Oral History Service

Oral History Service

               Powerlessness and silence go together. – Margaret Atwood

               Memory is the sacred duty of all people of goodwill. – Ely Wiesel

               Without memory, there is no healing. – Bishop Tutu

                                                                                 
These oral stories transcribed in the words of the storyteller preserve the unique legacy of family history. With active listening, and tea and cookies, Diane elicits the stories with as much detail as possible. The person telling the stories, probably an elder in the family – although this kind of record can be left at any age – is in complete control of what is recorded.

The first oral history she did was her father’s, in the early ’80s. She had grown up hearing the stories of his youth at meal times, accompanied by uproarious laughter. She never knew her grandparents on her father’s side because her dad’s mother died when he was still a toddler, and his father died when her dad was 16. So, these stories connected her to the mysterious generation before her father, as well as to the early years of her own father. She knew the stories… sort of. They were fuzzily embedded in the background of family life as she was  growing up. But they lost something when she tried to remember them, or retell them. They lost a lot of content, and more importantly, they lost her father’s spirit. She decided to do a series of half-hour phone interviews with her dad. She held the receiver in one hand, and jotted down things with the other. When she jogged his memory, he would launch into one of his incomparable stories, both laughing as much as when they were first told years ago. Off the phone, she would write the story in its entirety. Her father passed away ten years ago, and these stories are now priceless. They retreive him for her. And for the grandchildren, and even those as yet unborn.

Since then, Diane has been honoured to hear and complete many life stories, taping and transcribing the words of the story teller. Sometimes this involves research and ghost writing. The anecdotes are compiled and put into book or booklet form – as many copies as desired.

Call Diane Taylor 905-885-9709 or email at dtaylor@eagle.ca