Voices from HOME Oral History Project
November 2019 Interview Guide | Theme: Blessed in Bounty
This month, we invite you to share your memories of Maine’s harvest-time traditions. Choose a few of these questions to help guide your interview, or come up with questions of your own. Remember, it’s okay to let the conversation flow naturally and lead you to other topics.
Suggested Questions:
- What do the words “harvest” and “bounty” mean to you? When you think of the land here, do you see abundance? Why?
- Do you have a family history of growing and harvesting food? If not, would you like to start a new tradition of growing and harvesting in your family? What is your favorite thing to grow?
- What are your traditions for celebrating Thanksgiving? What were you taught about the Thanksgiving holiday growing up? Has your understanding of the holiday’s history changed since then?
- Are there certain foods that are traditionally prepared in your family for holidays and celebrations? Who makes them? Are there family stories connected to the preparation of special foods?
- Have any recipes been preserved and passed down in your family from generation to generation? What are they? What are their origins? Have they changed over the years?
- How did you first get started with the tradition/skill of hunting? What got you interested? Who taught you how to hunt? What are your favorite memories of that person?
- What is the most challenging or difficult aspect of hunting to learn? Why? What do you value most about hunting? What do you think is the future of this tradition?
Voices from HOME: Celebrating, recording, & sharing stories from one generation to the next in the heart of rural Maine.