing Guidelines
Every writer uses roughly the same steps. Sometimes you may be able to combine steps. But stories will make more sense if you generally follow these basic writing guidelines.
1. Brainstorming – write down a bunch of ideas.
2. Rough Draft – get your ideas down on paper.
3. Revisions – make the story flow.
4. Editing – fine-tune the story.
5. Publishing – print a copy of your story.
Repeat any or all of the above steps until you are satisfied with the story.

Story Structure
The paragraph structure you use can also make a difference in the readability of your stories. Consider following these suggestions.
1. Beginning Paragraph – introduction to the story.
• Grab your reader’s attention & make the reader want to read more.
2. Middle Paragraph(s) – details of the story.
• Describe the person or event and what you or they experienced.
3. Ending Paragraph – wrapping up the story.
• Sum up why the person or event in the story is important to you.

What’s in a story?
Writing down your family history is an excellent way to turn memories into an engaging story. To fill out your story, consider using the questions that newspapers answer in their articles:
1. Who?
• Who was involved in the story you are telling?
• Include details: When you describe who is in the story, your words come alive so your reader can imagine being right there, too.
2. What?
• What is the main event you’re describing?
• Describe what happened in a sequence that gives shape to the story: what were you (or the main characters) doing when the story began? Go through the events to paint a complete picture of what happened.
3. Where?
• Where did the event happen? Give enough details so the reader can picture the setting.
• What was the importance of the location to your story?
4. When?
• When did the story happen? Include details like what kind of cars people were driving and what clothes they wore.
• Don’t assume your readers will know what the Midwest looked like in the 1950’s (or even last Christmas). Describe it in detail. When something happened may be as important as the event itself.
5. Why?
• Why was this story important to you or the person you interviewed?
• What did you/they learn from it?
• Explain what the experience meant to you or to your subject. Did it change the way you/they looked at things?

Spice Up Your Writing
• The power of words
Think about how many memories are triggered by the five senses. You may have been on vacation and have some fond memories of the trip. But start remembering the taste of foods you ate, or the smells and sounds of the farmer’s market in the early morning, and you’ll be transported back so that every detail springs to life. Using the right words, you can make stories sound “good enough to eat.”
• Juicy words
Use juicy(!) words to make the story come alive! There is absolutely nothing wrong with using everyday adjectives like big or little. But sometimes you’ll want to stretch your imagination and come up with more stimulating words like humongous or teensy. Choose descriptive details to make them more interesting. Make each story pop for your readers. Think about the difference between a dull sentence and a juicy sentence in a book or story you like. Which would you rather read?
• Using the five senses
What do you think about when you smell the aroma of apple pie baking? Does it remind you of Grandma’s house? There are many words related to the five senses that will help you describe those memories and help your reader experience them, too. One easy way to describe things in more detail is to use the five senses for a kick-start.

Sensory words relate to your five senses (smell, taste, sight, touch and hearing) and they can be used throughout your writing. They can be very powerful when you want to describe an event in detail. Remember that you want your readers to “see” (and hear, touch, etc.) what you are telling in words.

Smells can take your readers to the heart of your story like a bloodhound to a rabbit hole. So, remember to consider your juicy words to describe what you smell. Something can smell spicy, yummy, delicious or even disgusting. Use your imagination to come up with your own words.

Taste words are used every day to entice us. When you see an ad on TV or in a magazine, they often use words that make you think something will taste good, like “ice cold watermelon.” Have you ever walked along the ocean where you can taste the salty air on your tongue? If not, can you imagine how it would taste?

Sight words are powerful tools to write a descriptive story. Use the sense of sight so people can envision or “see” what you are talking about. Use your imagination to help your reader envision being part of your story. Stories may be filled with bright colors, exotic images, minute details, and heart-stopping sunsets. Whatever the case, use sensory words to describe what you want others to see.

Touch is unique for each person. Touch words are very powerful for recalling memories and conveying them in your writing. Sense of touch words may be soothing, comforting, scratchy, welcoming or even slimy.

Hearing words allow you to use sounds and descriptions in your stories; they help your readers hear exactly what is going on. Think of the staccato slam of a door, the piercing wail of a siren and the sharp bark of a dog. Each of them describes a specific sound. Use descriptive words to sound the alarm for your readers.

Why Wait? Save Your Family Stories NOW

This was a guest post today on Simple Marriage.

Four years ago, I took some creative writing and memoir writing classes, joined the Association of Personal Historians (APH) and became a Personal Historian. As I started to get more clients, I noticed a disturbing trend: my subjects had a tendency to die.

Most of the life stories I’ve written have been about elderly people. I learned very quickly to determine the most important topics to be covered before staring any interviews, and then address them first. Obviously, none of us know just how long we’ll live, but older people most likely have less time remaining. However, we can lose anyone at any age.

By the end of my first year in business, I was becoming discouraged—not because I didn’t have enough clients, but because the majority of them had passed away. To be honest, I almost felt like the Grim Reaper. For a while, I contemplated whether this was the right field. During the interviewing and writing processes, it was easy for me to get involved with my subjects, through the good and the bad in their lives. When they died, it was heartbreakingly sad.

One of my clients died very suddenly, but peacefully, while watching her favorite television program. I had just completed the interviews and written her story; all that remained was to finish pulling in the scanned photographs. After talking to the daughter who had commissioned me, we decided to complete her mother’s story in a booklet and give it to the family members, which I did two days later.

At the wake the next day, the family made me feel that my efforts were not only worthwhile, they were greatly appreciated. Without the stories I had preserved, the children and grandchildren would never have known some of the details from the woman’s life.

I continue to write life stories for people and encourage them to write their own. The important thing is to preserve those precious family stories before they are lost forever. None of us know exactly how much time we have. Here are some suggestions to help you start saving your own family stories now, while you still can.

Record Them
When you start working on your own family stories, I do strongly recommend getting a digital recorder, which is small, unobtrusive & fairly inexpensive. Mine is a Sony ICD-P520, which is less than $50 on Amazon.com. Another nice feature is that you can use the USB to load it to your computer and create CDs. Once you have a recording, you can also transcribe it into a Word document.

Prioritize Subjects
If you want to capture stories and folklore from the elderly, I urge you to start right away. You never know when they (or perhaps just their minds) may be suddenly taken away. Whenever you get a group of people together, encourage them to talk about their experiences. If possible, record them talking, but if not, then take notes to expand later.

Writing Journal
Keep a writing journal to remind yourself of stories you want them to talk about, or events you recall yourself. Use photos & memorabilia to help them reminisce. That often has a starburst effect - one memory leads to three others and each of them to several more. It is a wonderful way to keep expanding their legacy.

Helpful Websites
Here are some of my favorite websites to help you get started. And of course, my book has some excellent ideas on how to capture your family stories.

About.com: Genealogy website has a list of 50 questions to help on interviews.
www.genealogy.about.com/cs/oralhistory/a/interview.htm

Ancestry.com: This website says, “Feel free to print and distribute” a Script for Video or Audio Interviews with Family Members. www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~lineage/famhist.htm

Bethlamie.com: My website, where you can sign up for a free monthly newsletter (via email) with tips on writing family history.
www.bethlamie.com

One Story at a Time.blogspot.com: My blog with writing suggestions and examples of family stories.
www.onestoryatatime.blogspot.com

Association of Personal Historians (APH), which offers an anthology of personal stories.
www.personalhistorians.org/

Cyndi’s List.com: More than 200,000 website links to help with genealogy and family history.
www.cyndislist.com/

Grandparents TLC.com: This site offers “Technology to Help Loving Grandparents Connect with Grandchildren!”
www.grandparentstlc.com/blog/

Smithsonian Institute: This booklet in PDF format explains how to get started with interviews, sample questions and additional resources.
www.Folklife.SI.edu/Resources/pdf/InterviewingGuide.pdf

Story of My Life.com: Free private website to easily gather all your family stories from friends and family and invite participation from around the world.
www.storyofmylife.com

However you decide to start your own family stories, please start sooner rather than later. When something happens to one of your loved ones, you’ll be glad to have a keepsake of them.

Family Stories - Will You Wait Too Long?

Four years ago, I became a Personal Historian, after taking some creative writing and memoir writing classes and joining the Association of Personal Historians (APH). As I started to get more clients, I noticed a disturbing trend: my subjects had a tendency to die.

Most of the life stories I’ve written have been about elderly people. I learned very quickly to determine the most important topics to be covered before staring any interviews, then address them first. Obviously, none of us know just how long we’ll live, but older people most likely have less time remaining. However, we can lose anyone at any age.

By the end of my first year in business, I was becoming discouraged—not because I didn’t have enough clients, but because the majority of them had passed away. To be honest, I almost felt like the Grim Reaper. For a while, I contemplated whether I was in the right field. During the interviewing and writing processes, it was easy for me to get involved with my subjects, through the good and the bad in their lives. When they died, I was terribly saddened.

One of my clients died very suddenly, but peacefully. I had just completed the interviews and written her story; all that remained was to finish pulling in the photographs I had scanned. After talking to the daughter who had commissioned me, we decided to complete her mother’s story in a booklet for the family, which I did two days later.

At the wake the next day, the family made me feel that my efforts were not only worthwhile, they were greatly appreciated. Without the stories I had preserved, the children and grandchildren would never have known some of the details from the woman’s life.

I continue to write life stories for people and encourage them to write their own. The important thing is to preserve those precious family stories before they are lost forever. None of us know exactly how much time we have. Make an effort to start saving your own family stories now, while you still can.

Are you ready to start now? Please consider coming to some of our weekly teleclasses, where we can talk about easy ways to find your own stories.

November Teleclass Schedule for Ethical Wills

CALL-IN INFORMATION:
Dial-In: 712 - 432 - 0900
Access: 197851#
Please join us on any of our calls!

Tuesday 11/08/11 8 PM ET / 7 PM CT / 5 PM PT
TOPIC: What Is an Ethical Will?

Shedd Aquarium Visit

Today was another delightful afternoon to remember along with my other family stories. My son, Jason, and his two kids, Alex and Nicholas, ages 6 and 7 respectively, met me at Shedd Aquarium in downtown Chicago. I hadn’t been there for some eighteen years or so, and it was nice to see how many new exhibits had been created.

Everyone’s favorite was the Caribbean Reef, which is an award-winning 90,000-gallon circular habitat open on all sides to allow patrons to walk around and view the huge variety of fish, including gigantic tarpons, Moray eels, parrotfish, sting rays, manta rays, and many more I don’t know the names of.

At the appointed hour, a docent named Lee arrived and asked the surrounding crowd to step back “five giant steps” to outside the blue circle marked on the floor so everyone could see clearly. Amazingly, everyone complied, which was a pleasant surprise, and we had ideal seats for the entire show.

A diver named Brooks entered the water to feed the sea creatures and interact with them. He stroked the manta rays and turtles as they calmly approached to feed from his hand. Another pleasant surprise was that Lee fielded questions from the crowd and relayed them to Brooks for a response.

Alex, my granddaughter, asked if they remove the stingers from the sting rays. The answer is no, they don’t. However, Brooks said the one ray swimming around without a tail was due to a fish that liked to nibble on its tail, until the tail was finally gone.

Brooks talked about the big green sea turtle named Nickel. He was injured by the motor on a boat and brought to special veterinarians for repair. Severely damaged hind flippers meant he’ll never be released back into the wild, but he’ll always have a good home at Shedd. How did he come by his name? When the doctors took x-rays, they found something stuck in his throat: they removed an old 1975 nickel, so that’s what they called him.

Nicholas liked a huge old lungfish called Granddad. He had black spots all over his long body. According to the Shedd website, “Granddad has lived longer than any fish in any aquarium in the world.” He came from Australia as a mature adult to Shedd for the World’s Fair in 1933!

Some of the other animals we saw were fogs, jellyfish or “jellies”, dolphins, sea otters, penguins, and small turtles.

We all had fun while we learned something new about the sea life all around us. This is one place we’ll need to visit again. There was too much to see in one day, plus the exhibits change on a regular basis.

Have you been to an aquarium recently? If so, what did you like best?

APH Annual Conference Oct. 16-20

Interested in Personal Histories? Here is the event for you:

Links:

Association of Personal Historians (APH)

APH 2011 Annual Conference

Writing Guidelines for Family Stories & Ethical Wills

Whether you are writing your family stories or your ethical will, sometimes it is hard to get started. Here's something that might help when you are stuck.

Do you remember when you made a toy house with wooden building blocks? If so, then you know you start with the floor, then the walls and then the roof. Building a biography or autobiography is kind of the same. You just start with a few simple writing guidelines and paragraph structure to create the story.

Every writer uses roughly the same steps. Sometimes you may be able to combine steps together. But stories will make more sense if you generally follow these basic writing guidelines.

1. Brainstorming – write down a bunch of ideas.
• Don’t judge if ideas are good or bad, just write them.
• Get more ideas by talking to other people.
• One idea leads to another until you get an idea you like.
2. Rough Draft – get your ideas down on paper.
• Don’t worry about grammar, spelling or punctuation.
• Write down your ideas as fast as you can.
• If one thought takes you in another direction, go with it.
3. Revisions – make the story flow.
• Make sure each paragraph has a beginning, a middle and an ending.
• Does the first paragraph make a nice lead into the rest of the story?
• Are the paragraphs in sequence?
• Is it interesting? Does it make sense to the reader?
4. Editing – fine-tune the story.
• Clean up any grammar, spelling and punctuation problems.
• Add some pictures or your own drawings, if you like.
• Read the story to someone else to get more ideas.
5. Publishing – print a copy of your story.
• Print by computer or write it neatly by hand.
• Read it to yourself or to a few people.
• Listen to any feedback.

Repeat any or all of the above steps until you like the story.

When you first start writing your family stories, using the above steps in order will help you stay on track. If you find one of the steps too difficult, then think about going back a step to revise what you have done so far.

At some point when you write a story, you may be able to start with brainstorming and move right through each of the first four steps. Almost all writers need to revise their work until they get it just right. It takes some hard work to make your story as good as you can, but having a story people want to read makes it all worthwhile.

The important thing is that you can revise, edit, modify and perfect anything you write. After some time, you may want to pick up the thread of a given story and use it in other ways and other places. As the writer, you always have those options. The story belongs to you to discard or resurrect as you see fit.

Have fun writing all your wonderful stories! Which are your favorites?

Heaven Is For Real

This news article from Denver Channel 2 news from Feb 10 is Amazing! It has also been on other stations and programs. The nice thing is this link has a transcription as well as audio & video.

Heaven Is for Real is a great book about a young boy's near-death experience and how his Dad helped spread his story.

http://www.kwgn.com/news/kdvr-after-neardeath-experience-boy-writes-book-heaven-is-real-20110210,0,4074308.story
www.kwgn.com
IMPERIAL, Neb. -- It sounds like a story dreamed up by a little boy, but to understand what Colton Burpo says, you have to hear what he says happened to him. ..

Ethical Wills - Love Letters to Your Family

This article appeared on www.simplemarriage.net on 02/22/2011
An Ethical Will is a simple way to share what is important to you with your family and friends. In fact, it can be a legacy of love and a spiritual gift for your loved ones to remember you by. Many people think about writing an Ethical Will when they are nearing the end of their life. In reality, such wills should ideally be an ongoing practice.

Think about what you wish you knew about your parents, grandparents, and other ancestors. For example, why did they uproot their lives to emigrate from one country to another, such as the original Pilgrims; or from one area of a country to another, such as the pioneers who endured hardships to settle the West in the United States? What personal experiences had the greatest impact on their lives? Those are the types of things about yourself that you can share with your own descendants and friends.

If you knew ahead of time when your life was going to end, what words of wisdom and comfort would you want to leave for your family?

You may have a Last Will and Testament for the legal allocation of your accumulated possessions, as well as a Living Will with instructions for handling medical concerns, but an Ethical Will gives your family a better understanding of who you are, what is important to you, and what you hope to pass on to them.

Consider starting an Ethical Will as soon as possible, regardless of your age.

Update it regularly after, or in preparation for, major milestones, such as graduations, marriage and divorce, births and deaths, personal achievements and disasters. Reviewing each version can show how much you have changed and grown over the years.

One of the most rewarding writing workshops I’ve done was for a group of high school seniors at an inner city school in Dublin, Ireland.

When we talked about Personal Values, they readily opened up about what was important to them, how they had learned them, and from whom. Some students were normally quite reticent about sharing their thoughts or participating in classroom discussions; fortunately, this topic struck a chord with them and helped them open up.

There are no hard and fast rules for the content of an Ethical Will, but usually they consist of some or all of the following elements:

1.Greetings
2.Your History – Past & Present
3.Personal Values
4.Lessons from Life Experiences
5.Hopes for the Future
6.Final Thoughts

The specific format of your Ethical Will is insignificant compared to the priceless legacy you leave. Whether you choose to write it or record it electronically, you have several options.

1.The oldest method, used for some 3500 years by the Jewish community, is to write it on paper; now it is easy to enter it into one of many word processors on a computer.
2.Other options are to create an audio recording, perhaps reading one’s own Ethical Will aloud, or using a camcorder to capture not only the person’s voice, but their image as well.
3.Artistic people may prefer to take a less traditional path to create an expression of who they are. They may enjoy painting, weaving, writing poetry, scrapbooking, photography, or a vast variety of other media.

Long-term storage is important to consider, regardless of the recording method used. For example:

1.Electronic data storage is continually evolving. Media used years ago, such as floppy disks or 8-track tapes, have not only deteriorated, they cannot easily be heard now due to the rarity of equipment. Here is an interesting website that lists all the retro medias that have become obsolete, courtesy of the University At Buffalo Libraries.
2.Photographs and papers can last over 100 years, depending on storage. Hard drives last 5-8 years at best. If you write or print your Ethical Will, make certain you use archival paper; in addition, store it in a safe place away from heat, light, and humidity.
3.Keep a copy of your Ethical Will at home as a personal reminder of who you are and what you have accomplished. It can be uplifting on those days when you need a little lift.

When to share your Ethical Will with your family and friends is another consideration.

1.Ideally, the sooner an Ethical Will is shared with loved ones, the better. Doing so can be an excellent opportunity to grow closer to the people who matter most. It can also establish a line of communication that might otherwise not be possible.
2.Many people prefer to save their Ethical Will until after they have passed away. They may choose to have it read at their wake, funeral, or memorial service. In this case, it is especially important that the Ethical Will be given to a specific person who is charged with its dissemination at a designated time.
3.Review your Ethical Will regularly, such as every five years. Think of it as a work in progress, rather than a one-time occurrence. It is interesting to see how your values and advice for others may have changed over the years.

There are many excellent sources for more details about writing your Ethical Will, including the Association of Personal Historians (APH) and Barry Baines, M.D.

In addition, we will discuss in a future column how to get started on your own Ethical Will.

Have you considered writing an Ethical Will? If so, what are your thoughts and concerns about them? We love to get you input and feedback!

(photo source: www.flickr.com/photos/spaceamoeba/)

Preaching to the Choir

Mommy's Piggy Tales Week 4
Age 7, 2nd Grade

The whole first year of school, I sat in rapt attention listening to the dulcet tones of our school’s children’s choir. They sang at High Mass each Sunday, while I ate my heart out because I was too young to join. It wasn’t fair!

Imagine here that I am stomping my little feet (clad in Mary Jane shoes) in protest.

Although no one in my family had more than rudimentary skills with any musical instruments, we did enjoy singing. In fact, I remember from an early age how my sisters and I sang in two- and three-part harmonies. Perhaps we saw ourselves as the next Lennon Sisters from the old Lawrence Welk Show (1955 to 1968) – you know, Dianne, Peggy, Kathy & Janet. Personally, I identified most closely with Janet, who was less than a year older than me.

Having three older sisters participating in choir meant they often practiced singing at home, everything from pop songs to nursery rounds to hymnals. Sometimes they even let me sing along with them, but of course the Latin verses in some of the songs were much too difficult for me to learn. Regardless, I loved the experience and the closeness with my sisses.

On Sundays, our family arrived at Church early so the girls had plenty of time to get settled into the choir loft, which was in the front of the Church to the side of the main altar. A full set of risers elevated the choir so that everyone could “keep their eyes on” the choir director, who was a nun. An open divider, rather like a wrought iron trellis, separated the choral group from the rest of the congregation.

I recall one particular Sunday when I was again complaining about not being allowed to join the choir yet. After all, I knew the songs as well as they did; in fact, even better. Anyway, during Mass that day, my next-older sister made a point of walking nonchalantly along the trellis, looking directly at me and sticking her tongue! Naturally, I yelped out a “Mo-o-om,” in protest, but of course by then my adversary had moved on and I was shushed.

Again, I am stomping my little feet in frustration.

The big day finally arrived for me! Starting second grade, I was now old enough to join the children’s choir. It was a joyous experience for me. There was only thing that could have made it better: I dreamed of wearing a long, flowing robe like the ones I saw on television.

As it turned out, I never had the chance to wear any robes in all the different choral groups I belonged to. In fact, in college, I joined one chorus in part because of the gorgeous red robes they traditionally wore. My bad luck was that year they decided to break from tradition and go with street clothes instead.

You know what’s coming here: me stomping my little feet with no beautiful robe to flutter in the wind.

Over the years, our choir group became quite proficient with complex vocal arrangements, Latin pronunciations included. I loved the ethereal feeling of being part of a much higher calling, especially when I got to stand on the highest tier of the risers. We just had to be very careful not to topple off backwards. Fortunately, that only happened to me once, during the most sacred part of the Mass, naturally.

When it came time in the Mass for the Homily or sermon, half of the choir stepped down off the risers and quietly walked into the adjacent hallway to sit on the stair steps. It was drafty in the hall, so we all secretly prayed the priest would not be long-winded with his sermon that day.

I adored the choir leader and reveled in the knowledge that she combined our young voices to create such beautiful music. Even better, I recall the thrill of being recognized for having a good voice. I know, we were supposed to be modest about our talents, but sometimes you just have to savor that recognition.

Here is me, stomping my big feet and clapping my hands in appreciation of all the hard-working choir directors in our world. Kudos to all of them!

For ideas on how to start writing your own family stories, 1) sign up for my Newsletter at www.bethlamie.com and 2) check my website for upcoming free teleclasses held each month.

As a Personal Historian, my goal is to help people save their heritage before it is lost forever. What is your favorite story?

Biography Writing in Scotland

Today's post is one of the lovely stories from my Biography Writing Workshop in Scotland. The students all did a very nice job of interviewing someone, writing their story and reading aloud it to the class. This story is from Marcela M.

The Life Story of My Granny M

Ester M known as Granny M to the family was born on the 13th March 1926. She lived in a small flat in a town in Scotland. In the flat there was a kitchen, 2 bedrooms, a bathroom, a scullery and a parlour. She lived with her Mum, Dad, her 2 older brothers Charles and Alistair and her 2 older sisters Isabel and Margaret. Gran was the youngest child in her family. There were 7 of them in one small flat and there were only 2 bedrooms. So Isabel and Gran slept in the kitchen. Charles, Alistair and Margaret slept in one of the bedrooms and her Mum and Dad slept in the other bedroom.

Her house chores were to wash and dry the dishes and dusting which she despised so much. She worked really quite hard and her weekly allowance was 1-2 pennies and she used it for sweets the way we do nowadays. Alistair was teased by Gran even though Alistair was older than Gran. She didn’t have any nicknames and didn’t ask many questions. She wishes she had asked more questions instead of just watching people talking and acting all shy. Gran’s only ever pet was a small budgie. Her favourite food was sweets like a lot of people. Gran really liked playing outside on clear sunny days with her best friends Kathy and Irene who were also her neighbours. Gran lived in the flat in the middle of the close. On one side of her house lived Irene’s family and on the other side was Kathy’s family. Her proudest moment before she was 18 was joining the Land Army.

Gran really disliked school. She cried for a whole weekend and refused to go to school. Her Mum eventually told her she had to go to school to learn and to become educated. Although she didn’t like school she had favourite subjects which were Poetry, Reading and Spelling. Gran said that her school day went by really fast and also went really well. Gran and her brothers and sisters walked to and from school. The Primary was a 5 minute walk away from her house and the Secondary was just across the road, but she said she was still rushing at the last minute. There were around 40 students in one of her classes. Gran was in the same class as her two best friends Kathy Barclay and Irene Heart. They met when they were all around the age of 3. During playtime Gran, Kathy and Irene played Pever, Skipping, Beds and played with YoYo’s.

When Gran grew up she wanted to be a Vet but said to me that she didn’t have the brains to become one so didn't. After school she worked with Mitchell's and at 17 joined the Land Army. At the weekend she and her friends went swimming. Gran took piano lessons and after she was used to playing the piano she also started swimming lessons. Gran’s family didn’t have a lot of money and didn’t have a radio so Gran rarely heard anything on a radio. Robert Burns’ songs and poems were quite popular then and She really liked them.

Gran saw her first television in the late 1960’s. The Sound of Music and Mamma Mia are Gran's favourite movies. She saw them in a picture house with her daughter Jan who is my Auntie. Gran and her dad entered sailing races in a very small yacht. The yacht was so small that there was no room for seats so you had to stand. The only other thing Gran remembers doing with Kathy and Irene was going out for a bike ride or going for messages on her bike.

Gran and her family didn’t do much celebrating or hosting any small parties. She said that on her birthday she didn’t get anything special and it seemed like any other normal day. Now Gran receives cards, presents, yummy chocolates, perfume and clothes. Sometimes she goes out for dinner with some of the family. The first family wedding Gran attended was at the Bath Hotel in Glasgow. There were around 50-70 family members or friends that were there. There were 2 food tables but the food was very plain not all fancy like what there are at some weddings. The wedding cake wasn’t all big and fancy with all these decorations, it was a small plainish type of cake.

For their holidays they went to Arran in July, for Christmas they went to spend time with their family they didn’t see much and for New Year the family they saw at Christmas came to their house for a big family dinner. All the children were told to go into the parlour and wait until the adults had finished eating. Gran said that if the table was messy before they ate they still were given the blame and were still told to clean it up.

Once Gran was married she went abroad quite a lot and sometimes went away herself. In the 1990’s she went on a lot of lovely sunny cruises with Grandpa. Now if Gran goes abroad she goes with my Auntie Jan but it’s usually just bus tours now to different places. Sometimes Gran goes to watch the bowling since she used to play bowling herself. Gran's proudest achievement in her adult life was having a happy healthy family and seeing how they have grown since they were tiny little babies. The one other special occasion was her Golden Wedding which is 50 years of marriage. WOW! Gran has been married a very, very long time.

Gran’s most important values are her Family, Faith and Friendship. Gran learned these values from her Mum and Dad. She wants to see manners, respect, kindness and fairness from other people she meets in the streets or in shops. Gran treats people with kindness, respect and care because whoever she treats like that she wants to be treated like that as well.

I hadn’t realised that Gran worked so hard during her younger years and lived really near her school. How she put up with sleeping in the kitchen and sharing her bed space with her older sister Isabel I have no idea but I know I couldn’t share a bed or a room with Elena or Ronnie. Now that’s a FACT! You might think that 1-2 pennies isn’t that much money but that was quite a lot of money 80 odd years ago.

I find my Granny M’s life story really interesting because I didn’t know much about her life so now my knowledge on her has become much better. I play tig or football at my breaks whereas Gran and her friends played Pever, Skipping or Beds. When she explained the rules of these games to me they sounded really quite fun. I’ve learned a lot more about my Granny M’s life than I knew before. Some of it is quite funny, some is interesting and some is a little different from what I thought it would be. If I was given the chance to try Pever or Beds I probably would. The things she did for fun are really different from what I do in and out of school.

I have thoroughly enjoyed myself finding out more about my Gran and her family since she knows all about mine. I also liked finding out about how small her house was compared to the size of mine or yours, and how school hasn’t changed that much. The subjects that Gran had, we have today here at our school. The one thing that has changed and I’m glad it’s changed is that if we are bad we have our name on the chart, we are moved or we are given a purple card and stay in for lunch. If Gran was bad or someone in her class was bad they were told to go out to the front of the class and were hit with the belt or the cane. I’m so happy that we aren’t hit with the belt or the cane.

Writing this biography has been really interesting and made me think how hard it was for Gran and her family then. No wonder Gran couldn’t remember some of the things in her life when she was young because there is so much to know about her. By Marcela M

Stories from a 5-year-old

It looks like our family may have a young personal-historian-in-training! My grandson is only 5, but he captured his own thoughts and actually wrote them down. In fairness to his Dad, I do have to say his story may be just a wee bit exaggerated, for effect, I'm sure.

In case you can't read the original, I will take the liberty to interpret it for you here:
[sic] sum tems my dad dzit let me hav iscrm. My dad dz not evr let me hav pop mountain dew. I see my dad laying down.

So the question for you is this: If a 5-year-old can write a story, what's your excuse?

For help getting started today with your own stories, sign up for my free monthly newsletter at www.bethlamie.com.

Start Your Stories

Are you having a problem getting started with your own family stories? You may have very good intentions, but not know exactly how to proceed. Every month, I offer FREE teleclasses on just that topic.

In case you aren't aware, a teleclass is a class that is taught over a telephone. People call into a specific phone number at a set time and enter an Access Code followed by a "#". In my case, the Call-in number is 308-344-6400, Access Code 300645#. Normal long-distance charges will apply, but there is no cost for the actual class.

If you would like to attend, but the day or time is not convenient, please let me know. I am open to adding more teleclasses to fit a variety of schedules. My goal is to encourage people to capture their family stories before it is too late.

Everyone has a story to tell. What is yours?

Interview on Children Author Show

You can listen to a fun interview about my book. Now Playing at www.TheChildrenAuthorsShow.com : Interview with Beth LaMie about Grannys Guide To Fun and Fabulous Family Stories.

One of the surreal aspects was that usually I do the interviewing, so this was a rather unusual experience for me. Don McCauley of the Author Show was very pleasant during the interview and easy to converse with.

My hope is that more people will hear about my book, website, newsletter and blog. It is very exciting when someone contacts me about my work.

SO the question is, "What is your most vivid memory about growing up?" Feel free to comment below and have fun saving your family stories.

Tales of Home and Family

As you know by now, I cherish family stories and the memories they preserve. Today I received great news. I will be one of the contributors on the Simple Marriage Team, covering topics related to Home and Family. How's that for a good fit? I am really excited and my first column will appear on Wednesday, January 13 at www.simplemarriage.net.

When I was a kid growing up in rural Illinois, I used to love to sit quietly and listen to the adults tell stories. There were no epic tales of heroism, but they taught me about my own family heritage. Those are the stories that I wish someone had recorded for our family.

Since that didn't happen, my goal is to help other people save some of their own precious family stories before they are lost forever. My book (Granny's Guide to Fun & Fabulous Family Stories) offers a whole series of writing exercises to help you get started. It is available for $18.95 plus shipping on my website, www.bethlamie.com.

In addition, I offer free teleclasses twice a month that show you how to capture your stories. To find out the details for the calls, please sign up for my newsletter on my website.

Start the New Year off right and plan to start on your own stories!

Kankakee Author Signing

By becoming a devotee of Barbara Sher (www.barbarasher.com) and following her excellent advice during her fabulous WriteSpeak program, I am pleased to announce my 3rd Author Signing for the book I completed this spring! Here are the details, just in case you know anyone in the Kankakee, IL, area.

Author Signing
Saturday, Oct. 24, 1-3 PM CDT
at Love Christian Center Bookstore
249 S Schuyler Ave.
Kankakee, IL 60901

My book is Granny's Guide to Fun & Fabulous Family Stories and shows everyone how to capture THEIR OWN family stories (or to interview their elders and involve kids as young as 8) and to have FUN doing it. For more information about the book and suggestions on how to get started with your own stories, please see my website below.

How to become a Personal Historian

Have you ever wondered how you can become a Personal Historian? Here is a quick explanation for you: http://tinyurl.com/yelbsu7 in Wiki. There is also a wealth of excellent information on the website for APH - the Association of Personal Historians: http://www.personalhistorians.org/, of which I am a member.

The important thing is to start writing. And who better for your first client than yourself or someone you already know? You'll be amazed at how much more you will learn about yourself and them.