June 20 - And The Guest Author Is . . .

FAMILY STORIES ~ EVERYONE HAS THEM!

SUSAN KITCHENS

Family Oral History - Using Digital Tools

They tell where you come from. They hold secrets to who you are. This applies to both a family oral history and our cherished family photographs. How do you use those family photographs to elicit the very best from the subject of your oral history!

The person to answer that question is Susan A. Kitchens of Family Oral History - Using Digital Tools. Susan got into recording family oral histories by talking to her grandfather when he was 99 years old. She interviewed and recorded her grandfather, made the recordings into Audio CDs, then had the CDs transcribed; all done in time to celebrate her Grandfather’s 100th birthday. A project to be truly proud of, Susan.

Susan didn't stop there, she read, she research, she attended lectures and workshops, and has become the "Go To" resource for all things related to Oral Histories. Last year Alex Kingsbury's article Making History, “From World War II soldiers to the survivors of Hurricane Katrina, more people are sharing their own memories to bring the past back to life,” in US News mentioned Susan and her site. I got my copy and I hope to have Susan autograph it one day.

Susan describes herself as:

. . . a designer (print and web), writer and do-er of new media deeds. I’ve written how-to books for using graphic and multimedia software (I won a Computer Press Award for one of them, wOOt!). And I’m delving into the stories of some remarkable individuals who grew up at the beginning of the 20th century—I just so happen to be related to them.

Personally, the thing that draws me to Susan is her enthusiasm, love of life, love of history, and willingness to share what she has learned about Oral History with us all. Shades is very fortunate to have Susan discuss the importance of photographs to an oral history in Friday From The Collectors - June 20.

See you then!