Elderly residents share life stories

RESIDENTS of St Andrew’s residential aged care facility in Ballina are taking part in a new program recording their life stories.

St Andrew’s board member Vicki Knudson recently began interviewing residents and compiling their 3,000 to 4,000-word story in a booklet.

“I sit with them, listen, ask questions and take notes, then type a draft for their approval each week,” she said. “They can then consider whether to leave in or take out any of their conversations once they’ve had time to go over the drafts.”

Knudson said she believes everyone has a story and she has heard adult children telling their parents they should write their story many times.

“People are interesting once you get them talking about their life and experiences,” she said.

“Often some facts about a person’s life experience only come out at their funeral. I once knew a very quiet, reserved man and it turned out he had been a sniper in New Guinea during World War II!

“One resident I interviewed had survived an accident involving a horse and buggy where the horse had slipped and fell, causing the buggy to overturn.”

Knudson said she particularly enjoys hearing what residents are most proud of.

“With that generation, one can only admire the challenges and, sometimes, hardships they have faced and overcome,” she said.

“Their stories of the Depression in the 1930s and the WWII years gives an insight into how life was for them and their resilience in coping in those days.”

The residents’ families have been extremely appreciative of the finished product, and in some cases discovered things they had not previously known about their parents’ life.

“I felt surprised when one resident had her spirits lifted when she saw her booklet — to me it was as if she had been seen and heard, rather than being invisible,” Knudson said.

“I think the importance of recording someone’s life story is that it ‘matters’ that they lived their life and had experiences that were unique to them. They leave a record which can be accessed by the generations that follow them and who may wonder about their ancestry.”