Sharon Carmack interview of my mother

Sharon DeBartolo Carmack and Jim Warren spent two days last week interviewing my mother. It was a wonderful experience to see her interviewed by professionals. Sharon did the interviewing, and Jim took care of the equipment. He had 2 tapes going at all times, on different sequences, so that if one failed there was another, and so that if something wwere lost on one changing tapes it would be on the other. He also videoed the whole thing. One thing I learned about interviewing from trying to do it for my NGS course is the necessity of the intervieweer not being responsible for the equipment. I actually learned that trying to tape my mother's conversations while driving in the car, and always messing them up. Interviewing itself takes too much energy to alos worry about equipment. For those wondering how I happened to hire Sharon to do this--I met her 2 years ago when she taught a writing course at the NYG&B. After that I started working with her on transcribing my grandfatherfathers diaries and the diary of a great-grandmother. When she said she was coming east again this fall to teacjh the course again, I first signed her up as a speaker at the Genealogical Society of Rockland County, of which I was then president, and then arranged with her for a professional interview of my mother who lives about four hors from me; she is north of Cooperstown. I consider having met Sharon one of the high spots of my life. She is an excellent editor and writer and, more importantly, a wonderful person. To have the opportunity to work with her is terrific. I could not have imagined a writing opportunity this great. She has such fabulous ideas, and is such a wonderful writer in additional to being jiust a delightful person. Barbara

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