MESSAGE FROM GOVERNOR JAMES REED CAMPBELL JR.
An interesting article appeared recently in the Wall Street Journal: “You Met Grandma at a Keg Party? The Rich Order $100,000 Memoirs for Family Only,” by Rachel Louise Ensign. It described how retirees of means are commissioning their own memoirs, hiring ghost writers to recount their lives and pass down meaningful stories and lessons to their living descendants.
Rudi Pauly, 92, and her late husband owned a Washington state fruit business that packed two million boxes of apples and cherries each year. She explained her $12,000 investment for a 185-page book that documented her family’s journey to this success, beginning with her German immigrant grandparents homesteading in Nebraska during the late 1800s: “I wanted my kids to realize the sacrifices made by the family which led to our personal lifestyle today. I think that could be so lost.”
The author described four types of providers in this rarified space. Fortunately, the readers posted comments featuring much more affordable, do-it-yourself alternatives to document one’s family history: Remento, Storyworth, and No Story Lost for printed and audio-visual memoirs, plus Snapfish, Mixbook, and Shutterfly for photo books. You are welcome to search the internet for how these providers work, along with other guides for topics and questions to help prompt your reminiscences.
Of course, we in the Mayflower society are all about family legacies! Our approved worksheets – family heirlooms essential to pass down -- document our descent from 26 of America’s first families. There is quite a lot you could infer from this documentation. For example, if an ancestor served in a military capacity, you could infer their patriotism and bravery. If an ancestor left a large estate, you could infer their industriousness and business acumen. And if ancestors stayed married for 50 years or longer, you could certainly infer their devotion and love for each other.
What is often missing is the stories these memoir commissions are looking to capture – the voices behind all this documentation. If these stories are not recorded within two generations, sadly, they are lost forever.
What kinds of untold stories do you wish your grandparents or parents had left for you? Which stories do you wish to leave to your children or grandchildren?
James (Jim) Campbell SMDPA Governor [email protected]
