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My History Is America’s History

If you’ve ever wanted to know who you are and where you came from, you’re not alone. More than 100 million Americans are looking for their roots, a remarkable explosion in genealogical research inspired, in part, by author Alex Haley, who discovered his own “Roots” three decades ago. In fact, family research and genealogy are among America’s most popular leisure-time activities.
Many parents keep track of their children’s accomplishments – recording first steps and saving locks of hair in a traditional baby’s first album. These precious mementos are stored away, and as a child matures, a parent will accumulate photo albums and scrapbooks, filled with school-related memorabilia.
How do children understand their relationship with other family members – many of whom they’ve never met? And, how do children understand their context of American history?
Every child born before 20021 lived through the most tragic – and most visible – event in America’s history: the terrorists’ attack on the World Trade Center. This becomes part of their history.
Your 6-year-old might not realize the importance of the cloning of the first mammal, Dolly the sheep, but the medical advances scientists have made since that 1997 venture could prolong the child’s life by 50 years or more. It’s vital for your child – and for you – to identify, interpret, and preserve your family’s visual history.
One of the best tools for accomplishing this is to use a guidebook such as “My History Is America’s History.” An initiative of the National Endowment for the Humanities, “My History Is America’s History” is designed to encourage and help you explore your family history, discover your family’s place in American history, and make your own contribution to history. Using the NEH’s guidebook is an opportunity for every American to be a historian – to remember, to record, and to see things in the “big picture.”
You may even consider taking a “My History Is America’s History” workshop – a gathering place for sharing family stories, for meeting folks in the community who are prepared to share or help with your voyage of historical discovery, and for getting the scoop on Web sites, books, films, and places to visit where our nation’s past is seen through the triumphs and trials of ordinary families.

Here are some of the meanings of “My History Is America’s History”:
· We all share ownership and have a stake in America’s past, present, and future.
· Every American family’s story is a part of the making of our nation.
· Ordinary men and women play an important role in history.
· Oral histories, family stories, letters, and diaries are valuable resources.
· Family history and genealogy are meaningful when put in a larger context.
· History needs to include the example and testimony of those who lived it to be appreciated.

Some people wish to take their history a step further and create a memoir to share with family members or as a legacy for future generations. Such projects could be the result of long-term research. A short-term project would focus on a central idea you want to write about, such as your experiences in World War II, Korea, Vietnam, or the Gulf War; a memorable trip; your high school life; raising your family; character sketches; the birth of each child; falling in love and other significant events in your life.
Encouraged by his daughter, Montoursville resident Chuck Homan, owner of the Loyalsock Art Gallery on Warrensville Road, decided to write about his life. At the age of 80, Chuck penned his memoirs and dedicated his story “to those who have suffered mental and/or physical disabilities, especially through war, and to give them hope and faith to survive, as well as a desire to succeed.”
Homan’s book, “War, Love, Hope and Faith,” is the story of a U.S. Navy first-class signalman and gunner on LCI-17 during WWII who risked his life during U.S. invasions at Salerno and Anzio.
An American hero, Homan recounts his life-threatening injuries and his successful career despite constant pain. Homan’s endeavor proves that it’s never too early – and it’s never too late – to consider your history, and your family’s history, is America’s history.

Save Your Story

This free eBook, “My History Is America’s History: 15 Things You Can Do to Save America’s Stories,” is a guidebook to help families and individuals explore family history and discover how our own family stories connect to the history of our nation.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE PDF (LARGE FILE)