I Remember

Fred Quattrone, 2nd generation from Pellaro, Reggio Calabria, Italy, discusses where his love of family--past and present--came from, and the implications today of keeping the extended family alive and together.  

Heather Wylie writes on her family genealogy website An Unexpected Discovery, "My interest in family history really began with my grandmother. I came to a moment in my life when I realized that my grandmother - a woman who loved me unconditionally and was a MAJOR part of my childhood - was going to die. With that realization, I decided to do something that I had never done before: I recorded my grandmother before she passed." On this podcast, Heather shares a bit about getting into researching family history and then gives us detailed look at her paternal great-grandfather, Ezra Frantz, who made a life for himself as an inventor at the turn of the century.  

Gary traces his family roots all the way back to 1600s and a Puritan minister, through the Civil War where his great-great grandfather survived through the help of a double-identity, and up through his own childhood where he spent many days on the small Iowa farm where his grandparents raised his father.

While I am not a member of Rita's family, I still connected many times with her stories. Early in the podcast, holding back tears, she shared the importance of a library card and reading books in her childhood. I remembered my own experiences walking to the neighborhood library on Broad Street. I remembered our elderly Italian cousin reading library books in large print because her eyesight was failing. The books were also in Italian because English had always escaped her grasp.   Writers know that one of the best prewriting activities available is simply turning and talking to another person. Some writers rely on speaking to someone to help draw their ideas out. It is amazing what we can dredge up simply by talking. Even though I interviewed Rita for an hour, I know that we only scratched the surface. I hope Rita continues to dig and search and write...and maybe even record herself and her family memories.

Aram Kabodian is a writer and teacher of Armenian descent and he currently lives in Michigan. In this podcast, Aram shares how his grandparents, orphaned by the Armenian Massacre, came to this country. Aram speaks about language and culture, tradition and lessons learned. Aram, like many who I come into contact with regarding this podcast project, suggested that he didn't know a lot about the deep roots of his family history. However, as we talked, he admitted that the act of sitting down and talking about our families, our memories, our experiences helped retrieve images and moments. The act of sitting and talking brought back some beautiful stories and memories about his family and culture which Aram shares here in the podcast. I hope the podcast series inspires others to talk and share their family histories with those closest to them, or if the desire is there, to share your family stories through this podcast. All are welcome to contact me at bjk925@gmail.com or through Twitter @_briank_ if you woul

Diane Dougherty, one of eleven siblings, shares her memories of the circumstances of her grandparents immigration from Italy (and return to Italy after rejecting America), her mother and father getting together even though everyone wasn't quite behind it, her father's chasing of Pancho Villa, his participation in WWI as part of one of the last Cavalry units, and her father's work in the Pennsylvania coal mines alonside her grandfather, and host of other unusual circumstances woven into her family's Italian-American heritage.