Classes offer hints for capturing family history
Fond memories of a family tradition have Eve Kirk excited about the upcoming series “Thanks for the Memories: Saving Family History.”
“We’ve had a family reunion every Thanksgiving for 84 years,” said Kirk, director of the Cherry Valley Public Library District, which is presenting the series, along with Ida Public Library of Belvidere and Loves Park/Roscoe’s North Suburban Library District.
The free programs, made possible by an Illinois State Library grant, present a variety of ways to record family history.
Cherry Valley Public Library clerk Ruth Bumgardner, for example, will lead sessions on scrapbooking. Other programs focus on storytelling, memoirs/journaling, photojournaling, interviewing/recording and songwriting/poetry.
“Genealogy is one thing, but genealogy is just sort of the skeleton,” Kirk said. “The stories — whether you capture them through storytelling or pictures — that’s what people are curious about.”
Here is the “Saving Family History” schedule, with the experts and multiple locations for each:
Storytelling
Chicago Emmy Award-winning storyteller Jim May illustrates how to turn family heritage and experience into stories.
2 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 27, Cherry Valley
1:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 9, North Suburban-Roscoe
2 p.m. Saturday, April 5, Ida Public, Belvidere
Memoirs/journaling
Carrie A. Meyer, an instructor at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., shares her experience in saving farm journals and personal diaries from the Winnebago County farm she grew up on.
10:30 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 12, North Suburban-Loves Park
2:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 12, Ida Public, Belvidere
2 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 13, Cherry Valley
Scrapbooking
Bumgardner, who created a scrapbook for Cherry Valley
Library’s 25th anniversary celebration, teaches how to build effective layouts.
2 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 20, Cherry Valley
2 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 27, North Suburban-Loves Park
10 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 16, Ida Public, Belvidere
1:30 p.m. Saturday, March 8, North Suburban-Roscoe
Photo journaling
Award-winning photographer Fredric M. Johnson, an expert in photo restoration and digital Photoshop, offers advice on preserving family history through images.
2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 10, Cherry Valley
10 a.m. Saturday, March 15, Belvidere
6:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 8, Roscoe
Interviewing/recording
Veteran TV news anchor Alan Jones shares insight into how to use interviews, words and images.
2 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 19, Belvidere
11 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 7, Loves Park
2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 24, Cherry Valley
Songwriting/poetry
Illinois Arts Council artist-in-residence Jim Kanas, who has performed classical and jazz guitar with jazz legends Pat Metheny and George Benson, gives musical examples of creating family history.
2 p.m. Sunday, March 2, Cherry Valley
2 p.m. Saturday, March 15, Loves Park
7 p.m. Thursday, March 27, Belvidere
Call ahead to reserve a space, as participation is limited.
— By Edith C. Webster
‘Thanks for the Memories’ locations
Cherry Valley Public Library District, 755 E. State St., Cherry Valley; 815-332-5161; cherryvalley.lib.il.us
Ida Public Library, 320 N. State St., Belvidere; 815-544-3838; idapubliclibrary.org
North Suburban Library District, northsld.org; Loves Park branch, 6340 N. Second St., 815-633-4247; Roscoe branch, 5562 Clayton Circle, 815-623-6266