Oral Histories are an excellent addition to your family's wiki tree because they create a connection between the listener hearing the story and the relative telling it in a way that a written document simply cannot. Image being able to hear your great-great grandfather's voice as he describes what it was like to step off of that ship and touch American soil for the first time...isn't that more powerful than just seeing the transport document?
Of course, if he had been able to record his own voice at that time, he probably would have thought that he didn't have anything "worth telling" that would cause much excitement to hear. After all, his life wasn't that unusual from his neighbor's! The important thing to realize about Oral Histories is that what seems trivial now is amazing to future generations. While it is an excellent idea to capture recordings of your elderly relatives now while they are with us, it is also just as important to capture the voices of youth and your own contemporary voice today. Don't think that Grandpa is the only one with a story to tell--your own grandchildren (or future grandchildren) will want to hear YOUR story just as badly.
How to do it: Here's the thing...I was going to try to do this over Thanksgiving break, but did not go home to see my relatives. Because of that, these are going to be really sketchy instructions because I have never done it myself and I do not have any audio files on my wiki...yet. But, I can give you some hints.
Recording Devices: If you have an MP3 player, it may have a "dictate" feature on it that will allow you to digitally record interviews. Many cell phones also have this feature, but there may not be as much time availability as you would like. If you have a home computer, you can record it directly to your computer because SURPRISE! most computers have built-in microphones (or you can use your web cam if you have one). If you plan on doing a lot of interviewing, you may want to purchase a digital recorder designed specifically for this kind of thing.
Why not just use a video camera? A lot of people get more nervous when they have a camera in the room and it makes it difficult for them to "open up". Also, some people do not want to be remembered for how they look--a lot of elderly people would prefer to be seen as they were when they were younger. By just recording the voice, a lot of interviewees are able to forget that they are even being recorded and they are more likely to loosen up and put a little bit of their own personality into the storytelling.
Why can't you tell us more? I'm planning on updating this page once I do some of my own family's oral histories...I'll be back to educate you after that! This page is only here right now because there may be some of you that know how to do this, but wouldn't have thought about putting it on your wiki. Since I think it is such a great idea, I wanted you to know about it!
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