Oral histories provide a colorful link to our past, and they’re relatively easy for each of us to do

Have you ever wondered how Uncle Mario came to this country? How Grandpa courted Grandma? What Dad did in the war?

By doing your own oral history project, you can not only give others a chance to tell their stories, but you can discover stuff you never knew. And preserve important memories for posterity.

StoryCorps, a new oral history project sponsored by National Public Radio, is doing just that with Americans from all walks of life. Even if you don’t make an appointment with the StoryCorps people in Medford, you can do the project on your own.

"Oral histories are so important," says Carol Harbison-Samuelson at the Southern Oregon Historical Society in Medford, where hundreds of oral history tapes are archived.

"The person doesn’t have to be rich or famous," she says. "People want to know about the fellow who worked in the mill. Most of us can relate to that better than to a movie star."

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In the 1930s workers from the Works Progress Administration crisscrossed the country doing oral-history interviews with ordinary Americans. The recordings remain among the most important records of life in the period. The StoryCorps project is even larger.

Locally, the Rogue Valley Genealogical Society plans a class, "How to Tape Oral History," at its library at 95 Houston Road, Phoenix.

"It’s the basic how-to-get-started," says Butte Falls resident Charleen Brown, who will lead the class.

No date has been set as yet. For information, call 512-2340 or 865-3292.

There are a few technical considerations. The StoryCorps project uses minidisk recorders. Most home stereos don’t have one, and they’re expensive (for a guide, visit Transom.org). If you have or can borrow one, by all means use it, project organizers suggest. If not, a cassette recorder is cheap and easy to use. Cassettes wear with time and have more background noise than digital equipment, but they’re still serviceable.

Buy or borrow a good microphone. Don’t use the one in your recorder, which is of low quality. Whatever mike you get, use headphones, which let you hear exactly what you are recording. And practice.

"I tell people to tape themselves," Brown says, "to practice with the recorder. Get to know the equipment so you don’t fear it."

Once you’re ready to go, the next thing is to pick a storyteller. Grandparents are good sources, but any relative will do. It could even be a friend you see all the time. Don’t expect her to be enthusiastic at the beginning.

"People are often hesitant," Brown says. "They say, ‘I’m not interesting,’ but they are. You have to just kind of keep working on them."

Prepare by writing down questions. There’s a sample list at StoryCorps.net. Try to ask open-ended questions, not yes-or-no questions: What have you learned? What made you happy? Sad? What will the future be like? What do you most regret?

Pick a quiet place for the interview. A carpeted room is good. Close the door, and turn off radios and telephones. Test the equipment before you begin.

Start by giving your name and age and the date and location of the interview, and have your storyteller do the same.

"I tell people to start a timeline," Brown says. "Where they were born, their parents and grandparents, where they lived and went to school."

Go deeper by asking follow-up questions. Keep quiet. Instead of saying "uh-huh," nod silently.

Here are some other tips from the StoryCorps project for getting great stories: