Hand Me Down History

Hand Me Down History is a collection of oral histories of San Francisco senior citizens published by the high school students in the YouthCares Program. The stories paint a diverse and detailed portrait of 19 older San Franciscans, capturing a special time in the life of each. Themes range from the tragedies of war to the uplifting memory of a special relationship; they reflect the rich diversity of this city's cultural heritage. They also capture the special bond that can form between the old and young.

Below are some excerpts from the book:

"I just turned sixteen years old! I was forced to get married! My husband was sixteen years old too. He was older than me by only two months. Everyone got married around fifteen to seventeen years old. Eighteen was considered too old for marriage. We didn't even know one another! It was an early marriage. We never had a chance to get to know each other until after the marriage. There was no such thing as divorce. My husband and I were still in high school. Luckily, he was honest, and very family-oriented. He was good looking too!"--Yiu C. Chau

"The equipment in the First Line was really bad. For the injured soldiers, they were just wrapped without any care and good medicine. Then they would be carried down to the First Line. I remember clearly that a soldier came to us with a hand that was damaged seriously. His hand was in a sling. It was wrapped up with a wooden board. Inside the board, there was a leaf wrapped around his hand to stop the bleeding. I untied the wooden board, then the leaf. Suddenly there was a whole bunch of living insects moving around on the surface of his skin. The skin was all swollen. It was a very horrifying scene. I was shocked and scared. But I needed to save the soldier, so I continued to clear out all the insects and clean the hand."--King Lau

"After about thirty years, my brother came back to Zhongshan to find my father and me. But my father died after I got married. My brother didn't have chance to see his face again. My brother fled to America with other people during the war. I was so happy that my brother came back, I could only cry when I talked to him. My brother said I'd be coming to America soon. But I didn't know what America looks like, what kind of people are there. And, plus, I love my country very much, I didn't want to go to America. The village people said America is a very good country, there are good jobs. Those village people described America like paradise. The whole village only allow one family to go to foreign country in ten years. I didn't know that I should stay in China or not. And finally I decided to go to America with my whole family."--Auyoung Kam Lan

"By 1990, I was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame, the only drummer in the Blues Hall of fame...Music is like a signature: if you hear it, you can tell whose music it is. I know they got my music. I hear it on commercials and movies. They play it on the background. All these big time companies use my music, and I don't get any credit for it. I don't get any money for my own music."--Francis Clay