The average life expectancy in the United States  was 47.

Only 14 % of the homes in the United States  had a bathtub.

Only 8 percent of the homes had a telephone.

A  3 minute call from Denver to New York City  cost .00

There were only 8,000 cars in the US and only  144 miles of paved roads.

The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph.

Alabama, Mississippi, Iowa, and Tennessee were each

more heavily populated than California.

With  a mere 1.4 million residents, California was

only  the twenty-first most populous state in the Union.

The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel  Tower.

The average wage in the U.S. was 22  cents an hour.

The average U.S. worker made between and per year.

A competent accountant could expect to earn  per year
a dentist per year

 a  veterinarian between and per year

a mechanical engineer about per year.

More than 95 percent of all births in the United  States took place at home.

Ninety percent of all U.S. physicians had no college

education. Instead, they attended medical  schools,

many of which were condemned in the  press and by the

 government as "substandard."

Sugar cost 4cents a pound.

Eggs were  14 cents a dozen.

Coffee cost 15 cents a pound.

Most women only washed their hair once a  month and

 used borax or egg yolks for shampoo.

The five leading causes of death in the U.S. were:

1. Pneumonia and influenza                 

                        2. Tuberculosis

3. Diarrhea                       

                        4. Heart disease                       

                        5. Stroke

HOW MANY CHANGES HAVE YOU SEEN IN YOUR LIFETIME?

COLLECTING ORAL HISTORIES

AND /OR

CREATE FAMILY TREES

RESOURCES:
FAMILY BIBLES
OBITUARIES
IMPORTANT FAMILY DOCUMENTS:
MARRIAGE CERTIFICATES
BIRTH CERTIFICATES
DEATH CERTIFICATES
BURIAL RECORDS
MILITARY DISCHARGE RECORDS
NEWS PAPER CLIPPINGS
PHOTOGRAPHS
MEDICAL RECORDS
FAMILY RESOURCE BOOKS
CENSUS RECORDS
RESEARCH INTERNET SITES
LIBRARIES
RECORD ON YOUR CHOICE:
TAPE/VIDEO /SPIRAL NOTE BOOK/COMPUTER
LISTEN
READ
 ASK QUESTIONS

My memories are those of the common everyday person, forgettable even. And that's the problem . . . they've be forgotten or taken for granted by everyone who experienced similar happenings. If we don't remember where we've been, how can we plan where we're going?

If we take for granted all that we have, how will we dream?

In this day of instant everything, in this day of hand held computers, laptops, portable printers with your choice of paper textures and colors, who remembers when it took 2 people to enter data into a room size machine and waited an entire day for the machine to process output on a continuous sheet of white paper?.

Instead of life-sized images in living color, what about a bulky black and white TV where the only color was a taped on plastic sheet that was green on the bottom and blue on the top and the screen was only 5 or maybe a gigantic 9 inches wide?

In this day of one hundred dollar entertainment tickets featuring one or two acts, how many of our children would believe seeing an entire live stage show with five or six acts and a movie, for one dollar or even, a quarter?

My generation has seen some of the greatest advances in the shortest amount of time. From vendors with horse drawn wagons to rockets circling the universe. Dick Tracy watches to affordable wrist cameras. Rectangular phones in booths with circular dials to pocket sized, hands-free, communication devices that give time, temperature biorhythm advice, messages, wake you up and vibrate to let you know someone is trying to reach you.

In this day of brand names like Nike and Adias, who remembers Buster Brown, Keds and PF Flyers? Fifteen cent McDonald hamburgers, White Castle burgers, 12 for a dollar. 3 cent newspapers, 5 dollar dresses and twenty-five cents for a gallon of gas?

When there are VCRs, and Gameboys, who remembers when you entertained yourself with a book, or played a game of Parchessi? There was an innocence of the time where women and seniors were respected, all gone in this age of gangster rap, violence and blatant sex splashed across the screen. My generation was the last one to see class and elegance on a regular basis, not an accident. It wasn't all that long ago and yet it's forgotten by all but a few.

For the last couple of years of my grandfather's life, I would drive around Chicago taking a different route each trip, whenever possible. Gramps would point to a vacant lot or a building and say things like "I had a gal used to live over there, wonder what happened to her?" , and I'd ask how long ago was that? "Oh about 40, 45 years ago", he'd reply. I laughed then but now it seems like a pretty good place to start, oh about 40, 45 years ago. For my child and her children, that they might have a scale to judge my, and their, accomplishments, successes and failures, I decided to record my story, and you can do the same. All it takes is a spiral notebook, tape recorder or computer and time.


Start off with the time period or a subject that you wish to cover. I chose my childhood. Maybe you'll choose memories of vacations, changes in prices, or special events. Don't rush. Write, put the book aside if you wish, then as you recall new memories, record them. This is a project that came be done by one, parents for their children or it can be a group project. It can be a separate document or it can be part of a family history book.

Family tree creation is much the same, except you involve the memories and records of others. The first thing to decide is who is going to be responsible for being the family historian(s). The next is the item is to enlist the help of your family. It really is a joint venture. Everyone needs to search their memories, their closets, and attics for documents to fill in the blanks and stories to color you're your family's history. Later, you can expand your search to the internet, the public library, census records, microfiche, social security, and other federal records. Vacations can be planned around visits to cities, homesteads and cemeteries of ancestors. Researching and creating the family histories are good research projects for children, teaching them Internet skills, research skills, history, geography, world events and family heritage.


Your most valuable assets are the senior members of the family. Ask to see the family bibles, collections of obituaries, family papers. Interview them or just listen while the older members of the family tell their stories: who they are, what they have accomplished, who their parents, siblings, grandparents were. Ask them to go back as far as they can. It helps to have a tape or video recorder, but if you can take good notes, do so. I have found that if you can get 2 or more members of the family together and just let them talk while you record and make notes works.

Go back at the end and ask them to answer questions that may have come up, such as the legal or real name for a relative that they only mention by nickname. It's amazing how many relatives are known only by nicknames (Junior, Cousin Dit, Aunt Sis, Sonny are some of the names in my family).

If you have a computer, select a good software program and start entering. If not, find a professional to compile and edit your records. This will be an ongoing process. Remember, people are born, marry and die all the time. The book is never really finished.

Family histories, oral story collections, recipes, family event calendars, and pictures, all make great wedding gifts, birthday presents, family reunion memorabilia, holiday gifts, and heirlooms to pass on to your children.

Whatever you choose, start today and good luck!