ESCANABA - There is history all around us. Unfortunately, more and more of it is disappearing every day. This history isn't a building, a monument, or any type of artifact on public display in a museum. The history I'm talking about is living, breathing history - people.
All around us are senior citizens who have seen a considerable portion of one of the most significant centuries in the history of the world. Just think about it. In the beginning of the 20th Century, the airplane didn't exist. Today, mankind routinely escapes the barriers of the earth and travels into space. Times have changed.
People who have seen history in the making walk among us every day. Often, they were a part of events that shaped the world such as World War II or the Great Depression. They bore witness with millions of others to events like the assassination of President Kennedy or the joy that must have been felt at the end of World War II.
More often, though, they have a knowledge of what day to day life was like in the past. They possess the knowledge of how people lived their lives decades ago - when the world was a far different place. It is knowledge many of us will never know, unless we take the time to carry it on.
Senior citizens are one of our most precious resources. People, however, don't live forever. Too often, seniors take a wealth of living history with them to their graves because no one had the time or interest to tap into their wealth of knowledge of the way things used to be.
I've been fortunate in my life to have tapped into the "living history" of many friends, family and neighbors. The oral history they have told me over the years is something I'll always carry with me. I've passed it on to my children...and now my grandchildren.
With a half century under my belt, I've even added some recollections of my own.
Passing on history through the spoken word is as old as humanity and one of the most effective ways to pass it on. Shooting the bull isn't a waste of time, it's a way to convey the things that are important to you and who you are on to others.
If you haven't taken the time to tap into this resource, you should. Start with your family. Storytelling has always been a big part of my family, and we've always had a strong awareness and pride of where we came from and how we ended up where we are today. My grandfather came to this country at age 11 from a small village in Croatia.
My grandmother arrived in the U.S. as a small child with her family from Cornwall, England. I spent countless hours as a child listening to the stories of their lives and the way things used to be.
Oral history was an important part of our lives, and that value was passed on.
The best storyteller I've ever met was my father-in-law, Hank. He could do with the spoken word what I attempt to do in writing. Hank was much better at it than I ever will be, though. Hank could keep people transfixed, on the edge of their seat, with countless tales about anything and everything. Storytelling was a way of life for Hank, and way to pass on his experiences - who he was.
Hank died a number of years ago now, but he is still alive. Every time I think about one of his stories, or one is retold, he lives on. I can still hear his voice in my mind. It's like he is sitting right there, telling the tale once more.
Memories are precious, irreplaceable. Gather them now, before they are gone.
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Brian Rowell is editor of the Daily Press. His columns appear weekly.
