The best way to preserve the oral history and tradition of our Overmyer family is to start with yourself. Sometimes we focus on those distant ancestors many generations away, when our own generational stories run the risk of being lost.

Here is a list of ideas you might consider:

a. If you think you're not very good at writing things down,
try some of the new recording devices available. The cost
to use these devices is affordable and dependable.

b. Start by remembering your earliest memory. . .write it down
or record it. Promise yourself to spend one hour doing this
little project. Most folks enjoy this idea so much, they make a goal
to create their own living history project several hours a month.

c. If you have an Overmyer family heirloom in your home get
it out, dust it off and spend some time looking at it. Push the
the button on your recorder and describe the item. If you know
what it is or where it came from describe those details. Most likely
there is a reason why you have it. Sometimes this feels a little
embarrassing, but look at the big picture. In 5o years will your
family know "the what, the why, the who" of your heirloom. If
you don't record it, that information could be lost in the future.

d. For shy persons the next idea might make you blush. . .but try
it! Talk about and embarrassing moment in your life that might
have involved your family connection to the Overmyer's. Try this
idea with a funny or even sad memory. The idea here is to get
the memories flowing. . .and they will!

e. Practice telling some of the stories you discover on your family.

f. Make a game out of the details of your family history and folklore.
In our family all you have to mention is "red shirt" or "kitchen chair"
and half of us bust up laughing. In making a family history card game,
we had a couple of cards with some little red shirts, kitchen chair, and buffalo
drawn on it. We mixed these in with dates, addresses, school names, names,
pictures of previous cars owned, etc., and let the good times roll!


Believe it or not . . . but you might have just provided the missing piece to discovering the Overmyer family legacy!



"The ascendant hand is what I feel most strongly;
I am bound in and in with my forebears. . .
We are all nobly born; fortunate those who remember."

Robert Louis Stevenson