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closeJewels of family history can be savored in style
Journalist teaches the value of penning everyday life
Susan Schell
of the Gateway
Movies have depicted the scenario of someone finding an old trunk in the attic. They wipe off years of accumulated dust and cobwebs and open it up.
What do they find? Old photographs of people in funny clothes? Old diaries with worn yellow pages that beckon to the beholder to read?
Journals are the stuff movies are made of, but they wouldn’t exist if someone didn’t take the time to write passages in them.
That’s the message 96-year-old Iris Peacocke tries to emphasize in the journaling class she offers for free at the senior center at the Boys & Girls Club and at Gig Harbor/Peninsula library.
“It’s important to leave a record of your life to somebody,” she said. “It is important to tell people what you’ve experienced.”
Peacocke said even small accounts of one’s experiences, such as a letter to the editor in a newspaper or journals written in a diary, can become important first-person accounts of what life was like during a particular era, and they can lead to a better understanding of the ins and outs of everyday life that future generations can learn about.
It doesn’t have to be a huge undertaking, Peacocke said. Someone can start out by writing just a paragraph, or a small portion of an event from the day.
“Some people may think, ‘Who cares, anyway?’ or ‘Why is my life important?’ ” she said. “Those who keep a daily log may think their life is dull. But nobody’s life is dull. Nobody’s life is unimportant.”
A lot of Peacocke’s lessons come from her spiral-bound book, “Savoring Your Sunset years,” published in 1998. Margot Ulsh said Peacocke’s classes have helped with the task of writing her own journals.
“It opened up my brain to a whole lot of other things other than what I was writing about,” Ulsh said. “She’s very encouraging. She’s this little 96-year old woman, and she’s amazing.”
Ulsh said she’s writing her journals not for herself, but for her family.
“Writing is terribly therapeutic,” she said. “She (Peacocke) believes that journaling is not only about writing down your history, it’s about helping you, the writer, learn how to better deal with your daily problems.”
Peacocke said if one asks themselves why they should keep a journal or who would want to read it, the answer is to leave a history that you existed and that you lived for a purpose.
Senior citizens especially have a different viewpoint of life as it existed long ago. It’s also important, Peacocke said, to learn about experiences from elder family members.
“You want to share your life with your family,” she said. “They have a wealth of information on what life is all about. That is the very reason to visit your mother or grandmother to get a record.”
People have grown up in different areas, and different eras and can reflect that in their journals, too.
“For instance, what do you find in Gig Harbor that’s different from Boston?” she asked. “You can talk about the interesting place you live. You can say, ‘This is my home base. I live in an interesting place.’ ”
Peacocke said the jewel of sharing stories also is learning about others and how they cope with life’s changes.
“We are always adapting to time,” she said. “We have the ability to adapt to change. Our parents and grandparents were able to adapt.”
Peacocke said she hopes to spread her message during her classes that even the most seemingly insignificant documentaries can help others discover the tiniest details of history.
“There are so many life stories,” she said. “We hope we can inspire you just a little bit.”