December 3, 2013
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Memories of my cassette tape recorder./ Finally I found the photo...
Les mémoires de mon magnétophone à cassette
Memories of my cassette tape recorder.English version below the pictures
Comment les idées vous surgissent dans l’esprit ? Je me le demande. C est ainsi que ce matin je repensais soudainement que j’ avais enregistré des audio cassettes en 1969 avec mon tout neuf magnétophone à cassette Radiola acheté en 1968. Je me suis souvenu avoir enregistré la voix de ma grand-mère en février 1969. Elle mourut la même année et sa voix n'était déjà plus comme d'habitude. Cependant, j'avais réussi à lui faire chanter deux ou trois chansons . C'était la première fois que je l’entendais chanter. Ma grand-mère (du côté maternel) était une femme forte de la campagne qui avait élevé avec son mari, ouvrier de carrière, huit enfants et aussi deux de ses frères. (Elle était orpheline)..
Sur la même cassette j'avais enregistré en connectant le magnétophone à la télévision le dernier discours du général de Gaulle à Quimper (Bretagne) en Février 1969. Il a été très émouvant d'entendre le dernier grand homme de la France. (décédé en 1970 )My 1968 cassette tape recorder . ( the dust is 45 year old )
Mon magnetophone à cassette de 1968 ( la poussière est vieille de 40 ans )Ma grand-mère Levisse My maternal grand-mother in the mid 1960's
General de Gaulle
How do the ideas come in your mind ? I am wondering . So this morning I thought all of a sudden I had recorded in 1969 some audio cassettes with my brand new Radiola cassette tape recorder bought in 1968. I remembered I had recorded the voice of my grand mother in february 1969 , . She died the same year and her voice already was not like usual. However, I had succeeded to make her sing . It was the first time I heard her sing . My grandmother (my mother ' s side ) was a strong country woman who had brought up with her husband who was a quarry worker, eight children and also two brothers .( she was an orphan)
On the same cassette I had recorded in connecting the recorder the TV the last public speech of the General de Gaulle in Quimper (Brittany ) in February 1969. It was very moving to hear the last grand Man of France .( who died en 1970).
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Que se passait-il pour Janine et moi en 1969 ? Nous étions mariés depuis 1961 et en 1969 nous avions quatre enfants ; Carole ( 1962), Thierry(1964), Véronique (1966) et Pierre ( 1968) . Nous avions aussi un chien , Netta . Les deux derniers enfants Isabelle et Jean-Baptiste sont nés en 1971 et 74. Nous étions très heureux en dépit des évènements de 1968 , une sorte de révolution culturelle de riches , faite par des jeunes privilégiés qui n’ avaient pas connu les temps durs de la guerre et d’avant , . Cette cassette video est en quelque sorte un ultime témoin de ce que fut la France .
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Up date 2 Décembre 2013
At the sea side 1969 Janine holding Pierre . Foreground : Carole with a doll,Véronique and Thierry
Au bord de mer 1969 : Janine tenant Pierre . Au pemier plan Carole avec une poupée, Véronique et Thierry.What was happening to Janine and me in 1969? We were married since 1961 and in 1969 we had four children, Carole (1962), Thierry (1964), Véronique (1966) and Pierre (1968). We also had a dog, Netta. The last two children Isabelle and Jean-Baptiste came in 1971 and 74. We were very happy despite the events of 1968, a kind of cultural revolution, made by privileged youth who had no known hard times of the war and before.
This video tape is a kind of ultimate witness of what France was..____________________________________________________________
UP DATE DECEMBer 2 , 2013 Finally I found the photo
Enfin je l' ai retrouvée , la photo que je cherchais pour mon entrée de la semaine dernière: le Général de Gaulle en visite dans ma ville natale, une petite ville du Nord de la France nommée Marquise . Cette photo est plus personnelle et a plus de prix à mes yeux . Sur cette photo le Général est accompagné du maire de la ville ,Louis Le Sénéchal.
J ' ai retrouvé aujourd'hui cette photo dans un coffret qui me vient de mes parentsDe Gaulle in Marquise 1945
Finally I have found the photo I was looking for my entry last week: General de Gaulle visiting my hometown, a small town in northern France named Marquise. This photo is more personal and more value in my eyes. In this photo General is accompanied by the mayor of the city, Louis Le Sénéchal. If you do not know who was Charles de Gaule and what he did during the WW II , please type his name on Google.
I have found today this photo in a box that comes from my parents ;
Comments (52)
Today we have sound and pictures to remind us of our past, family friends and events. 200 years ago no such technology existed. How differently we now grow older than our ancestors did, with memories refreshed instead of muddled.
An interesting and thought provocative post Michel.
Greetings Michele,
What a beautiful capture of a time and place. The world has changed at such a rapid pace to bring us to where we find ourselves today. To me it feels that so much has been lost along the way in that rapid pace. What a lovely family you have... one of the treasures I feel has been lost in today's world.
Hope you are having a great week,
Lynn
love the old photos ~
it seems like just yesterday.
my sons were born in 1970 and 1975.
Even though my own parents were young during the depression they passed on things to us and my dad was in the war in Belgium,France and Germany before I was born in 1951 but believe you me; I remember sleeping under those wool army blankets and hearing about it more from my grandparents but dad never talked about the war until my kids were teens and he talked to them like it was yesterday and they would tell me.
Yes , Jill, some memories of our youth remain especilly alive
How wonderful that you have your grandmother's voice! I wish I had a recording of my father's voice - It is so hard to recall the voice...
What a beautiful photo of your family when everyone was young!
That is so great that you have your grandmother's voice on tape!
I think one of the things we lose after a person is dead for awhile is their voice.
Your dust is older than my dust!
Thank you for sharing this beautiful post, Michel!
HUGS!!!
We got a cassette recorder about the same time, and my husband recorded my grandmother telling the story of her escape from Armenia at age 16 to marry my grandfather. It is so good to hear her voice again when I listen to it. My brother, who has a recording studio, took the tapes and cleaned them up and made 3 CDs. Her story is also in book form.
We were married in 1958, and by 1969 we also had 4 children. Like you, 2 boys and 2 girls. We were living in Africa then.
It looks like we followed each other on many points
But my grandparents had not to run away from the massacres of Armenia ( but it was in Europe the wwI )
I have a similar cassette recorder from 1968. But we got it here in the US. So wasn't able to capture the voices of my parents. BUT, when they came to visit me in '72, I took a movie of them with Saadia. There I see them walking and smiling and talking. I recently turned it into a disc that I can play on the TV.
Fantastic post Michel. Love the picture of your grand mother and General de Gaulle. I am sure your children love listening to their grandmother's voice as she sings.
Love,
Zakiah
Those black and white photos are a delight. I feel that a beutiful life of many years is almost unknown to me.
I love the photos of your grandmother and your young family
I love the old photos. When my grandmother passed away back in 2004 I had the fun of going through all her things. We found tapes that were sent from her in china and Thailand to other family members and then back with our voices responding to her questions. We found photo albums with photos of her siblings and such it was amazing. I can imagine the fun and joy it is to hear the voices again on the tapes.
I still have the old cassette recorders and tapes. You can bring them back to life with the new technology these days. It would be pretty valuable to revive them again! It would be so interesting to hear that speech. It may even be fitting to our day and have some advice we could use.
Nice!! Those pictures bring back memories of my very first tape player, and my first picture showing me holding my baby (doll)....
Thank you for sharing!!
RYC: Your comment about dust, on my site, made me laugh loudly!
I always appreciate your posts, Michel, but this one I especially like as you shared about your family with the old pictures, and then related it to the history at that time. And how very special to hear your grandmother's voice!
It made me think of old tapes that I have that I need to discover ... like one that I made of my Dad. It will be two years in Jan. 2014, since he died. It would be wonderful to hear his voice again!
Do you have a Thanksgiving Day in France? If so ... (or if not) ... Happy Thanksgiving! It is always appropriate to be thankful to God for His blessings, & friends such as you I consider a blessing!
Love,
Carolyn
I said a prayer for your daughter this morning. Praying all will go well with the surgery and she will recover quickly! Blessings to your family.
So many memories in life. Wishing the very best for your daughter.
I remember Charles General De Gaulle. I was a kid when WW2 started for the USA.
Blessings,
frank
I have followed-up on your great suggestion and posted this in the Xanga Help section for Eugenia to reply to:
Is Xanga closed for business?
oH DAMN. I wanted to sign up for another exciting Xanga site but to my frightful dismay, when I went to the “Join In” page at – https://xanga.crowdhoster.com/relaunch-xanga – , the “Join In” button was disabled. That might explain why the number of backers has stayed constant at 1,175 for weeks. Are we are now a closed, gated community?
Has Xanga shut itself to new membership?
notforprophet
What wonderful history in those photos! Thank you for sharing, and how great that you have captured not only your personal history, but world history in your tape recording.
I love your pictures... so many great memories! Happy Thanksgiving to you Michel! <3
LOVE the photos Michel, the one of your Grand Mother holding a sickle is such a piece of history and how beautiful your Janine always is!
Good to see you my friend. I don't get here to often but I do miss reading your post.
Thank you Michel, we had a good Thanksgiving. Hope you had a good day too.
Beautiful photos. Photographs get more poignant with the simple passage of time.
The recordings can be transferred to digital, too. Surely there is value in the de Gaulle address. One would think it was preserved, but oftentimes such things are just lost.
It is so great to look at the past that we have recorded. Sending lots of love {v} Nancy
Yes, Nanny, hearing the recording of voices, the conversations from 1969 and among them your own voice mixed to the others makes you live again powerfully this past , and even more than a video because you are not only a sensitive watcher, you are really living again in mind the time recorded. You rebuild it in your head.
It is wonderful to have so many great memories. It is so special to have recorded your grandmothers voice. It must bring her memory close to you
Michel, enjoyed your last post of b/w photos. When I think back to those year, oh I was so young, just in my mid 20s. You have saved wonderful memories, especialy of your grandmother.
In previous note from you, you asked what website I posted from. The only social website I'm on is Face Book. Otherwise, one has to reach me by personal email.
Hope all is well with you, Janine and your growing family. Christmas is nearing and we'll all be busy getting ready for that wonderful day when we remember the goodness of our Lord. Blessing and love to you and Janine...............Marilyn (thistlepatch)
I want to thank you for letting me know that if you click on photos in Xanga the photos will enlarge. I love this post. I still have a cassette recorder too. I haven't used it in years but I think it still works fine and that I have some cassettes for it to play. I love the black and white photos.
What great memories. Thanks for always sharing so many interesting things!
What a treasure to have a recording of your grandmother's voice! That is a formidable scythe she is wielding in the photo.She must have had a hard life, but I am glad you have fond memories of her.
General De Gaulle looks quite dashing in that photo. What a historic speech you've recorded of him.
Your wife looks a bit annoyed in her photo, probably from trying to keep the active children still long enough to photograph them! lol I am so used to seeing your children all grown up that it's so different to see them with toys.
J'avais un système de son dans les années 60 qui était fini en teck comme ce haut-parleur et frabriqué en Europe. J'ai toujours aimé ce bois. C'était de la marque Philips.
Quand on pense qu'avant la photo et la prise de son, on n'avait que les peintres et les sculpteurs (et les graffitistes des cavernes
) pour nous témoigner visuellement du passé. On vit dans une époque choyée à cet égard, même si beaucoup des ces témoins ont disparu avec les années. J'ai une douzaine de gros rubans enregistrés à cette époque mais mon dérouleur de bande ne fonctionne plus.
Mon magnétophone à cassettes est de marque Radiola très associée à l' époque à la marque PHILIPS;
Pour le haut- parleur je l'avais acheté en même temps mais je ne trouve pas de marque dessus. En tout cas il fonctionne très bien et donne un bon son.
Janine looks so young and beautiful.
So glad to see you are still on here. I have not been on xanga in forever. Hope you had a very Happy Thanksgiving and hope all is well with you.
I'm so glad you found your picture of Gen. de Gaulle. I can see why it is so special to you. Thanks for sharing your memories.
I remember Charles DeGaulle. He looks taller in that photo. In 1969 I was in Paris, so was DeGaulle, but of course didn't see him. Old black/white photos can bring back so many past memories. I love the one of a young Janine and 4 of her children.
Have a great day as we start the march towards Christmas. I just love hearing the beautiful Christmas music. Love. Marilyn (thistlepatch)
I am excited for you Michel, that you found the photo. What a treasure. Can you take it to a photo place and have them restore it so it won't fade anymore? Such a marvelous picture. Thank you for posting it.
A wonderful piece of history that photo of General De Gaulle!
How special that the photo of the General is! I did go to Wikipedia, and read more about him. He was so tall compared to others, and so I googled, and found that he was 6'5"! I will read more about him; He was quite an impressive man!Thank you for sharing these photos and memories, Michel.
Nice pictures....Oh my!! That tape recorder brings back memories....I used to have one, that was basically the same as the one you have....Wore it out by playing to many cassette tapes,
....
I'm playing catchup again Michel. Of course from yesterday's comment from you.
I used to tape messages to my Grandmother as she was almost blind. The children would speak to her and she enjoyed that. I still have a recorder btw.
I very much enjoy seeing your old photos, and they are very good. Someone in your family had a good camera and a good eye for taking photographs--was it you?
Found the photos missing....:-)
I love the photos!
Emouvantes les voix de nos chers disparus qui grâce à la technologie nous sont toujours audibles.
Belles images naturelles de ta maman puis de votre jeune famille.
Quant à Marquise, si le Général y est allé, c'est une idée pour à l'occasion, en pensant alors à vous naturellement!
Amitiés
"c'est une idée pour nous à l'occasion"
pardon, je ne peux plus commenter avec les fonctions d'autrefois sur Xanga ...
le petit coeur est par ailleurs inaccessible et me manque ici
WOW! I love the picture with Janine and your children! What a precious picture!
I remember my dad gave me a micro-cassette recorder and I loved recording sounds when I was younger too!
This is a huge surprise to find again you . I wonder where you are !
I had a very similar cassette recorder in the early 1970s.
I remember de Gaulle and later Pompidou. They used to be in Time magazine, although I didn't read the news much back then. It looks from the online articles like de Gaulle was an interesting and controversial leader.
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