Personal and family events in the last year have made me reflect on how fragile oral history can be. Don’t take for granted the relatives or family members who act as the collective memory for your extended family. As we crest the oncoming tsunami of dementia among Baby Boomers, make sure to ask the seniors in your life the genealogy questions you’ve been wondering about. Strokes, and other cognitive impairments can also steal memories from those we love.

But how to go about it? One of the simplest ways is to go through shoeboxes of photos, old albums, or slide trays long dusty in the cupboard with your aging loved one at the kitchen table. Anecdotes are my favourite way to learn family history, and while not necessarily always accurate, there is usually a kernel of truth in even the wildest stories you might hear.

Visual cues from photos will bring these memories to light far more easily for them than just textual documents. Make a pot of tea or grab some cold beers and pull out the albums you haven’t seen since you were a teenager. Gather three generations, pop some popcorn and let your loved one tell stories with an old-fashioned slide show (everyone loves a slide show), or scan them to a Power Point document and go digital.

Life can turn on a dime. Memory retention is not a given. Facilitating the transfer of family lore is an important part of family bonding that neither of you will regret.

With love to my dad, Robert Gaede (see below), and my father-in-law (above).