What would you ask

[ricslady]

What would you ask your grandparents or great grandparents if you could?

And have you ever journaled a ghost story?

[marlathrall]

What was your favorite childhood memory?

If you could pass one piece of advice on to your descendants, what would it be?

[joelsgirl]

I did an interview with my grandmother a few years ago, and it was so interesting. She talked about their first washing machine and how it changed their lives. The best question I asked is, "What's the most significant invention of your lifetime?"

[ricslady]

Good questions girls.

Kellie, that's so interesting. I probably remember the same type washing machine.
My grandmother had one similar to this but it was pink, if I remember correctly.

[Darcy Baldwin]

I'd ask about what they ate and what they did for play and what were their favorite books at the time and what they thought of the war - was it hard times for them or fairly easy (they each lived in different areas of the country). So many nitpicky simple life kinds of things that I'm curious about and were never passed down. We just have a few big stories, and that's it. I want to know the really personal, day to day things about what they did and what they thought.

[nun69]

I would ask my grandfather all about his war experiences (he does have a book written from his journals that he kept during the war).....now that I have retired from active duty, I would love to know how different it was back then.......the best thing about working at the vet clinic is I talk to my patients as much as I can about their history and it makes me feel like I get a little look into my grandad(WWII) and my dad's(Vietnam and he passed away in 1994) military history....

I would also like to ask my grandmother how she handled not working and raising 5 kids and how hard that was on just my grandfather's salary.....

[MommaTrish]

Hmmm... I used to ask my great-grandma questions all the time growing up though there were several topics I realize now that she just didn't talk about. But her favorite thing to tell me about when I was little was how important it is to read and learn as many words as you can because she always felt stupid in school because she didn't learn English until she started school at six. They only spoke Russian at home. My grandmother also loved to talk about growing up and how her and her little brother would go around collecting cans and stuff to sale and then they'd use the money to go buy a comic and go to the movies. They both loved to go on and on about the past.

None of my other grandparents talk much about the past and we all learned long ago there's no point asking.

[MommaTrish]

Oh John's grandparents also loved talking about the past. I remember doing the math one day and saying "Beverly, you had Tommy (John's dad) at 16!?" And she said "Well, yes, but that was different." When I asked how exactly that was she told me it was because she got married RIGHT after she turned 16. The little liar. lol. We all found out after she died that she actually got pregnant with him at FIFTEEN. Her fiance got her pregnant then died in WWII and his best friend ended up marrying her after they found out. We all always wondered why John, his dad, and John's siblings looked absolutely NOTHING like the rest of the family.

[lovely1m]

Like Angie, I would like to ask my grandpa about his military service. He never really talked about it, but when I joined, he was very proud. When I went to Alaska, he mentioned that's where he was stationed, but he was already getting sick by then. I would love to know more about that time.