Capturing the Oral History of Our Families Before It's Too Late

There has never been a greater interest in genealogy. It’s a billion-dollar interest that has spawned websites, television shows, books and DNA ancestry testing. We’re fascinated to understand where we came from and what our ancestors were like.

Jim Hobart wanted to remember his grandparents, aunts, uncles and parents as they really were. He wanted more than an old photo and drawing of a family tree. He wanted to remember their voices, their movements, their daily passions. There were some who had fought and lived through the horrors of World War II, lost children and loved ones, and persevered in lives faceted with joy, grief, triumphs, and regrets. When his father suddenly passed away Jim mourned not only the man he loved but also that so many of his life stories had died with him. He decided to help other families preserve the legacy of their family's rich history by offering to capture them on video. That way the stories of lives long past would live on for future generations to hear, straight from the mouths of the people who lived them. The result is the Legacy Life Project, dedicated to his father, born of regret and fueled by a motivation to help others not make the same mistake he did.