This holiday season I told you all about a gift I was getting Allen (my Dad), a subscription to Storyworth. Storyworth is a service where you pick a recipient and pick 52 questions for the recipient. Each week Storyworth emails your recipient a question and at the end of one year, all of their answers are put together in a book for you to keep. You can also order more copies of the book for family and friends. 

I think this is a great service, ESPECIALLY for those of us in ag + western, who are surrounded by such incredible people, whose stories aren’t told enough. Our parents and grandparents have SO much history in their lifetimes, and we all need to do our part to keep those stories and lessons around for future generations to see/hear. 

When I shared Storyworth with you guys, I had also planned to share some of the more ag + western-specific questions that I asked, but I couldn’t believe how many of you requested that as well. So here they are! 

When I first started writing questions, I did so as they came to me, in no real rhyme, reason, or order. I would also write down topics that I knew would be important, such as Vietnam, College, BLM, even if I didn’t have any specific questions at the time. I knew getting those down on paper would help keep those top of mind so I didn’t forget about them, and those questions would flow eventually. 

After I had about 30 questions put together, I organized them in the order I wanted them to be asked. That helped flush out quite a few more ideas and helped to fill in the gaps of what questions I already had listed. 

One thing I had to keep in mind was asking questions that told stories, not asking questions that solely gave answers. Instead of asking “How long were you stationed in Vietnam”, I asked something like, “What do you remember most about Vietnam, and how long were you stationed there?”. 

It’s also key to remember that you CAN ask questions you already know the answer to. I wrote lots of questions that I already knew the answers to because I wanted those memories to be accurate for future generations to read and not told based on my memory of the story. 

Personal Questions: 

These are examples of some of the personal questions we asked, about memories with specific people, etc. These are questions that can be asked more than once, about different family members, friends, etc. 

• What’s your favorite memory of XYZ (Dad, Mom, Brother, Sister, Grandma, Grandpa, Friend, Neighbor, etc.) 

General Questions: 

• What did our home place look like when your parents first bought it, and what did they acquire (and from who) to get it where it is now?
• Tell us more about your Dad, his family, where they grew up, etc.
• Tell us more about your Mom, her family, where she grew up, etc.
• What’s the best dog you ever had?
• What’s your best memory of your sister growing up?
• Tell us about throwing a snowball at the school bus and breaking the window. 
• What’s the best horse you ever had?
• Can you tell us a story of your Dad growing up, that he would tell you as a kid?
• Tell us about swimming cattle across to Uncle Ralph’s island.
• What’s a story you want to tell us?
• Can you tell us a story of your Mom growing up, that she would tell you as a kid?
• When did you shoot your first buck?
• What do you remember most about your grandparents?
• Before we utilized public lands, where did we graze our cattle? How did we first start grazing public lands?
• What’s a story you want to tell us?
• What do you remember most about Vietnam, and how long were you stationed there?
• What do you remember most about working as a Range Con. for the BLM?
• When you worked as a firefighter, where were some of the most memorable places you went to fight fire?
• What’s your best memory of you and your Dad working together?
• When did you win your first buckle?
•  When did we put in our feedlot, and what did it look like before that improvement?
• What’s the hardest day you’ve ever worked?
• What’s the most fun you’ve ever had in your life?
• What’s your wildest cow story?
• Who have you looked up to, or admired most in life?
•  What story would you like to tell your grandkids?
• What’s your biggest business regret?
• What’s the best business decision you’ve ever made?
• What are you most proud of?
• What’s your best or wildest branding memory?
• What’s your favorite roping memory?
•  What’s the biggest change you have seen in your lifetime?
• What’s a story you want to share with us?

Hopefully, some of these questions help to give you a few ideas of what we asked. I can’t wait for you to get your Storyworth memories! If you missed the link to grab your Storyworth subscription, you can get that here!