Right before Christmas, my family drove to Destin for a little getaway. My wife and I packed our swimsuits, towels, shorts, sandals, buckets, chairs, and a few extra clothes and made the trek to the little beach house my mother-in-law rented for our group. The weather was warm, not too humid, and the crowds were nonexistent.
We spent most of our time that week strolling the beach under the full moon, sitting in the hot tub, going on dolphin watching cruises in the gulf, and even swimming in the mid-December surf. We made memories with the family. Cousins played with cousins. Sisters shopped with sisters. And me? Well, I read a book. That’s what beaches are for, right? Beach reading?
Okay. Okay. I didn’t always read. Nope. One morning towards the end of our stay, I found myself at the beach house with Grandma—my wife’s mom. That morning, I kind of coerced her to sit down with me for an oral history interview. Family history style. The audio turned out perfectly and I was excited to hear stories of her parents, grandparents, and other tales from her childhood. I let her talk until the rest of the family broke up the interview when they came home for lunch.
Shortly after my chat with Grandma we came home. It’s then I decided to transcribe the interview and attach some documents pertaining to the folks she mentioned. Let me say this about my project—I fell straight down the genealogical rabbit hole. Like magic, I was no longer in our world but had hopped straight through the proverbial looking glass.
My hunt for documentation concerning the people, places, and other ideas Grandma mentioned led me to find stories the family (specifically my wife and mother-in-law) didn’t know. Some of these stories are tales straight out of a Zane Grey or Louis L’Amour novel. Others are of the romantic variety. (I hope to write a few of these stories down someday soon. Unfortunately I don't have time to tell them to you today.)
Either way, everyone has been so excited to hear the news about what I found and to make connections with those who’re no longer here. Most exciting to me was when my wife started sending me articles on aspects of the oral history interview she found fascinating.
In our time together, I’m not sure I ever remember my wife doing any kind of genealogy research on her own. But this time, after hearing her mom’s stories, she was interested to know more and went on a hunt. These experiences, our research, have led to great conversations with our children when we told them what we found. I do hope they catch the genealogy bug too. Either way, there are still more stories to discover, more memories to share, and more interviews to conduct. There are even more memories to make like those we made with the rest of the family in Destin.
Overall, that one interview with Grandma has led to several rewarding experiences for me. And none of it would have happened had I not interviewed her. It’s safe to say I can’t wait for the chance to interview her again. When I do, I’ll be sure to chat with other family members as well. So please, take this as a reminder to interview (and record) your family members. Spend some time picking their brains, listening to their memories, and enjoying the moment. Then afterwards you’ll research those stories and use them as a jumping off place for your hunt. Because trust me. Those interviews are where the magic happens.