A Possible Questionnaire:
1. What do you know about your family surname? Its origin? Its meaning? Did it undergo change coming from the Old Country to the United States? Are there stories about the change?
2. Are there any traditional first names, middle names or nicknames in your family? Is there a naming tradition, such as always giving the first born son the name of his paternal grandfather?
3. Can you sort out the traditions in your current family according to the branches of the larger family from which they have come? Does the overall tradition of a specific grandparent seem to be dominant?
4. What stories have come down to you about your parents? Grandparents? More distant ancestors? How have these relatives described their lives to you? What have you learned from them about their childhood, adolescence, schooling, marriage, work, religion, political activity, recreation? Are they anxious or reluctant to discuss the past? Do their memories tend to cluster about certain topics or time periods and avoid others? Are there certain things in your family history that you would like to know, but no one will tell you? Do various relatives tell the same stories in different ways? How do these versions differ?
5. Do you have a notorious or infamous character in your family’s past? Do you relish stories about him/her? Do you feel that the infamy of the ancestor may have grown as stories passed down about him/her have been elaborated? Would you like to think your ancestors were pirates even though down deep you know that they were honest, hard-working people?
6. How did your parents, grandparents, and other relatives, come to meet and marry? Are there family stories of lost love, jilted brides, unusual courtships, arranged marriages, elopements, runaway lovers?
7. Have any historical events affected your family? For example, how did your family survive the Depression? Did conflict over some national event such as the Civil War or Vietnam cause a serious break in family relationships?
8. Are there any stories in your family about how a great fortune was lost or almost (but not quite) made? Do you believe them? Are these incidents laughed about or deeply regretted? If a fortune was made, who was responsible and how was it achieved?
9. What expressions are used in your family? Did they come from specific incidents? Are there stories which explain their origin? Is a particular member of the family especially adept at creating expressions?
10. How are holidays celebrated in your family? What holidays are most important — national, religious or family? What innovations has your family made in holiday celebrations? Has your family created entirely new holidays?
11. Does your family hold reunions? How often? When? Where? Who is invited? Who comes? Who are the organizers and hosts? What occurs during the reunion? Are there traditional foods, customs, activities? Are stories and photographs exchanged ? Are records (oral, written, visual) kept? By whom?
12. Have any recipes been preserved in your family from past generations? What was their origin? How were they passed down — by word of mouth, by observation, by written recipes? Are they still in use today? When? By whom? Does grandmother’s apple pie taste as good now that it’s made by her granddaughter?
13. What other people (friends, household help, etc.) have been incorporated into your family? When? Why? Were these people given family title such as aunt or cousin? Did they participate fully in family activities?
14. Is there a family cemetery or burial plot? Who is buried with whom? Why? Who makes burial place decisions? If there are grave markers, what type of information is recorded on them?
15. Does your family have any heirlooms, objects of sentimental or monetary value that have been handed down? What are they? Are there stories connected with them? Do you know their origin and line of passage through the generations? If they pass to you, will you continue the tradition, sell the objects, or give them to museums?
16. Does your family have photo albums, scrapbooks, slides, home movies? Who created them? Whose pictures are contained in them? Whose responsibility is their upkeep? When are they displayed? To whom? Are they specially arranged and edited? Does their appearance elicit commentary? What kind? By whom? Is the showing of these images a happy occasion?
****Source — Folklife Program Office of American & Folklife Studies Smithsonian Institution
Object Stories
What story will you tell?
Object Stories run the gamut from funny and goofy to the heartbreakingly profound, and everything in between. A typical Object Stories session lasts approximately twenty minutes with produced stories edited down to around two minutes.
What should I do to prepare?
To prepare for your recording, choose your object and think about why you chose it. Ask yourself: What do I want to say about this object? What details will help my listeners understand my object or my story? Remember that good stories are ones that paint pictures for your listener. Please bring your object (or a picture of your object if it is too large) to the Museum; you and the object will be photographed in our booth. Inside the booth, you will be given a series of prompts designed to bring out your story in full detail. You will also be asked to electronically “tag” your story as well as provide a “six word story” that describes what your object means to you.
Object Story Prompts
1. Discovery
When and how did you first receive or encounter the object?
What was your first impression of it?
Who was there?
2. Meaning
Did you know it was significant from the beginning?
How did your object gain meaning?
Has its meaning changed over time?
3. Value
What does the object say about you?
What event or person taught you the importance of this object?
4. Reward
What is the best reward of owning your object?
5. Conclusion
If you had to give it to someone, who would that be and what would you say to them?
6. Description
Before we take pictures, please describe your object.
What does it look like?
What does it feel like?
What does it smell like?