I choose my grandmother because she is someone that has always been the storyteller of my family. During holidays and other family gatherings, she is always capturing the attention of everyone in the room with her stories of the past or her made-up fairytales to enchant me and my cousins. She oftentimes reminisces about her time growing up on our family’s homestead.  My lineage on her side of the family was one of the first families to settle in midcoastal Maine. The farm she grew up on has a rich history and oftentimes has led to spooky ghost stories being told around the campfire.  Stories that I hope to emerge from this interview are to dig deeper into her childhood growing up on the farm and what it was like living with no electricity and running the farm and moving among logging camps. Another avenue I think this interview could go is the drastic lifestyle change she experienced when she married my Papa. Contrasting to the way my Gram grew up, my Papa was raised in the inner city of Detroit, Michigan. When they got married, they moved between Detroit and Maine before finally settling down in Maine once my mom and aunts reached high school. This time was a very uncertain but adventurous time in her life because it was different from anything she had ever grown up knowing. These stories also heavily tie into my mom’s childhood as she is the oldest child my grandparents had, in which she spent the most time growing up in Detroit through her neighborhood and schooling.  Vivid memories my Gram frequently talks about from her time in Detroit are her neighbors and the close relationship she had with them. These people became a second family to her and oftentimes is where she found comfort in such uncertain times. The overarching theme in both of these pathways to a story is my Gram’s resilience, adaptability, and overall need for adventure. 

Interview Questions: 

1.     Where did you grow up, who did you grow up with, and can you paint a visual picture of what the farm looked like when you grew up there? 

2.     How has the farmhouse changed since you lived there when growing up and when you moved back to Maine mom and my aunts? 

3.     What was it like growing up with your siblings? Did you all have different roles and jobs on the farm, what were they? 

4.     I know you love learning about our family’s history and lineage, did you ever go up in the attic of the farmhouse to learn more about our family? Why or why not?  

5.     Did you guys leave the farm often? Where was your favorite place to go either on or off the farm growing up?

6.     What was it like growing up so immersed in nature and living off of the land? 

7.     Did you ever wish to explore the city prior to meeting Papa or was that something that was just a part of the adventure in your relationship? 

8.     What were some of your favorite memories from Detroit?

9.     How was adjusting to the city for you? Where did you find comfort in uncertainty? 

10.  Where was your favorite place to live, Detroit or Alna? And why? 

Script: 

Intro Music (3-5 seconds) 

Intro: Introduce myself, who I’m interviewing, and where I am (10-20 seconds) 

Interview (6-13 minutes)

Outro: Thank listeners, credit music (10 seconds)