“Recording our nation’s histories —
one person at a time”
Frequently Asked Questions
Tell me about Homer Audio Histories
Homer Audio Histories grew out of a hobby — recording the stories of children; the life accounts of adults and seniors; and the many experiences of military veterans, missionaries, newly married couples, and new parents.
For more than forty years I have recorded the experiences, tragedies, hopes, and dreams of individuals — all to preserve these accounts in their original audio format.
It is a universal principle that all people — regardless of race or national origin, economic status, or health condition — want to be remembered by telling the stories of their lives.
We all appreciate reading and reliving the lives of ancestors who took the time to tell their stories — whether they came on the Mayflower or arrived at Ellis Island; whether they were bank presidents or common workers.
While we cherish those who took the time, we lament those who chose not to preserve their story (“How I wish I had my grandfather’s history — he was a real pioneer”).
Their lives are lost in history because their memories - forgotten in only a few generations — are not kept fresh in our minds and hearts.
Homer Audio Histories provides a convenient way to record and preserve all these stories. While we cannot go back and record the personal accounts of those who have gone before, we accept the challenge to preserve the personal histories of those now living.
Our motto — “Recording our nation's histories — one person at a time” — tells it all.
What is an Audio History?
Audio histories are any kind of account recorded in the human voice. Instead of writing or typing an account or history, the person records his/her voice — thus preserving not only the words but the emotion in the human voice.
How is an audio history recorded?
Audio histories benefit from the improvements in recording technology as well. A generation ago we recorded the voice on magnetic tape and hoped it would last. Now we use digital audio recorders and "burn" this permanently onto Compact Disc (CD) media. This digital format makes the perfect storage medium.
Digital recordings are easily moved to new technologies – thumb drives or even cloud storage.
Are these audio histories transcribed to paper?
We agree that the written word has its place. We have chosen, however, to focus on the power and emotion of the human voice and do not transcribe these histories.
We leave it to others to transcribe these audio recordings if they choose to.
What are the other advantages of the CD audio format?
Compact discs have been available for more than 40 years. This is a technology that is convenient, inexpensive, and reliable.
CD Players are still readily available in department and electronics stores and on-line.
We recommend that you store your CDs in a cool dry environment. In most places storage in a basement is appropriate.
Although CDs will likely be replaced someday with an even newer technology, it will still be a simple matter to convert the digital information on our CDs to the next version of digital media.
How is my story recorded?
Recording in audio format does require some additional equipment. While it is possible to use a small and inexpensive cassette recorder with a built-in microphone, this will not guarantee the level of quality we all expect.
We recommend excellent quality external microphones with fixed stands and digital audio recording equipment. A quiet environment is the next ingredient. This does not need to be a sound-proof studio setting — just a quiet room away from barking dogs, noisy children, ringing phones, and the constant drone of refrigerators, furnaces, and air conditioners.
What happens next to the digital recording?
The digital recorder is then connected to your computer via an audio cable. The digital file is downloaded to your computer.
Specialty audio processing software is then required to re-record the digital record into the computer. This software includes special features to edit, clean, and process the digital signals from the recorder.
There is also a newer version of digital recorders that can be connected to your computer directly with a USB cable and the digital file can be downloaded to your hard drive and then processed on the audio software.
Finally the software includes the necessary commands to burn the audio file onto one or more compact discs.
If it is that easy, what does Homer Audio Histories do?
It is a little like repairing the engine on your car. It is possible for anyone to fix the engine — assuming they have the knowledge and tools to do so.
We have 40 years of experience recording all kinds of stories and accounts. In that time we have learned the ins and outs of interviewing and recording; of microphones and recorders; and have evaluated the best possible software.
Put simply, we have the correct microphones, stands, recorders, and computer software to make the process simple and convenient.
Our goal is to provide the best possible recording for a price that is reasonable. Our motto is: “Recording our nation's histories — one person at a time”
So explain to me the process.
We sit down with the person to be recorded and review what aspects of their story would they like to share — Childhood memories? Early education? Junior high and high school? Dating and courtship? College and professional training? Marriage and child rearing? Family vacations and time around the house? Career and public service? Travel and retirement?
Once we have confirmed the basics of the story to be told, we decide if the story is better recorded as a monologue or as an interview. Next we prepare the questions or topics that are to be addressed.
On the day of the recording we bring our portable studio to the home, office, or another quiet place, and review the questions/topics one final time. The interviewer/recording technician makes the storyteller comfortable and begins the recording.
We plan on a recording session being about 90 minutes. (Each CD can hold 80 minutes of recorded audio). We encourage the storyteller to account for the interesting and inspiring parts of his/her life and to share details that belong to times gone by (e.g. listening to evening radio shows on the console radio in the living room).
The interviewer/technician is responsible for the time management of the story telling — to make sure the entire story fits within the confines of the anticipated compact disc.
At the conclusion of the recording session we pack our recording equipment and return to the computer lab for the processing of the interview. Because of the advanced digital equipment we use, we can make corrections, edits, and deletions to any mistakes that are made or to extraneous noises (coughs, wheezes, doorbells, etc.). We also remove long pauses to keep the story interesting. We do not edit the story in any other way unless requested to do so.
What is the final product like?
After we process the entire interview, we correct the volume levels and eliminate any background noise. Finally we “break” the 74 minute into individual stories and these become the audio tracks (just like the audio tracks on any music CD — one song per track). This allows a listener to access the stories on the CD in a random or planned sequence or to just listen from start to finish.
Finally we burn the needed number of CD’s as requested by our customer. We also provide a full color label for the CD and a full color printed insert with track numbers and names for the jewel box that holds the CD.
Both of these can include the person’s name, the project name, dates, and a photo or graphic, as desired.
Are there other options and topics to be recorded?
We have recorded individuals who recited poetry, sang children songs and religious hymns, and told their life lessons — with or without telling their biography.
Some people are more comfortable telling just that part of their story - by which they wish to be remembered. We are able to help craft questions or topics to suit any kind of storytelling.
WHAT ABOUT RECORDING EXISTING PRINTED FAMILY OR PERSONAL HISTORIES?
You should consider recording these histories in an audio format as well. Whether these are your own history or those of your distant ancestors you can read them aloud and record them just as you would if you were telling your own story.
Remember that the emotion of your own voice is what your listeners will remember. If that history is important enough to be told it is important enough to record in an audio format.
For those who are not comfortable with their reading skills we recommend using relatives or friends with pleasant voices to record these stories. (It is always better if a man records the stories of a male ancestor, and a woman records the stories of a female ancestor).
We also have talented male and female readers available to read and record your family stories.
What do I do with all those copies of these CDs?
You will be surprised at how many individuals want to hear your story.
Please consider sharing copies of your history with your children, grandchildren, and even great-grandchildren. You should consider sharing with local and state historical societies, universities, museums, libraries, etc.
Please note that the Library of Congress is also interested in the stories of our citizens. They are also extremely interested in collecting the military adventures of our veterans. The veterans project of the Library of Congress website is:
The American Folklife Center of the Library of Congress website is:
Consult the government listings in your phone book for city, county, and state historical societies and libraries.
How can I prepare for telling and recording my story?
This may be overwhelming but is much easier when considered in the various segments of your life. One way to look at your life is to make short notes of the happenings of your life according to the years in which they occurred.
Take a 100 page spiral bound notebook and number the pages with the years of your life (beginning on page 1 with the year of your birth in the upper right hand corner - and continuing page by page until you reach the current year).
Now make very short notes on those pages about the life events that happened in those years (e.g. 1953 — I was born in Idaho Falls, Idaho; — the Korean War ended; — we moved to the new house; — my oldest brother drowned in the irrigation canal; etc.)
Keep writing until you have defined the important points of your life. You will have to decide what makes something important. One person will want to describe the new house and another will want to remember the wonderful meals his mother cooked. Use your own memories as a guide to what is important to you.
Don’t worry about writing a lengthy history from these notes. Use them as a starting point for your audio history (and perhaps a written history in the future). Now construct a simple outline of your life that you would like your descendants to remember you by. Add in the details you want mentioned and leave out those details that matter less.
Your outline should be just a page or two — again only mentioning the briefest details of each topic. Your memory will take care of the rest. This outline becomes helpful to create questions for an interview (or even a script for a monologue type recording).
Use family members to review your outline and suggest changes and additions. Older children are especially helpful here as they suggest the kinds of subjects they want to know more about.
What region does Homer Audio Histories serve?
We are headquartered in the Salt Lake Valley of Utah. We travel in a 400 mile radius of Salt Lake City (Las Vegas on the south to Yellowstone Park on the north and western Colorado to the east).
By special arrangements we can travel anywhere in the United States.