Oral History Interview Questions
1. What is your full name? Why did your parents select this name for you? Did you have a nickname?
2. When and where were you born?
3. What day were you born? What did your parents tell you about that day?
4. How did your family come to live there?
5. Tell me about all of the places you lived growing up.....
6. Were there other family members in the area? Who?
7. Tell me about your brother's and Sisters - Describe them to me....
8. What was the house (apartment, farm, etc.) like? How many rooms? Bathrooms? Did it have electricity? Indoor plumbing? Telephones?
9. Were there any special items in the house that you remember?
10. What is your earliest childhood memory?
11. What did you want to be when you grew up?
12. What is one of the things you have never done but always wanted to do?
13. Do you remember being sick as a child? What injuries, surgeries have you had?
14. What old family remedies do you remember?
15. Describe the personalities of your family members.
16. What kind of games did you play growing up?
17. What presents do you remember from Birthday's and Christmas?
18. What is one of the saddest memories you have?
19. Tell me about your most embarrassing experience.....
20. Tell me about your most funny experience....
21. What was your favorite toy and why?
22. What was your favorite thing to do for fun (movies, beach, etc.)?
23. Did you have family chores? What were they? Which was your least favorite?
24. Did you receive an allowance? How much? Did you save your money or spend it?
25. What was school like for you as a child? What were your best and worst subjects? Where did you attend grade school? High school? College?
26. What was it like going to school?
27. What school activities and sports did you participate in?
28. Tell me about your high school graduation.
29. Tell me about any awards or recognitions you have received.
30. Do you remember any fads from your youth? Popular hairstyles? Clothes?
31. Who were your childhood heroes?
32. What were your favorite songs and music?
33. Tell me about the impact of the war on your childhood....
34. Which of your family members went to war?
35. Did you have any pets? If so, what kind and what were their names?
36. What were your favorite hobbies while you were growing up?
37. What was your religion growing up? What church, if any, did you attend?
38. Were you ever mentioned in a newspaper?
39. Who were your friends when you were growing up?
40. Do you remember what it was like learning to drive?
41. Tell me about family vacations you went on when you were younger....and later as a family.
42. What world events had the most impact on you while you were growing up? Did any of them personally affect your family?
43. Describe a typical family dinner. Did you all eat together as a family? Who did the cooking? What were your favorite foods?
44. How were holidays (birthdays, Christmas, etc) celebrated in your family? Did your family have special traditions?
45. How is the world today different from what it was like when you were a child?
46. Who was the oldest relative you remember as a child? What do you remember about them?
47. What do you know about your family surname?
48. Is there a naming tradition in your family, such as always giving the firstborn son the name of his paternal grandfather?
49. What stories have come down to you about your parents? Grandparents? More distant ancestors?
50. What do you remember about your Grandparents?
51. Are there any stories about famous or infamous relatives in your family?
52. Have any recipes been passed down to you from family members?
53. Are there any physical characteristics that run in your family?
54. Are there any special heirlooms, photos, bibles or other memorabilia that have been passed down in your family?
55. What was the full name of your spouse? Siblings? Parents?
56. When and how did you meet your spouse? What did you do on dates? Do you remember your first date?
57. What was it like when you proposed (or were proposed to)? Where and when did it happen? How did you feel?
58. Where and when did you get married? Do you remember who was there from your family?
59. What memory stands out the most from your wedding day?
60. Where did you go for your honeymoon?
61. How would you describe your spouse? What do (did) you admire most about them?
62. What do you believe is the key to a successful marriage?
63. How did you find out you were going to be a parent for the first time?
64. Why did you choose your children's names?
65. What was the names and birth dates of your children?
66. What are some of your favorite memories spent with your children?
67. What was your proudest moment as a parent?
68. What organizations have you belonged to?
69. What did your family enjoy doing together?
70. What was your profession and how did you choose it?
71. If you could have had any other profession what would it have been? Why wasn't it your first choice?
72. Of all the things you learned from your parents, which do you feel was the most valuable?
73. What accomplishments were you the most proud of?
74. Tell me about something that helped to strengthen your faith in God?
75. What is the one thing you most want people to remember about you?
76. What advice would you leave for your posterity?
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