Mary Patricia Voell

My cup overflows with ideas to share with you on our story capturing journey.  It’s not hard to find an idea, it’s difficult to choose one.  Today’s Reflection comes from Diane, a student in a Legacies family history writing class.   When asked for take-aways from the class, Diane said with a new sense of urgency these four words: Interview First.  Research Later. In the class we talk about the importance of interviewing in the research process,  especially with those in the later stages of their life. But those four words brought the 30 minute message home. Interview First.  Research Later. The point being that archives, libraries, historical societies and internet resources will remain available to us for a long time into the future and over time will grow and possibly provide us with more access to our roots. But today, at this point in history, the living person with first-hand accounts and possible memories – may not. I love quotes that jump start my thinking about a particular topic.  One that came across my desk recently did just that.  “The most important people in our lives are there when we’re born, and there when we die.”  This year those words hang heavy in my heart.  Today, anyone […]

Seldom does someone ask the big question, “What Is the Meaning of Life”, at a first meeting, but in 2017 a new acquaintance did just that.  She said it’s her way of moving beyond the ‘getting to know you’  phase and engage someone more deeply.  It caught me off guard.  I wasn’t able to respond in the way I would have liked but asked if I could give it some thought.  After we parted, the question kept spinning through my ever-present mind-traffic.  Just what she expected. My three year old response feels appropriate during these times.  Like the many open-ended unknown questions in our midst, I wanted to give it my full attention, tap into other available sources, and formulate an answer I felt was appropriate from my small corner of the world. One lighter response comes from A Whack On The Side of the Head by Roger von Oegh, a workbook on creativity in a chapter that poses the same question. THE MEANING OF LIFE Life is like a banana.  You start out green and get soft and mushy with age.  Some people want to be one of the bunch while others want to be the top banana.  You have to […]

​Every season has its gift for living.  The seeds of the present season hold growth and harvest yet to come.  May gratitude become a season in us. ~ Sr. Karlyn Canley ​Welcome back to REFLECTIONS | Engage! Inform! Inspire! a Legacies, LLC periodic and spontaneous blog. ​Over the past few months many have taken advantage of the Legacies, LLC class series entitled: The Making of a Family Historian, both on-site through UW-Milwaukee’s Osher Institute, in addition to a weekly on-line series with students from California, Washington and Wisconsin. What a wonderful experience for all to learn of others journey in this life-sharing process, honing one’s organizational, research and writing skills, and participating in a community of like-minded family historians. The spring cleaning theme is so apropos in this context.  Not only does it garner thoughts of cleaning up and clearing out, but also the sprouting of newness, the ability to let go, lightening our loads. Like the purple and yellow crocus waiting patiently to poke their heads toward the sun, nature’s cadence reminds us of our own circadian rhythm when we accept the responsibility to explore our storied roots.  Each step in the journey of discovery, each action taken removes another dusty layer, literally […]

The Healing Benefits of Storytelling by Mary Patricia Voell Legacies, LLC | Personal, Family & Organizational Historians January 2020 Oral historian and author, Studs Terkel once said that it is our responsibility to record and preserve the living history that surrounds us.  Many of us may feel that undercurrent, that inner voice which speaks to a ‘responsibility’ to advance personal history work from a hobby to what might be called a charge, an obligation given to us by those who came before. The family historian role brings with it, dynamics and benefits across generations for storytellers, listeners and readers alike. It has long been said that our greatest desire, greater even than the desire for happiness is the hope that, in the end, our lives mean something, an idiom echoed by Czech President, writer and philosopher, Vaclav Havel among  others throughout history, who have reminded us that this need to tell our story is integral to our health and wellbeing. This desire for meaning can be the impulse of our storied life.  Each day we weave accounts into the circadian rhythm of our day as we exchange bite-size narratives of family, children, careers, vocations and vacations.  These stories show how […]

Joan was a participant in a small storytelling group at a local memory care unit.   A soft-spoken woman, her dementia affected her ability to process a question and formulate her response.  Her verbal skills were intact for if asked to read she could with ease.  What I learned through Joan’s form of dementia was that the pressure to respond was the inhibiting factor.  What I continue to learn is how dementia affects individuals in different ways. As I work with clients or you work with your own loved ones, we witness those whose memories and oral communication skills are very much intact.  Tom’s family wanted Legacies to capture his story.  He didn’t suffer from memory loss recalling each stage of his life script verbatim.  Marilyn, another Legacies client brought forward more of her narrative than her family had ever heard once we broke the stories down into manageable memories. In both instances, I found that the stress-to-recall behavior to be integral in framing the account of a life well-lived.  Whether working with individuals capable of full-scale recollections or those experiencing early stages of memory loss, it is helpful to recognize the role that stress plays as we, with all good […]

During the hottest season on record, I think of the Voell homestead method of beating the heat – pulled shades, closed curtains, and lots of fans.  Pure and simple.  More Wisdom and Advice from the Great Depression Years by Lisa Bedford reminds us how our parents and ancestors survived another time of great challenge. Out of necessity, life was simpler like #15, an age-old air-cooling method before electricity-eating AC.  With canning season around the corner take note of #6 and #7.  #20 and #32 trigger memories of tuna casserole, radish sandwiches and P.B. & J., #26 reminds us that ‘retirement’ is a new later-in-life notion, and #35 and #40 demonstrate the ‘art of survival’. As your family gathers for summer reunions and special events use these valuable memory starters to uncover stories of times experienced and remembered by a passing generation – before it’s too late! More wisdom and advice from the Great Depression years From:  http://thesurvivalmom.com/survival-wisdom-great-depression/ 1.  Families traveled to wherever the work happened to be. They stuck together as much as possible. Life insurance policies were cashed in to try and survive for just a few months longer in their “normal” worlds. Meals were simpler than those we eat today […]