Harmon’s Histories: Preserve memories for future generations; they’ll thank you

By Jim Harmon

As I near four score in age – that’s right, the big “EIGHT ZERO” – I realize it’s time to change my way of thinking.

I’m a collector – always have been, to the dismay of my wife. But 80 years of collecting has resulted in box after box of ... clutter. Like it or not, the time has come to throw things in reverse, and begin to declutter.

As I ponder the task ahead, I realize I probably acquired the collecting gene from my parents and grandparents. The Great Depression and two world wars shaped their thinking. They saved, reused, and recycled. Very little was ever thrown out.

To this day, I remember my parents' collection of 78 rpm records in the late 1940s and 1950s and playing the discs on the living room console radio/record player.

Even when our family spent time at our lake cabin – before electric power lines were run to the place - there were records.

As youngsters, we’d listen to “The Little Engine That Could” and other such fare on a wind-up player. All that “cranking” was good for a single 78 platter, then we’d have to crank the handle again to refresh the spring mechanism.

Of course, that was hard work for a 5-year-old, so the music sessions at the lake cabin were short. But what memories.

My first collecting involved music, too. But change was in the air in the 1950s - 78s were out, and the new 45s became the standard for “singles.”

Oh my gosh. I apologize. There may be some readers unfamiliar with the terms 78 and 45. They were references to the speed of the record turntable (revolutions per minute).

Soon, there were 33 1/3 rpm albums, followed by reel-to-reel 4-track tapes, then 4-track cassettes. Thankfully, I skipped the brief 8-track tape era.

Then it was on to CDs, and soon the digital world of today.

I treasured my old record collection, but it was too large to fit in my ‘58 Chevy when I graduated high school and moved to the San Francisco bay area in 1965.

I was devastated to later learn that my mother, in a spring cleaning frenzy, had given all my classic records to a Methodist church rummage sale.

Belatedly, though, I understand. There does come a time to let go of the “treasures,” collected over time.

I began my own process of letting go a few years ago, when a Public Radio station sought donations for a fundraising drive. My music collection (post 1965) went there.

Over the past couple of years, I’ve taken the next step - digitizing family photos handed down from my parents, many dating back to the dawn of the 20th century (my paternal grandfather was born in 1888). Box after box of photo albums and slides have been reduced to a small thumb drive - amazing technology! Copies will go to kids and grandkids.

Next up, in my decluttering will be personal papers and recordings. Given my near 50 years in broadcasting (first radio, then TV), “air-checks” abound. That’s what those in the biz called tape recordings of radio shows.

But who would want recordings of Dan Sorkin doing his “Answer Man” segments on KSFO, a station identifying itself as the “world’s greatest radio station, especially in San Francisco.”

Listeners would ask Sorkin questions like, “Am I going to have success with my invention?” and Sorkin would answer, “No it’s doomed to failure.”

I had a chance to meet Dan years later. After retiring from KSFO, Sorkin did a once weekly, two-hour show on a small radio station north of San Francisco where I worked. He was a delightful man.

Another of my favorites was Ron Britain on WCFL Chicago, “The Voice of Labor.” He was famous for his demand that everyone boycott the Chicago American newspaper for refusing to run his want-ad for “Grilled Stool Pigeon Under Glass.”

Then there are all my recordings from my military tour at the Far East Network Radio (Armed Forces Radio and Television), Tokyo.

Will anyone (family or otherwise) care about such recordings or ephemera after I’m gone? It’s impossible to know. Perhaps I’ll have time to convert them to a YouTube format, where they may live on ... who knows ... forever?

I have a final thought and recommendation to younger readers. Looking back now, I do wish I’d asked my parents and grandparents much more about their lives and the times in which they grew up.

Databases like Ancestry.com have filled in many gaps in my family history, but so many questions remain unanswered. Luckily I have a short family history written by my father, and an audio recording of some of his memories.

I encourage everyone to do the same. Jot down your personal memories, from early childhood on. Or make an audio or video recording.

Be sure to include the little things, like the memory of my mother and grandmother “darning” the holes in socks, rather than buying new ones. That required keeping a few burned-out light bulbs on hand, over which they would stretch the socks, in order to do that “darning.”

Keep in mind, you are the only person who knows everything about your life. Once you’re gone, all those memories are lost. Lost forever. Please don’t let that happen.

Thank you!