The legacy of stories: StoryCorps outpost comes to town

There's a lot of lore about my mother's side of the family, some of it on paper in the hands of the genealogists in the family. But my father's side of the family was less given to documentation, and since the last sibling died, their stories will be hard to retrieve.

Dad, who'd be nearly 100 if he were alive, was the second generation born here. Even so, he didn't learn English until he went to school, and his baptismal certificate is in German. His family's history is part of the history of Milwaukee.

I meant to ask my aunt, Anita, who was the family "telegraph," the one who keeps communications going, for the stories. But life got busy, and she was gone. I meant to ask Aunt Esther, the last of her generation. But life was even busier, and she was gone.

Milwaukeeans will have a special chance to record their stories when StoryCorps establishes its first outpost at the Milwaukee Public Library. From the launch on January 12 through July 25, StoryCorps will be recording 250 interviews. Who knows how many stories they'll capture in the process?

You may remember the StoryCorps mobile facility rolling into town some time back. This more permanent outpost, the first in the country, is being brought here through a collaboration of the UWM Center on Age and Community (a Consortium member) http://www.uwm.edu/Dept/ageandcommunity/, the Milwaukee Public Library, WUWM, and by sponsors the Argosy Foundation, Forest County Potawatomi Foundation, George and Julie Mosher Family Foundation, Brico Fund LLC.

Here's how it works: StoryCorps facilitators help people figure out what to ask and how to record the memories. At the end, they receive a CD--and a copy is filed with the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress (with permission, of course). A donation of $10 is suggested.

Of course, you don't have to be old (or interview an elder). But if you know someone whose stories should be part of our national historic treasury, think about this!

You can read more about StoryCorps at http://www.storycorps.net/.

The library and the UWM Center on Age and Community are hosting a kick-off event January 25th, 2007, in the Media Room at the Milwaukee Public Library, 814 Wisconsin Ave.