Yesterday, we had the pleasure of witnessing an 8 year old boy interviewing his 85 year old Dutch grandmother as she told of her life during WWII. It was fascinating. This was a school assignment. He also had to do a portrait of her. She came from a family with 10 children and the all went home from school for lunch. Her father was a potato and bean farmer. For her lunch chores she had to peel enough potatoes for 13 people to last for 2 meals. Whatever was not done, had to be finished after school. Everybody had to be inside when it was dark and the windows had to be blackened. Some people did not have food and her family left a bowl of potatoes for wanderers by the house. They lived near the train station, so this was a possibility that someone might walk by their house at night and be hungry. The kids liked to play marbles and jump rope. There were a loft like room for the boys and another room for the girls and another for the parents. How fortunate, I felt to hear this living history. If you have grandchildren or nieces and nephews, it might be interesting to hear their history. I interviewed our father several years ago and wrote a story from that. It was recorded and I still have the tape, but it’s hard to listen to since he is gone. It’s these sorts of things that matter in the long run, getting to know the history of others.
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