David Isay from StoryCorps has some suggestions to get the conversation going and learn more about your relatives. Click here for full story.
Author: ohadmin
Postmaster knows her village
Lillian Salisbury, now 87, spent her postal career ensuring that mail operations flowed smoothly in this former mill village by the Pawtuxet River (USA). Sorted, stamped and delivered, in timely fashion. Customers treated with respect. So too, did Salisbury’s grandfather, grandmother and mother: a succession of postmasters whose collective service dates to 1918; nearly a century all told. For the full story click here.
A bank collects clients’ oral histories
Wells Fargo Abbot Downing is embracing a basic principle of good business: When you find a winning strategy, run with it. That's one way to explain the bank's decision earlier this year to create family histories for all of the very wealthy clients served by its Abbot Downing division. For full story click here.
Ask your family before it’s too late
Why didn’t I ask when I had the chance? The problem is that we don’t know how much we don’t know until death takes away the parents and grandparents who were the repository of all these unknown things. For full story click here.
Coca-Cola in China
The Coca-Cola Company re-entered China in 1979 after a three-decade absence following the Communist takeover. Today, it is the company’s third-largest market, soon to be its biggest. This is the story, as told by executives who were part of the push. Coca-Cola’s reentry into China was a minor revelation. In 1979, thirty years after the Communist Party’s takeover when foreign brands were kicked out, China’s economy was just starting to open. The symbolism of red and white bottles in Red China rang heavy: The country was announcing itself open to foreigners, foreign trade, and even a touch of capitalism. For full story click here.
Australian Whaling
In the conservation movement there is a story still told of the whaler with a heart, the Australian harpooner who, swayed by the 1970s Save the Whale campaign, turned his back on the killing. It is unlikely that many, except for a handful who were there, will remember his name or even believe he existed. But exist he did.
Rabbit Plague
“THE introduction of a few rabbits could do little harm and might provide a touch of home, in addition to a spot of hunting,” said Thomas Austin, rather grandly, in 1859. Upon arriving in Australia, Austin asked his nephew in England to send him “12 grey rabbits, five hares, 72 partridges and some sparrows” so he could continue his hobby of hunting. For full story click here.
Leeton’s Oral History
THE quality of Leeton's oral history is cemented in film and plated with gold, with TAFE Riverina NSW Leeton Campus awarded for it's town focused film – From The Edge. Students at TAFE worked in partnership with the Aboriginal Land Council and were led by project manager Karen Davey and Kerrie Ross when making the film last year. For full story click here.
Gladstone Town Hall
The Gladstone Regional Art Gallery and Museum has seen thousands of local faces and tourists pass through its doors over the years. A historical exhibition will take a look back at the building's diverse uses when it celebrates its 80th birthday. For full story click here.
Cypress Memories
Vintage family photos from a bygone era, original drawings and poster art serve as an homage to Cyprus before 1950 and the dying generation of those who remember it, says Con Emmanuelle. For full story click here.