Did You Think To Ask?
Thanksgiving is in two days, and you will be visiting with different family members over the next few days or by the December holiday season.
So this is your opportunity, don’t miss it. Focus on one or a couple different relatives to ask the following – the most often forgotten questions to make the family history more complete. Be prepared before hand, write out the questions, place on paper, a notebook, your laptop, smart phone or tablet. Bring a voice recorder and see if you can the person to tell the story as your record it. 
Here are a few suggestions for good questions:
Did you ever have your name in the local newspaper – for a sports event, a prize, an award, etc.? When and did you keep the article?
What national or world event occurred over your life to date that most influenced you, changed you or affected you? Examples could be the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, school integration of the 1960s, terror strike of the NYC World Trade Center in 2001, etc.
The family car or cars – what type did your father have, did your mother drive, who taught you to drive and in what type of car?
Who was your very best friend while you were growing up. Did they live in the neighborhood, what type of things did you two do as kids?
When did the family get their first television and / or radio and / or record player / stereo? What type of programs did the family like to watch and what were your favorite ones? When did you get a color television and now great was that to have?
Which family relative influenced you most, the one you thought the world of and wished you could talk to now?
Take the time during the holidays and see what interesting stories you can discover.
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