The Oral History Project : I Interviewed My Grandmother

My great-grandmother was raised by her mom, dad, and other relatives. She, and many cousins, were raised up as brother and sister in a close-knit family. Harriett Marshall, my great-grandmother, was born in Saltillo, Tennessee on January 7, 1931. She has lived through many trying times. It is a blessing to live through so many events that changed the nation, even the world. She has lived through the following events and many more: The Great Depression, World War II, the historic signing of Jackie Robinson, Brown v. Board of Education, the Civil Rights movement and many more.

I chose to interview my grandmother, Maryann Metzger. I chose her because she is probably one of the strongest people I know. I wanted to learn more about her childhood. After talking with her I realized that she may not remember a lot about women’s rights at that time but she does remember segregation. Through this I learned many things that I didn’t know before.

My sixty-year old grandmother, Helaine Bondar, conveniently lives in Baltimore, MD. This made the interview quite convenient, and we were able to sit down face-to-face on her dining room table chairs with a plate of cookies for the interview. "Bubby" as I call her, was born in New York City and lived there her entire youth. She only had one sister, Suzette, who still lives in New York City (my grandmother recalls at this time that my great-grandmother was very fond of French names.) When asked about her grandparents she reminisced on her days with "nanny" and "poppy," her maternal grandparents who practically raised her. She spoke about their personalities. Nanny was the bulldozer go-getter of the family, my grandmother said her favorite phrase was "my way or the highway." Poppy was more calm, and they balanced each other out perfectly. Bubby 's paternal grandparents were Anna and Sol Gross, and despite their close proximity-- they also lived in the Bronx -- Bubby just wasn’t as close with them.

To begin my interview, I started with kinship. I believe it was necessary to start with this so I could grasp an understanding of her family. Mrs. Dager has a very large family, but her immediate family consists of four grandparents, two parents, four siblings, a husband, and four kids. All her family originates from Venezuela, but she is the first generation to leave the country and move to the United States. When I asked about her grandparents, she seemed a little shy because they all

My interviewee's name is Paula Anderson-Worts. She was born in Jamaica back in the 1960’s. However, Paula along with her parents relocated to Florida when she was two years old for an improved life, and in search of the American dream. When Paula started school, she was inspired to become a teacher, doctor, and a fashion designer. Although, all throughout her life people told her she can’t become all those things, she has to select one. Even though this may be true, she still insisted on her dreams. In addition, “she thought it would be unique to follow in her mother’s footsteps”.

The person I’m interviewing is Priscila De La Rocha. She’s seventeen years old and was born on January 9, 1998. She’s from the Valley. Ever since she was small she would move a lot like for an example Los Angeles, San Fernando, Panorama and so more. Her eye color is light brown and her favorite color is red that’s why her hair is red because it’s her favorite color. She’s outgoing, likes to party alot, really honest, and loud.

I started the interview with straightforward questions. I asked her about her health and I asked her about her pain. She is currently taking a medication that is controlling her diabetes. Since she has been diagnosed with diabetes for more than ten years, I wanted to know more. I asked if she remembers why or how did she develop type 2 diabetes. During that time, Maria was under a lot of pressure. Her mother and her sister had recently died and her husband was making less than $70 per week. She was constantly worried that her life was falling apart. When I asked her about pain, my grandma told me she has chest pain. Due to her pain, she recently found out that she is diagnosed with

The person whom I've decided to interview for this interview project is Julie. I have known her and her family for the majority of my life. So, I thought that she would be an excellent candidate for the project. Already being very comfortable with one another we could have a good informal interview after dinner one night, which is just what we did. She was born and raised here in Greeley, Colorado, in the United States; she is of mixed racial, ancestry, Mexican American and Caucasian, she is currently thirty-one year's old. The oldest of four daughters, and has been married to her husband for ten year's now, he is of Caucasian ancestry, they have no children themselves. Last year she was finally promoted to the general manager of a different

In my Anthropology class we had to choose someone to do a project on in which we tell their story in order to discuss their values, events in their lives, and reevaluate their memories in order to represent a person's life story. For my life history project, I have decided to do my aunt, Nilda, because she is someone who is beyond incredible in multiple ways and I believe this is the perfect chance to tell her story. By me telling her story not only is a way for me to learn about her in ways I did not before but also for her to be able to regain all of the memories which were stuck in the back of her head. A reoccuring thesis throughout my interview was being able to adapt to the American culture. To tell this story of her life I would need to start from the very root of how it all started.

I interviewed Miss R, who is a 65-year-old White Female. She currently resides with her daughter and the interview took place in her bedroom. This is where she feels most comfortable. She is a recovering Alcoholic and says that God and Alcoholics Anonymous are two of her biggest supports in life. She also says that her family gives her encouragement and strength. She doesn’t go to church but she does attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings at least four times a week. She says that God has helped her using the AA Program and that she knows when the time comes she has done life the best she can. She is very strong minded an answered all the questions I had for her. She seemed comfortable, and engaged in how we were interacting. She spoke a lot of

Coming into this task, I had never put forth any interest in the aging population. I knew this group was vulnerable and in need of more advocacy to raise awareness but it was not as appealing as other populations. I did not have tremendous knowledge of what aging adults go through on a daily basis or any challenges they so often face. Therefore, when I arrived to the set location of the interview, I was a bit timid and afraid. This was my first time ever interviewing someone of this age with the intensions it was geared for. I was worried of how Denise was going to respond to my personal questions or if she even would. I was completely shocked to find that she was absolutely respectful and willing to answer anything I wanted to ask. After asking

I have recently interviewed my grandmother Mindy. I chose to interview my grandmother because we have a close relationship and I look up to her and love spending every second with her and couldn’t think of a better person to interview than her. The reason for this interview is to get an insight of how her pregnancy coming from her. In this interview I will learn all about her pregnancy, from the beginning to the end. Mindy is my grandmother because she is my mothers mother. Mindy has spent most of her life in Kenya, and now resides now in America.

Learning from people from past generations is an awesome experience. Not only does one get more knowledge from the experiences, but one can learn about oneself even further. I person I was interested in interviewing was my father. My father who left his hometown at the age of 20, for a better future, remembers his upbringing in the small town that is a speechless witness of my dad’s early life. My dad was born in a rural town in Mexico, which is about an hour and half away from where tequila is produced. He was the third oldest child out of five children. My dads ascribed status was of the poor working class. At an early age my dad tells me that he was expected to help out my grandfather with the farm animals, such as the horses, pigs, and

My Grandmother goes by the name of babunya, and baba for short, this means grandma in Ukrainian. She lived in Ukraine for most of her life, and she is almost 90 years old now. She’s been through a lot in her years, thus her appearance has changed. For every wrinkle she has there’s a story to match. She has had every color hair: blonde, red, brown, and black. Now her hair is a short gray color. She keeps it short because it stays out of the way, even though she hates it short. She has always had long her until now. She has also progressively become shorter over the years due to a very bad back; she now stands just under five feet. Since she spends most of her days in the garden her usual outfit

I will tell you a tale of a woman of great success. This is a woman that has inspired me to be something great one day and to never give up trying. Though she may be growing into her elderly years she has lived a very challenging, joyful, loving and successful life. She is a woman of great faith and character, she is my grandmother.