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By Donnie Boursaw
A family’s history is more than names, dates, and places. It isn’t confined to pedigree charts, records, letters, or journals. Family history is made of people — their memories, experiences, and the events that shape their lives. I think of it like the “crazy quilts” my grandmother helped me sew: every patch different yet stitched together into a one-of-a-kind design.
Storytelling gives life to genealogy. Dry facts become living narratives that help family members understand the past and make wiser choices for the future. Names become real people whose lives still influence those living today. As we grow older and leave home, relationships change, and many who shaped us are no longer parts of our daily lives. Stories provide context, connect generations, preserve culture, and deepen meaning.
My grandfather was a great storyteller. A Texas sharecropper who later lived in Arkansas, was born on land that became the Chickasaw reservation before Oklahoma was a state. I only knew him when he was old with white hair, weathered skin, Levi bib overalls with one strap hanging down, and a ten-gallon hat tilted back as he whittled sticks on the back stoop. He told of traveling by wagon or horseback, of outlaws and gunfighters still roaming the West, of plowing with a mule, barn raisings, hay baling by hand, building an outhouse, and milking cows.
Sadly, I remember only fragments of those tales and often regret not writing them down for my grandchildren. Grandpa never drove a car, owned a home, had indoor plumbing, flew in a plane, sent an email, or gave birthday money. Yet he left something far greater — an appreciation for hard work and for modern comforts like electricity, running water, computers, and automobiles.
Through his stories I learned who I am, where I came from, and the heritage I am responsible for preserving.
How about you? If you have a story to tell, contact me at rootsandremnants@gmail.com
