OT: getting an accurate family history

I had a 2nd cousin who died in Sept at 27 years old.  Reflecting on his death and corresponding with his younger sister has made me aware of the tales of my parents' lives.  He's from my Mom's side of the family and I've always been close to those relatives. Anyway, I e-mailed all of my first cousins and asked them to write down recollections of what their parents had told them about growing up.  My mother is one of two survivng children of a family that had nine children.  Her surviving sister is senile and in a nursing home.  So, today I visited my parents and recorded 2 hours of recollections from them.  I'm going to put them on a DVD and make it available to family members. I was logical in my discussion and had thought out what order I wanted to prompt them to elicit information.  I asked about order of birth of the children, then where they went to school from grammar school to HS.  I also asked about any sports they or their siblings playred.  I asked about their cousins and friends.  I wanted to keep prompting them because my Mom is 84 and my Dad will be 84 in April. Then we got around to their jos and their siblings' jobs.  I asked what they did during WWII and found out which members of the family were able to join the military.  Many of them were already too old and had families to care for.  But, most of them were involved with work dealing with the War effort.  After finding out about that period, I asked about jobs after the war and went forth from there. My parents thoroughly enjoyed my visit and I learned a lot about my family.  I'm sure you've all heard bits and pieces about your family history.  I suggest you record these tales so you can share them with the rest of your family and preserve them for future generations.  I used a video camera to make mostly audible recordings because I don't have a regular tape recorder.  This was easy for me and I don't have to worry about typing up any of the recollections.   I suggest you give it a try.  Bob