The Curious Call of Ancestral Places

Today’s program was shivers-down-the-spine inspiring. Rhonda started with stories of unexplained coincidences and then journeyed into old stone buildings and archives. We were riveted by stories of photographs in hidden caches and trauma felt across generations.

In preparation for today’s talk, Rhonda shared several fabulous resources:

A Case Study: Building History of the Ephraim Relief Society Granary

• Inspired by a project she worked on in partnership with the Smithsonian’s Museum on Main Street project.

Ephraim Granary Case Study: The Curious Call of Place

877KB ∙ PDF file

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In my first year of running Evalogue.Life full-time, I got a call from an architect friend. Shalae Larsen told me that her previous historian partner was retiring Would I like to help her nominate the Ephraim Relief Society to the National Register of Historic places? She had been asked by Granary Arts, a nonprofit housed in the building. “Sounds fun,” I said. And it was. Here's the story.

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How can YOU tell the story of an ancestral home or place?

If you are working on the story of an ancestral home, community place, or other building, here is a detailed article on how to do the research.

• ​evalogue.life/researching-ancestral-homes

Tool kit for researching the history of buildings & places: 

• evalogue.life/buildings

Can the legacy of trauma be passed down the generations?

• bbc.com/future/article/20190326-what-is-epigenetics

Visiting an ancestral home at Witch Hollow near Salem

• evalogue.life/visiting-my-maternal-past-at-historic-witch-hollow-farm

Ancestral homes – How to research the story of a home or building

• evalogue.life/researching-ancestral-homes/

You are welcome to share this post with friends and family. Rhonda has generously allowed us to share this recording and resources with our Projectkin community for free.

About Rhonda Lauritzen

As a professional storyteller with multiple published books and a passion for teaching, Rhonda believes that when you tell your story, it changes the ending. She and her team at Evalogue.Life specializes in oral history and historical projects. Before founding the company, Rhonda served as a college VP and a corporate CEO.