Welcome to the Stratham Voices Project!
The Wiggin Memorial Library and Remembered Voices want to collect stories about Stratham and the Library Past and Present and make those stories easy to share.
We also want to preserve the memories and recollections of our veterans to be shared with the community.
- Wouldn't it be great to hear what it was like to go to school in Stratham in the 1950s?
- Don't you wish your kids or grandkids could hear your stories about summers when you were a child?
- What if years from now your child could hear himself reading his first book outloud?
- It would mean so much to today and tomorrow to have our veterans' stories preserved for the future.
It's Easy!
1. Write down your story, or an outline of your story. This doesn't need to be complex, just enough to jog your memory if you stumble while you are recording.
- Use our Brainstorming Tools (below) to help you get started!
- Enlist a friend or neighbor if you want to -- telling your story to someone might feel more natural than just talking into the phone or a gadget.
2. Use the library's recording code either by phone or online to log in and record your story. You will need to contact the library to get the login and code.
3. Tell your friends, family & neighbors to listen to your story! You will need to contact the library to get the login and code.
Brainstorming Tools & Tips for Storytelling
- A story about when you returned home from military service
- Something that happened in Stratham or Library history
- A poem and what it means to you
- A story about the Stratham Fair
- Your memory of the first time you visited the library
- A child reading her first book outloud
- Your favorite things about living in Stratham
- What you think Stratham will be like in 50 years
Exercises:
If you doubt that anyone would ever be interested in your stories, take a moment and think about how you would feel if you suddenly found the journal of your great, great grandmother. How fascinating would it be to learn what daily life was like? What could you learn about the time, your family or where she lived? Your stories will hold the same appeal to listeners today and in the future.
Memory Triggers
Some words can induce vivid memories. Focus on one of these words, close your eyes, and then describe the scene or story that comes to mind.
- Fire
- Water
- Storm
- Silence
- Test
- Lie
- Romance
- Stone
Special Days
There are special days in everyone's life. Take a few moments and recall some of the things that you remember when you think about the following days. Remember to think about your sensory experience - how things sounded, smelled, tasted, etc.)
- Birthday
- Thanksgiving
- New Year's Eve
- Christmas/Chanukah
- Vacation
- Fourth of July
- Anniversary
- Stratham's 250th Anniversary
Big Events
Many memories are tied to significant events in our lives. Write down a memory you have associated with one of the events below (or any other). For many of these events you may have several different stories to record.
- Birth
- Death
- Wedding
- Moving
- Religious Ceremony (Baptism, Bar Mitzvah, etc.)
- First Day of School
- Learning to Ride a Bike
- Voting for the First Time
Home Life
Our home is our world when we're children. Most of our childhood hurts and joys occurred within those walls. Your enduring relationships with parents and siblings were rooted in your early life there.
- On a blank piece of paper, draw a floor plan of the house you grew up in. You may want to imagine that you are looking at your house from the side with a wall removed or from above and the roof was removed. Think about how the rooms were furnished and anything of importance on the outside of the house.
- Now, go for a tour of the house and try to remember something that happened in each room.
Neighborhood
Your neighborhood may have been a city block or a farm, but either way you have many stories that took place in that environment and may have been shaped by it.
- Draw a simple map of a neighborhood that was important to you. Mark where friends or relatives lived, where people gathered, where you walked to. Were there "landmarks" that played a part in the neighborhood life? Were there places to avoid?
- Next, list some of the games you played with friends or activities you were a part of in that neighborhood.
Historical Events
Significant events in history affect each of us differently. What may be a tragedy for some may be cause for rejoicing for others. Sometimes a major event is a mixed blessing. These events may change people, communities or both. See what you remember about what you experienced during the events below. What other historical events or movements had a major impact on your life?
- Assassination of JFK or Martin Luther King, Jr.
- Pearl Harbor
- 9/11
- Man Lands on Moon
- Vietnam War
- Elvis Dies
- Challenger Shuttle Disaster
- Microburst/Tornado Hit at Stratham Hill Park
Favorite Things
Sometimes the things in our lives become the repository for memories. Make a few notes about a story that comes to mind when you read the words below. Give details: What color was it? Did you get it new or used? What eventually happened to it? Did you own it or want to own it?
- Your Favorite TV Show
- Your Favorite Car
- Your Favorite Movie
- Your Favorite Hat, Dress, Shirt
- Your Favorite Book
- Your Favorite Toy
- Your Lucky Charm
- Your Favorite Song or Musical Group
Activities
Many activities are done by a lot of people, but our own experiences are still unique. Think about the following activities and what stories or memories come to mind. What other activities have been important to you? What activities have you never done?
- Going to the Movies
- Skiing
- Dancing
- Chores
- Going to School
- First Date
- Hobbies
- Belonging to a Club
- Scouts
People
Think about the age ranges below and who the people were at those times who were influential in your life. Do you have relationships that have spanned nearly a lifetime? Are there people you wonder about today?
- Ages 4-9
- Ages 10-14
- Ages 15-19
- Ages 20-24
- Ages 25-30
- Ages 31-45
- Ages 46-60
- Ages 61-75
- Ages 76+
Storytelling Tips
After you have identified a story that you want to record, you need to make it interesting for others to hear. This is accomplished by including as many specific and evocative details as you can remember. To tell someone you went to the movies every Saturday afternoon leaves out all the flavor of the story. If instead you say that it was a double feature (and explain what that is!) with a cartoon, there were people smoking during the movie, you were enthralled with the chandeliers in the lobby and got a free gift with the purchase of your ticket then you have created an experience that the listener can experience with you.
- Use details
- Think about the senses: Hearing, Seeing, Touching, Tasting, Smelling
- Use humor
- Tell the story as if you were telling it to a close friend
- Don't make it longer than it needs to be
- Have fun!
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