For thousands of years storytelling has been used to pass down history and lessons learned from one generation to another. As times have changed and technology has taken over, storytelling is becoming a lost art.

In an effort to preserve these stories before they are lost, National Public Radio is kicking off a 10-year project called StoryCorps. They came to Bismarck on Thursday during the first six months of the project for people to record their oral history. The recorded stories will be a link to the past for people from around the world to listen to and learn from.

A StoryCorps mobile recording booth, housed in an Airsteam trailer, is located next to the Heritage Center on the Capitol grounds. People can come and a StoryCorps representative will facilitate interviews between friends, colleagues or family members. At the end of the 40-minute session the participants will receive a CD of their interview. With their permission, other copies will be archived at the Library of Congress and at the Heritage Center.

"These stories are important because they are the history of this country," said Eliza Bettinger, advance coordinator of StoryCorps. "Stories from average Americans is what history is really about … the greatest value comes from what it means to these individual's families, the recordings are priceless to them."

People are interviewed by someone they know to keep the interview flowing in a conversational manner. If the interviewer might have problems coming up with questions, suggested questions are available at StoryCorps' Web site.

"The interviewer can ask anything they want, but it is best if the questions have an emotional content, like what was the best and worst time in their life, who was their biggest influence, how do they want to be remembered. Not questions that are dates and facts," Bettinger said.

During the interview, the facilitator will be listening to the interview and taking basic notes to index the content. Once the interview is done, it won't be edited.

Thursday was the first day StoryCorps was intown, and one family made a special trip to Bismarck to preserve a piece of their history.

Laurel Kaae, from Williston, and her mother, Virginia Hill Fairbrother from, Towner, met in Minot to come to the Capitol together.

Kaae already had written a book about her mother and father for the family to keep, but she wanted more people to know the interesting life her mother has led.

Fairbrother remembers sugar rationing and the hardships people had to endure during the Depression. Times were tough; to get by, one family trapped skunks. Fairbrother had to sit behind one of these boys in school because the rows were arranged alphabetically, and she couldn't get away from him or the smell.

Another smell that brings back memories is vanilla. Fairbrother said that back then, girls could buy a 10-ounce bottle of vanilla perfume for 4 cents.

After the interview, mother and daughter said it was fun, and the 40 minutes seemed more like 10 minutes. They signed the waiver to have their conversation available to the public.

During these interviews, the interviewees often bring up memories from other people they know. When Fairbrother's father was only 10 years old, he was left alone for days herding cattle to make a living.

"I guess we are very tenacious," Kaae said. "We have that reputation in the Midwest states. Look how my grandfather did living by himself when he was only 10. He was a survivor."

"I guess it was him living through that period that made him successful in life," Fairbrother said. "But one time he did tell me that it is possible to live and get by just fine on a glass of milk, an apple and two doughnuts a day."

(Reach reporter Kayla Cogdill at 250-8251 or kaylacogdill@bismarcktribune.net.)