COLUMN: Viewpoint – Recording precious memories

Have you ever come home from a trip, scrolled through the photos you’ve taken, sorted the souvenirs you’ve collected, and wondered what you could do to create a lasting reminder of the great experiences you had on your travel adventure?

Have you ever wished you had a method to preserve the precious memories made in a childhood home, in your grandmother’s kitchen, in a friendly neighbourhood, or in a beloved teacher’s classroom?

Have you ever thought you’d like to research and explore your family’s roots in a foreign country, or preserve the memory of an unforgettable meal you had in an amazing dining spot, or summarize what you’ve learned about a place that was featured in a favourite novel?

Well, then you won’t want to miss the writing workshop Erin and Andrew Unger and I will be leading at the Mennonite Heritage Village Museum on the morning of Feb. 7.

Erin is well known for her fascinating accounts about world famous restaurants she’s visited. You might have enjoyed one of the stories on her blog, Mennotoba, about the places she’s explored both near and far in search of her family’s history. Erin will talk about what might motivate us to write about ‘place’ and what we can learn from doing so.

I’ll be delving into ideas collected during my many decades of experience as a journalist, writing teacher and author of historical novels, to provide you with ten practical and creative ways you can write about ‘place’ even if you might think writing isn’t your forte.

Andrew, whose authored two successful books, and has a hugely popular blog, The Unger Review, will use examples from his work to suggest how you can add specificity and description to your writing to enrich it.

If you attended the September memoir writing workshop I did with a group of different authors at the museum, you’ll want to come back for this February session with all new material to inspire you and prompt the creation of stories about ‘place.’

I once took a university course where the professor asked us to write an impromptu essay about how the places we had lived and grown up had shaped who we had become, what we believed, and our unique world view. It was so interesting to consider how both Winnipeg and Steinbach, the sites of my childhood homes, had influenced my life.

Both my maternal and paternal sets of grandparents lived on farms in small villages in rural Canada and I spent a great deal of time there as a child. I’ve found it fascinating to employ some simple writing techniques to explore how those experiences shaped me.

I have traveled to some 40 countries around the world and used different methods to keep a written record of our travels. People often ask me what my favourite trip was and I always respond immediately that it was traveling to Ukraine to find the birthplaces of family members. Both my husband’s grandparents and my own grandparents taught us the importance of telling stories about ‘place’ by relating many tales of their lives in Ukraine. So seeing it for ourselves was emotional and definitely a highlight of our many travels.

Writing about ‘place’ can be a good way to understand and remember the past, provide connections to people and experiences in the present and help us make plans for the future.

Consider this your invitation join me and Andrew and Erin Unger on Feb. 7, as we explore together how writing about place can be easy, fun and meaningful. Contact Joanne at the Mennonite Heritage Village Museum to register at joannf@mhv.ca