Oral Histories Patricia Jocius I. Definition of Oral History - an oral history is the tape recording of reminiscenses about which an interviewee can speak from first-hand knowledge. Through pre-planned interviews, the information is captured in questions and answer form to achieve the following purposes: A. Bear witness of the truthfulness of God's work to one's posterity. B. A "living" heirloom for posterity & family unity. C. History gaps may be filled by getting detailed descriptions of places or people no longer available, or finding out motivations, or learning of the life and color of a community industry, or ethnic group. II. Advantages of An Oral History A. Easier - writing is hard work. Talking is pleasant. One hour of talking equals 20 double spaced pages. Instead of worrying about stylistic niceties in sentences and paragraphs, your relative can concentrate more on remembering and relating. B. Fuller - a phone call home gives a fuller account than does a letter. So with an oral history. In conversation the colorful vignettes, episodes & trivialities are told, which would not be in written accounts. An hour's writing might produce 3-4 pages; talking produces 20. C. Richer - You get a history preserved in the person's own voice, filled with his or her unique expressions, emotions, and personality. D. Rewarding - Being mailed a relative's typed history is an impersonal experience. But by recording it yourself, you are right there communicating, experiencing their personalities. Hearts are brought together, family relationships deepened, generation gaps closed. E. In conjunction with a transcript, it carries enormous impact. F. At the touch of a button, we can recall the hopes, fears, and joys other generations. III. Steps in the Interviewing Process. A. Decide the purpose - biographical history? focus on vacations? religious service and experiences? which side of family? an old- timer's distant past? an event? topic? an individual or family? a whole life or particular episodes? B. Decide the interviewee - Factors for interviewee selection include: history gaps, age, significance of life experiences, geographic proximity, and vacation opportunities. C. Contact the interviewee - jot notes on his background and his experiences. Explain the purpose, length of sessions, where the tapes would be kept and used for and if he would receive a copy. Schedule an appointment for 1 1/2 to 2 hours at a quiet location away from typewriters, children, etc. Sign the interviewee agreement form (see ** below). D. Prepare interview outline - consult family histories, life sketches, scrapbooks and photo albums, talk with close associates of the interviewee, Consult guidebooks for topic ideas. Make a list of key words and topics to discuss. Do not word questions, its sounds canned then. E. Know equipment beforehand - reel to reel recorders are more reliable, have better fidelity. Cassettes are more portable, easier to operate, less reliable. Your recorder must provide good recording quality with microphone 5' from talkers. Use good quality tape. F. Plan a formal introduction to the tape - include name of interviewer and interviewee, date, place, brief biographical background of guest and purpose of the interview. G. Set up equipment - discourage third parties. Locate recorder where you can see it but he can't. Eliminate outside noises by closing windows and doors, avoiding fans and heaters, clocks and kids. Position microphone within 3' to 5' of talkers. Never hold mike. Do not use built-in mike. Do not put mike on same table as recorder, picks up mechanical noises. Bring an extension cord (use electricity - not batteries), and extra tapes. H. Establish a rapport - by chatting about weather, etc. then play back listen to volume, then begin again,. I. Keep running notes - names, places, dates. It helps to prepare an index to the tape, permits checking of name spelling after the interview, & helps determine direction of interview so far. J. Take a break - when you turn the tape. K. Close interview - after 1 1/2 hours maximum. . Check spellings, ask if he'll lend you mementos or scrapbooks to help prepare for the next interview. L. Homework after interview -. label tape: names, date, length, speed of tape, topics. Listen to tape noting topics for next interview and need for clarifications. Punch out back of tape if cassette. After last interview, send thank you note.. M. Storage - keep at room temperature, in container, on end. For long-term preservation, copy onto 1.5 mil thick reel to reel tape. Make copies for relatives. Play and rewind every year or so. N. Transcript - this involves a lot of work but is worth it. Five hours of grandfather's history produces about 100 pages. Make a type transcript, being verbatim. Then check entire transcript against tape to correct errors. Make sentences and paragraphs. Let interviewee proof read it for accuracy of detail and spelling if names. Finally, type a neat copy. Add title page with picture of interviewee. (Picture pages can be included as well as maps and table of contents or index). Photocopy - provide copies for family. IV. Tips for Interviewers A. An interview is not a dialogue. B. Ask open-ended questions, not yes or no, but general questions calling for fairly broad answers. C. Ask one brief question at a time. D. Avoid appearing too informed. Correcting an interviewee about some information he or she has given you can be offensive. Do ask for clarification if a statement seems unclear to you. E. If the interviewee wants to get up and how pictures or documents, or wants to read something onto the tape, explain that it would be better to wait until the end and then add it, F. Don't let periods of silence fluster you. Give him time to answer fully. Don't interrupt. G. Tape is relatively inexpensive, so do not become overly worried about meanderings. Not only are these very difficult to stop without hurt feelings, but the interviewee very often has a purpose in pursuing the byway. If such get completely out of hand, they can usually be corrected by a close-ended question. H. Start with physical description of people and move into character descriptions. I. Try to establish at every important point where the interviewee was and what the date was. J. Avoid "off the record" information. Tell him you can erase it later after his further consideration. K. Do not switch recorder off and on. L. The quality of your interview depends upon your ability to dig, to get the full story, to obtain sequences and details. If necessary, use many different angles to get at elusive information. M. Very sensitive questions should be saved until towards the end of the interview, by which time the interviewee will have been able to assess and trust your genuine interest and sincerity regarding his recollections. N. Watch for signs of fatigue or needs for a drink of water or bathroom break. If the interviewee becomes tired, a second interview is worth scheduling. End at at reasonable time. O. Good interviewers do not shine; only their interviews do. V.Use for Oral Histories A. Tapes - use a family home evening. Make slide-sound history to use at family gatherings. Provide copies to family members shut in, hospitalized, blind, etc. Record all important gatherings. B. Transcripts - gifts to family members. Summaries and excerpts can be used in other family histories and biographies. Enjoyable reading as part of family library Family reference book. Fulfills our commitment to write our life history. VI.Helpful Reading A. "The Story of My Life" Sylvia Bruening, Deseret Book, SLC. A workbook for preparing and writing a personal history. B. "An Oral History Primer", Hartley, William and Shumway, Deseret Book, SLC. A small booklet discussing interviewing techniques. C. "Oral History for the Local Historical Society", Willa K. Baum. D. "One of the Most Important Days of My Life", Carol Clark - an introduction to oral history; and "Suggested Family Oral History Topics" by William Hartley- in "The New Era", November. 1973. E. "The Beginner's Guide, Tape Recording Memories", Shumway and Hartley, "The Ensign", January 1977. F. "Eleventh Annual Priesthood Genealogy Seminar Syllabus - 1976", Provo, Utah, pp. 21-27 - in some LDS Branch Libraries. VII. Sample Interviewee Agreement Form I, ---(print interviewee full name)---, hereby give and grant, ---(print interviewer full name)--- full use of this oral history interview for whatever purposes he/she may have. In return, I shall receive either a copy of the tape, or a typed copy of the interview. _____________________________________ (signature of interviewee and date) **** ************************************************************************* *** This information has been provided by ROOTS-BBS (415)-584-0697. *** *** For more public domain genealogical software, data, and queries, *** *** set your modem to 8/N/1 300 or 1200 and call ROOTS-BBS! *** ************************************************************************* This information is posted on Dynasty BBS with the permission of Brian Mavrogeorge, the System Operator of Roots Bulletin Board