East Texas Press (Timpson, Tex.), Vol. 36, No. 38, Ed. 1 Thursday, September 22, 2016 Page: 1 of 20
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Thursday, September 22, 2016 I Vol. 36 No. 38 I 2 Sections, 20 Pages I A1
Shelby County Historical Society Lecture Series
Lacher advocates writing personal memoirs
The Shelby County Historical Museum Society meets once a month at the mu-
seum for a business meeting preceded by a speaker for their Lecture Series. The
speakers cover a spectrum of life experiences, interests, and topics and are both
informative and interesting
Terri Lacher, local columnist and writer, was the speaker for the September 20,
2016 meeting at 2 p.m. at the Historical Museum on Pecan Street in Center. Mrs.
Lacher spoke about satisfaction to be found in writing personal memoirs and the
importance of sharing memories in that way.
Mrs. Lacher shared the memory she had of being in school when told of President
John F. Kennedy’s assassination. She expressed the horror she and her fellow stu-
dents felt at the moment of receiving the information. Mrs. Lacher then explained
writing about that moment and the feelings it evoked is what a memoir is - it can
be just one moment in time or a series of events. She said, “We could all prob-
ably sit down and write probably a two- or three-page story about where we were
and what we were doing and what happened on that fateful day in November of
1963...”
“What people say about writing memoirs is, ‘I don’t have time.’ Take a minute,
think about it, get a recorder.. .If you’re riding in the car and you think about the
time that Grandma pulled those pies out of the oven and they were so hot and she
stuck them up in the window. You were all told to leave them alone, but soon, one
of the pies disappeared.”
Mrs. Lacher explained that instead of having to write, a recorder kept handy is a
good way to simply talk about what happened using that recorder. She noted, too,
that it is important to record feelings remembered, as well.
“One of the reasons people don’t write things down is that they say, ‘I don’t have
anything to write about - my life is kind of boring.’ Well, maybe it was boring
to you, but it won’t be to your grandchildren or nieces and nephews or friends -
there’s still a story there.. .One of the things that is important about memoirs is
that, if it is something about the Great Depression, then you can turn around and
use your story: ‘This is how I got through that.’ It is important for people in gen-
erations to come when they go through a trial that, ‘I can get through this, because
this is how they did.’
Another problem for people in writing memoirs, Mrs. Lacher stated, is that they
do not know how to begin the writing. With many grandchildren and great-grand-
children, she shared that she, too, sometimes had trouble beginning because of
worrying about what they would want to hear about. Her solution is to “just start.
It doesn’t have to be a major event - maybe when you were born, where you were
born, your brst school - things like that.
“When you write your memories down,” Mrs. Lacher continued, “don’t worry
about grammar, spelling, or sentence structure - that’s not really important. If you
want it to be perfect, send it off to someone you trust that will pluck it up. But if
you do that, it’s not going to be your story. So.. .don’t worry about how it sounds,
because it’s going to be you telling your story.”
In deciding what to include in a memoir, Mrs. Lacher recommended thinking
about what a person is most proud of. Also, for those who are older, she said for
them to meditate on what they wish to be remembered for.
“We went to a funeral one time, and they were talking about the ‘dash,’ between
the years,” Mrs. Lacher continued. “That dash [between the year of birth and the
year of death] represents our whole life. That one little dash between 1951 and
whatever year the Lord gives me - that dash is everything I’ve done and been
involved in my life. What do you want people to remember about your dash?”
People who influenced a person during their lives are an important part of a
memoir, also, Mrs. Lacher added. “Who influenced the direction of your life?”
she asked. “Or what influenced? If you grew up in the Depression, did make you
more frugal? Did it make you stronger? Was there a certain person in your life - a
grandparent, teacher, anyone like that - who might have been one of those most
unforgettable people in your life?
“This one I like - ‘What are some of the best days of your life? What do you
remember?”’ Mrs. Lacher shared. “It could be a time past, it could be today. It
could be your family.”
Mrs. Lacher shared some books from her personal collection that are from authors
who have written personal memoirs and advocated reading some of the genre to
get a sense of what memoirs are like. She also loaned some of her books to differ-
ent attendees.
At the end of the talk, Society President Yenorah McSwain announced that the
Museum’s display beginning in October would be shared sports memorabilia
from all the towns in Shelby County. She asked that the word be spread that the
Museum would like to ‘borrow’ for their sports exhibit anything related to sports
played by Shelby citizens.
The phone number for the Museum is 936-598-3613. The Museum is manned
by volunteers Monday through Friday, from 1 to 4 p.m. Call if you wish to loan
sports memorabilia, and a volunteer will give you more information.
By Colleen Doggett, East Texas Press
Newspapers still top source for local news
Local newspapers are still the top source of news about readers’ communities,
including their branded Web sites and social media channels, according to a new
survey of 1,000 local media users commissioned by AMG/Parade, publisher of
newspaper insert magazines and conducted by research outfit Coda Ventures.
Newspapers led online consumption for local news, the Coda survey found,
with 40% of local news consumers saying they had visited a newspaper Web site
in the past 30 days, compared to 29% for local TV station Web sites, 16% for lo-
cal radio station Web sites, and 15% for magazines.
Similarly, 32% of local news consumers had visited a newspaper’s social-media
channels in the last month, versus 21% for TV stations, 17% for magazines, and
15% for radio.
Local papers also lead the way when it comes to advertising effectiveness.
Asked which media they consider the best source of information for sales and
deals, 47% of local media users cited newspapers, compared to 32% for TV and
27% for direct mail.
Turning to specific ad categories, local media users named newspapers as their
“most relied on” source for deals across a range of goods and services, including
apparel and accessories (33%), automotive (32%), electronics (31%), groceries
(44%), home furnishings (30%), home improvement (35%), lawn and garden
(44%), and office supplies (36%). In each category newspapers bested TV, maga-
zines, radio, direct mail, and social media.
Importantly, the high value placed on newspapers as sources of news and infor-
mation was echoed by younger media users.
AMG and Coda surveyed 305 millennial media users and found that 49% said
newspapers did the “best job” providing local news and information, slightly
ahead of TV at 48% and more than double radio at 24%.
Further, 42% of millennial media users said the had visited a newspaper Web
site in the past 30 days, compared to 28% for TV Web sites, and 41% had visited
a newspaper’s social media presence, compared to 25% for TV social channels.
Submitted by Erik Sass, Staff Writer, Media Post
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East Texas Press (Timpson, Tex.), Vol. 36, No. 38, Ed. 1 Thursday, September 22, 2016, newspaper, September 22, 2016; Timpson, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth899226/m1/1/?q=green+energy: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Timpson Public Library.