Jackson County (Mo.) Historical Society

Portals to the Past by David W. Jackson

Share Your Stories One By One

The Jackson County Historical Society encourages you to record your life experiences for posterity! Because writing one’s life story is daunting, the Historical Society has developed program to simplify the process called, “Jackson County Counts—Counting Our Stories One by One.”

First, think about your daily life experiences, or especially memorable or life-changing moments. Reflect on your thoughts and dreams (present and past). Discern how you “fit” into a larger community.

Then, write something down. But, remember to focus on only one story or specific experience. It doesn’t have to be a lengthy project, and it doesn’t have to be “professional.” Express your individuality in the way you present your own story.

Next, share your writing with a friend or family member. Consider presenting for feedback your draft with someone of a different generation and/or ethnic or racial background. They will undoubtedly have questions, comments and suggestions that will help you fill in details you may have overlooked, or taken for granted.

To support or complement your story, you may have documents, photographs, or artifacts associated with that event or experience. How might these be incorporated into what you have written? Be sure to clearly identify all photographs and take measures to preserve these items. To help you, the Historical Society has prepared a helpful booklet titled, Practical Preservation: Simple Steps You Can Take to Protect Historic Documents, Photographs and Books.

Once one story is recorded and fine tuned after feedback, you will likely be inspired to repeat this process--one specific story at a time--as your time permits. 

Before you know it, you may have assembled a small collection of personal stories that could be a meaningful memento to your family.

The final step in this process is to realize that the recollections you’ve assembled might be quite valuable to researchers or historians tomorrow, 50 or even 150 years from now. So, be sure to share your story(ies) with the Jackson County Historical Society so they may be COUNTED, and PRESERVED. And, so they’ll be AVAILABLE to an interested public into the future.

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Kathleen (Lee) Tuohey wrote a story about her recollections growing up in Kansas City during the Great Depression. Excited about her first story, she then decided to focus a second on her participation during World War II, when she joined girlfriends in California and found work at Lockheed Aircraft munitions plant. These are posted as examples of Jackson County Counts on the Historical Society’s website (jchs.org).

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David W. Jackson is archivist for the nonprofit Jackson County (Mo.) Historical Society’s Archives and Research Library at 112 W. Lexington Ave. Suite 103, Independence, MO, 64050. Discover all the products, services and programs including Jackson County Counts that are available through the Historical Society at www.jchs.org (click on “Educational Opportunities”). For more information, or to donate historical materials, call (816) 252-7454, or e-mail info@jchs.org.

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