My friend and I were talking about how fast the summer had flown by and she mentioned how much she used to enjoy family trips to a watermelon stand when she was a child. There were long tables spread out beside a country road and big washtubs filled with ice and watermelons. Her whole family would sit at a table and eat slices of icy cold watermelon for a nickel a slice.
I remember evening car rides through the country as my parents sought cooler air. This was of course in the days before air conditioning.
After what seemed a very long journey, my father would pull in to a drive-in ice cream store and order up cones for all of us.
What do you remember about your childhood? About hot summer nights or cold December days? About school days or summer vacations?
Have you written down a few of these memories to share with those who come after you? Family historians are always seeking that most valuable treasure Genealogy Rocks! – the story behind the documents. We want to know why they left Missouri and moved to Colorado. Or why she married a stranger who had recently come to the town. Or why she claimed to have been married once when the records clearly
show two marriages.
We spend time and money to collect records and sometimes we find a diary or journal or newspaper story that does bring some light to the subject. You, however, have lived your life and know why you shared a house with your grandmother or why your parents moved far away from their family or why there was always ice cream at the end of the journey. But you have to be the one to write that story.
Katherine Sturdevant wrote in her book, Bringing Your Family History to Life Through Social History, “No one can contribute your part of the family’s history better than you can. This should take priority even over your genealogical research. When you are gone most genealogical records will still exist—but your personal memories will be lost unless you record them.”
Carol Cooke Darrow, Certified Genealogist, is an instructor andf past president of the Colorado Genealogical Society. For more information, CGS Website and for details about free beginner and special interest genealogy classes offered at the downtown Denver Public Library.