Where can people ask and receive personal recollections from old folks online?

June 4, 2008 4:47 PM

Is there a specific place on the internet where younger people can ask and receive personal recollections from elders?

Looking for a central place where someone could ask questions about personal experiences such as "What was it like crossing the San Francisco Bay for the first time on a bridge in 1937?" or "What was it like playing in the orchestra on a Sinatra recording session?" or "Could you get Moxie in a bottle in a supermarket in the UK in the 1950s?".

1) Does such a site exist?

Seems like it must. Many old folks love to tell stories and many young folks are curious about the past. I'm not sure where to look and Googlewise I'm not getting anything.

2) If not, are there any micro examples of this kind of interaction on the web that you can point to?

P.S.
I'm NOT looking for YouTube links or blogs by old folks or Studs Terkel books. These can be all be wonderful in their own ways, but what I hoping for is interactive and current. Like Duplex Planet but with more lucid responses.

posted by quarterframer to grab bag (4 comments total)

Reminisce Magazine used to have a feature in their print version where younger people could write in questions like you're describing. You might try contacting the editors to see if they have anything like that online (or maybe they'll know of another site to direct you to).
posted by amyms at 5:22 PM on June 4, 2008

I remembered the asker in this question referring to an Elder Wisdom Circle, though I've never used it and I don't know if they tell stories or if they're more a counseling-type thing.
posted by pravit at 5:25 PM on June 4, 2008

StoryCorps
From the website:
"StoryCorps is an independent nonprofit project whose mission is to honor and celebrate one another’s lives through listening. Since 2003, tens of thousands of everyday people have interviewed family and friends through StoryCorps."


Also, check out the American Century Oral History Project.
posted by mynameismandab at 5:56 PM on June 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

I don't know of any such place, but I think it's a pretty fantastic idea were it formulated correctly.
posted by Miko at 9:50 PM on June 4, 2008